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
DIRECTOR x WRITER x PRODUCER
ABOUT
Christel is an Australian-American documentary director, writer and unscripted television producer. Armed with a pen and camera, she's captured compelling images and powerful stories, from the streets of Kolkata, to villages in Malawi, and the boardrooms of Capitol Hill.
Her film portfolio includes work for HBO Max, A&E, VICE, CNN, The White House, Participant Media, PBS, Revelations, The Academy of Motion Pictures, and more. She's worked on dozens of feature films, documentaries, unscripted TV, music videos, and national commercials.
Christel wrote and directed An Idiot's Guide to Climate Change starring Rainn Wilson from The Office and Greta Thunberg - a digital docu-series produced by SoulPancake and Oscar-winning Participant Media
She is also known for producing and 2nd unit directing the Emmy
winning TV show INTERVENTION, S23: Fentanyl Crisis and S22: Las Vegas. The show profiles people whose addiction to drugs or alcohol has brought them to the brink of destruction, devastating family and friends.
Christel was a producer on the feature doc BAMA RUSH by VICE Studios on HBO Max. The film centers on young women as they rush the sorority system in the USA, following the viral Tik Tok sensation #bamarush.
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 star-studded PSA series: Joining Forces w/ Oprah, Spielberg & Hanks.
Christel holds a BA in Communications: Creative Writing 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