Groundwork (2018) is a feature doc, currently in post production, which follows at-risk youth from Detroit who trek to rural Malawi to build a school with non-profit organization Build On. Wayfarer Entertainment.
Director/DP: Christel Cornilsen
CHRISTEL
CORNILSEN
FILMMAKER + WRITER
Christel is an Australian-American documentary director, writer and creative producer. Her work has been seen by millions worldwide on networks such as Netflix, Amazon, VICE, A+E, and more.
Christel field produced and shot for the Emmy-winning TV show INTERVENTION, (A+E, Netflix, Amazon), which documents the lives of people gripped by addiction, as loved ones and experts try to intervene.
Other work includes field producing the hit feature documentary BAMA RUSH, about the US sorority system, by VICE Studios on HBO Max.
Christel also wrote, directed and edited An Idiot's Guide to Climate Change starring Rainn Wilson from The Office and activist Greta Thunberg - a six episode digital docu-series by Oscar-winning Participant Media.
She began her career 15 years ago in Los Angeles as a camera assist on Through the Wormhole with Morgan Freeman and Obama's White House PSA Joining Forces with Steven Spielberg & Tom Hanks. Since then, she's worked on dozens of feature films, music videos, documentaries, unscripted TV shows, true crime podcasts, commercials and more.
Christel holds a BA in Communications: Writing & Cultural Studies from the University of Technology, Sydney, where she won the Human Rights Award for Women in 2008. She also studied International Journalism and Documentary Film at the University of Westminster in London, UK.
Christel is a former professional dancer, having danced in music videos for Kylie Minogue, Adam Lambert and Maroon 5. She still dances: tap,
hip hop and angry ballet, much to the dismay of her neighbors.


NEWS
Christel was a Finalist for the Global Australian Awards in the Arts category by Advance Australia, in 2022.
Inside Film Magazine Australia Interview
Aussie Activist Behind the Filmmaker's Lens