Joelle Chesselet, Director, Producer, Writer – started working intermittently on the Mercury project over twenty five years ago. She won international awards for documentaries over the past 3 decades, notably “Pluck – a film not just about the chicken”, “Ochre and Water – Himba chronicles from the Land of Kaoko” and “This crazy thing called grace: Desmond Tutu and the Truth and Reconciliation Commission”. She was Honoured by the National Geographic Society and Recipient of the ‘Earthwatch Institute 2001 Award for “thoughtful insight into the process of living that has helped people to broaden their horizons and to more fully appreciate life on earth”. (U.S.A) She studied journalism and read a masters in political and moral philosophy, in Brussels. She produced, edited, and directed news stories and short documentaries during the years leading up to and following Nelson Mandela’s release in South Africa. Her work has focused on music, the environment, and politics in the complex South African socio- political landscape. She sees filmmaking as a way of bringing fractal realities into a universal empathetic space. She is developing a feature documentary called “House on Fire” about Shifty Records and the role of music in shifting mindsets during apartheid and collaborating on a film about Johnny Clegg otherwise known as “Le Zulu Blanc”.
