Denver Metropolitan Area
Chelsea Jackson is a documentary film director & editor who has edited two national Emmy Award-winning films and specializes in cinema vérité style story development. Her recent work includes directing and editing two Heartland Emmy-nominated episodes of PBS12’s Decode Colorado series - one on teen mental health and another on the social determinants of health. Editing work includes: THE HOLLY (May, 2022), winner of a 2025 News and Doc Emmy, winner of a 2024 Heartland Emmy, winner of the 2023 Investigative Reporters and Editors (IRE) award for best documentary, winner of Mountainfilm’s audience choice award for best feature, winner of the Jury Award for best feature documentary at Santa Fe International Film Festival; WELCOME STRANGERS (2020), winner of eight festival awards and one honorable mention; THE LOVE BUGS (2019), Emmy Award winner for Outstanding Short Documentary as well as five audience choice awards for best short documentary; MY MOTHER MY FRIEND: LINDSAY'S LIFE SAVING GIFT (2018), a 2019 Heartland Emmy Nominee for Outstanding Human Interest Special; and FELIX (2018), a multiple audience choice award-winner for best short documentary including at Woods Hole Film Festival and Mountainfilm in Aspen. Chelsea graduated from the College for Creative Studies in Detroit, Michigan with a BFA in Entertainment Arts. She is currently directing and editing a short film about an elementary school musical as well as producing a feature length film.
Jackson House Films is a documentary production company focused on social impact storytelling with a specialization in public media and nonprofit partnerships. Chelsea's recent work includes directing and editing a forthcoming PBS12 film, "Decode Colorado: Teen Mental Health", which has been nominated for a 2025 Heartland Emmy. Other recent work includes directing and editing the 2024 Heartland Emmy-nominated "Decode Colorado: The Social Determinants of Health" (PBS12, 2024), directing and editing "Bridging the Digital Divide" (PBS12, 2023), and directing and editing "The Unify Challenge", produced in collaboration with Unify America and Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser’s Ginsburg/Scalia Initiative, released in 2022. Driven by a commitment to telling stories that uplift our community and support organizations advancing equity, education, housing access, and cross-cultural understanding, Jackson House also produces work for local nonprofits such as the I Have a Dream Foundation, Intercambio, Motus Theater, and Boulder Housing Partners. www.jacksonhousefilms.com
Teaching Ethnography in Media and Documentary as Social Practice to senior level students in the College of Media Communication and Information.
WINNER: 2025 News and Doc Emmy for Best Regional Documentary WINNER: 2024 Heartland Emmy for Best Documentary WINNER: 2024 UFVA Award for Outstanding Merit Documentary WINNER: 2023 IRE Award for Best Documentary WINNER: Audience Choice Award for Best Feature Documentary - Mountainfilm WINNER: Jury Award for Best Documentary - Santa Fe International Film Festival WINNER: Audience Award for Documentary Feature - Denver Film Festival Renowned journalist Julian Rubinstein returns home to the Mile High City in order to investigate a story of structural racism from the perspective of an anti-gang activist, Terrance Roberts. The story centers on a controversial shooting that took place at a peace rally that Roberts himself organized. Over the course of seven years, Rubinstein patiently unpacks the intricate layers of Roberts himself, the community, media misinformation and the contentious history of criminal injustices that fed gang violence in Denver. As Roberts stands trial for life in prison, the Holly shooting cracks open a window into the complex relationships that exist amongst gentrification and violence, communities of color, high-rolling developers and Denver’s city hall.
From Sender Films: An elite boulderer’s struggle with a project propels her on a decade-long journey of self-discovery. Co-Edited with Peter Mortimer.
WINNER: Best Short Documentary, Boulder International Film Festival WINNER: The Tom and Ginny Knoll Family Award, Cleveland International Film Festival WINNER: Local Jury Award, Palm Springs ShortFest WINNER: Best Short Film, Frozen River Film Festival WINNER: Women in Film Award, Telluride Mountainfilm WINNER: People's Choice Award - Compassionate Service, Compassion Film Festival WINNER: Special Mention - Emerging Documentary, March on Washington Film Festival WINNER: Best Short Documentary, Durango Film Honorable Mention: Pittsburgh Shorts Festival Every night at 6pm, just outside of Denver, Colorado, detained immigrants are legally released from an ICE facility onto unfriendly, industrial streets. Most of the men and women are asylum-seekers. They have little idea where they are and have nothing more than the clothes on their backs. Welcome Strangers is a short documentary that tells the story of Sarah Jackson, a young woman who searches the streets for these immigrants and invites them into her home. She is assisted by Oliver, the lead host, and over a thousand volunteers as they provide hospitality and help reunite the guests with their families.