DOCUMENTARY AND COMMERCIAL FILMMAKER

THREE-TIME EMMY AWARD NOMINEE
DGA DIRECTOR

ARCTIC ASCENT WITH ALEX HONNOLD

NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC & DISNEY+

Alex Honnold embarks on an epic quest of unclimbed walls in one of the most remote corners of Greenland, a country on the frontline of the climate crisis in the new three-part series ARCTIC ASCENT WITH ALEX HONNOLD. Joining Alex on his quest are world-class climbers Hazel Findlay and Mikey Schaefer, Dr. Heïdi Sevestre, Greenlandic guide Adam Kjeldsen, and renowned adventurer Aldo Kane. All episodes premieres Feb.4 on National Geographic starting at 8/7c, streams next day on Disney+ and Hulu.

Director: JJ Kelley | Produced by Plimsoll PRODUCTIONS

TRAFFICKED WITH MARIANA VAN ZELLER

National Geographic & Hulu

TRAFFICKED with Mariana van Zeller is an original documentary series that explores the complex and dangerous inner-workings of the global underworld, black and informal markets. Each adventure follows Mariana on a mission to follow the chain of custody of trafficked goods, understand how to obtain the contraband, or see the 360-degree view of the trafficking world from the point of view of the smugglers, law enforcement and those caught in the crossfire.

Director: JJ Kelley | Produced by Muck Media

THE CONVERSATION MACHINE

Prada

For the Venice Art Biennale 2022 The Conversation Machine is the result of a long investigation process undertaken by Fondazione Prada in the field of neurosciences to understand the human brain, the complexity of its functions, and its centrality to human history. An assembly of 64 screens and over 140 hours of footage are intricately woven to generate unexpected adjacencies and dissonances among individuals.

Director: Taryn Simon | Executive Producer: JJ Kelley | Produced by RadicalMedia

countdown: inspiration4 mission to space

Netflix

four civilians will launch into space for a multi-day trip orbiting Earth, targeting approximately a 575km orbit, flying farther from Earth than any human since Hubble. Led and commanded by Jared Isaacman, the founder and CEO of Shift4 Payments, the SpaceX Dragon mission, named Inspiration4, will make history as the world’s first all-civilian mission into orbit. Directed by Emmy Award® winner Jason Hehir (The Last Dance), COUNTDOWN: INSPIRATION4 MISSION TO SPACE, the first Netflix documentary series to cover an event in near real-time, boldly captures the most ambitious step to date in the rapidly-developing age of civilian space exploration.

Series Director: Jason hehir | Segment Director: JJ Kelley | Produced by Time Studios

THE INNOVATOR AWARDS

WSJ. Magazine

WSJ. Magazine’s 10th annual Innovator Awards showcases groundbreaking talents in a first-ever virtual presentation. A series of 12 micro-documentaries highlighting honorees and presenters including: BTS, Darren Walker, Ethan Hawke, Hank Willis Thomas, James Corden, Jennifer Lopez, Maluma, MASS Design Group, Michaela Coel, Patti Smith, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Swizz Beatz, Taraji P. Henson, Titus Kaphar and Tyler Perry.

Director: JJ Kelley | Produced by RadicalMedia

NONSTOP SCOUTING

Delta Air Lines

The Seattle Sounders FC and longtime partner Delta Air Lines have teamed up on a new, three-part docuseries – “Nonstop Scouting” – that explores the intersection of travel, culture and soccer. Sounders FC and Delta, the team’s official airline, are giving fans of the team and the sport an under-the-hood look at how its diverse lineup is built through ‘Nonstop Scouting’ – which follows the travels of Chris Henderson, Sounders FC’s vice president of soccer and sporting director, in his search for the team’s next star player.

Director: JJ Kelley | Produced by JJ Kelley, LLC

THE DEEPEST CAVE

NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC & DISNEY+

Renowned caver Bill Stone is on a lifelong quest to go deeper beneath the earth than any human has ever ventured. Deep in the unexplored depths of Cheve Cave in Mexico, his goal is to set a new world record by finding a passage beyond a depth of 7,208 feet, proving once and for all his theory that Cheve is the deepest cave in the world. The expedition has been compared to climbing Everest - but in reverse. The three-month underground journey is a dangerous and highly technical adventure through over 12 miles of tight, twisting passages. The pressure to conquer the cave will push Bill and the team to the absolute limits of survival and sanity.

Director: JJ Kelley | Produced by ABC Studios

The Living Portrait of NYC

Citizens Bank

The Living Portrait of NYC is an immersive experience created by New Yorkers for New Yorkers. Produced by the Radical Studio team in partnership with Ogilvy New York for Citizens Bank, the installation is a celebration of New Yorkers from all walks of life, putting their stories center stage through data, audio, live performance, an immersive film, and an interactive communal portrait.

Director: JJ Kelley | Produced by RadicalMedia

WARLORDS OF IVORY

National Geographic

A groundbreaking mission to expose how the ivory trade funds some of Africa’s most notorious militias and terrorist groups. Working with one of the world’s top taxidermists, he conceals a sophisticated GPS tracker inside an incredibly realistic faux ivory tusk and drops it in the heart of ivory poaching country and monitors its movements to track down the kingpins of the ivory trade.

Director: JJ Kelley | produced By National Geographic Studios

News & Documentary Emmy Award for Outstanding Cinematography: Documentary

a National Geographic Magazine Cover Story

BATTLE FOR THE ELEPHANTS

National Geographic & PBS

"Battle for the Elephants" tells the ultimate animal story - how the earth's most charismatic and majestic land animal today faces market forces driving the value of its tusks to levels once reserved for gold. This groundbreaking National Geographic Special goes undercover to expose the criminal network behind ivory's supply and demand. It also demonstrates how the elephant, with its highly evolved society, keen intelligence, ability to communicate across vast distances and to love, remember and even to mourn, is far more complex than ever imagined. More revelations are sure to follow, only if the outspoken and brave crime investigators and conservationists showcased in "Battle For The Elephants" prevail.

Director: JJ Kelley | produced By National geographic studios

Best Conservation Film at Jackson Hole Wildlife Film Festival

a National Geographic Magazine Cover Story

CONTINENT 7: ANTARCTICA

Disney+

In an environment not conducive to human survival, it's easy to understand why "Continent 7" is the first-ever global long-form documentary series filmed in Antarctica. Scientists and survival experts join forces on the ice, underneath it, and atop mountainous peaks -- fighting brutal conditions along the way -- to conduct life-changing research. The six-episode series also pays tribute to the mountaineers, mariners and helicopter pilots, among others, who help keep the scientists safe at work.

Director: JJ Kelley | produced By National geographic studios

DEADLIEST CATCH

Discovery Channel

Before complaining about the market price of Alaska king crab, check out this gripping documentary series, revealing the mortal perils and intense discomfort that fishing crews face on the Bering Sea to catch the delicacy. Those perils include 40-foot waves, 700-pound crab pots that can easily crush a careless crewman, and freezing temperatures around the clock.

Director: JJ Kelley | produced By ORIGINAL productions

TOMB OF CHRIST

National Geographic

For the first time since the invention of cameras, National Geographic has exclusive access to the opening of Jesus' tomb. In this Nat Geo Explorer Special; we follow world leading experts on a quest to unlock the mysteries surrounding the Tomb of Christ. At the heart of the story, a team of leading scientists use the latest scientific techniques to restore the edicule housing the tomb. Scientific tests indicate the remnants of the tomb dates to 4th century - a discovery that could revolutionise what we know about the tomb of Christ.

Director: JJ Kelley | produced By national GEOGRAPHIC studios

Most visited NationalGeographic.com Story of THE YEAR

CONGO’S YELLOW BRICK ROAD

National Geographic

Where does the gold that makes up your precious jewelry come from? These days, it’s often central Africa. Congo has a long held reputation as the global capital for conflict minerals. Eight to twelve tons of gold, worth roughly $400 million, is smuggled out of the Congo annually. 

While much has been made of the global trade of minerals, no one has actually documented how the smuggling occurs, on camera. National Geographic Explorer shows for the first time, the supply chain that allows the minerals to be smuggled. 

Director: JJ Kelley | produced By EXPEDITION studios

THE GODFATHER OF GAZA

National Geographic

EXPLORER embeds in the underground world of the “Godfather of Gaza” to investigate his business of surviving a war. Through heavily negotiated access to a Gaza tunnel boss, our story follows a man who’s in the business of getting things for people though his—literal—underground black market amid a world of turmoil desperation and war.

Director: JJ Kelley | produced By national GEOGRAPHIC studios

National Geographic Explorer Season Premiere

DEATH, DRUGS AND DUTERTE

National Geographic

Horrors of Duterte's Drug War exposed in new National Geographic episode. Correspondent Ryan Duffy goes to The Philippines a couple of weeks before Christmas embedding with Filipino crime beat reporters on Manila’s graveyard shift.

Director: JJ Kelley | produced By national GEOGRAPHIC studios

National Geographic Explorer Season Premiere

GYRE: ART FROM A PLASTIC OCEAN

National Geographic Magazine

A flip-flop discarded in Thailand finds its way to Hawaii, and a bottle cast off from a tsunami in Japan becomes Alaska’s beach litter. In a culture dependent upon the modern convenience of plastic, throwaway products of consumption are affecting oceans and shrinking our world as we all become connected through our trash.

A unique art and science exhibition, Gyre: The Plastic Ocean, brings the problem into perspective. A team of scientists and artists investigates the buildup of marine debris along the Alaskan coast. Their goal: to create art from the trash they find and raise awareness about its impact on oceans and wildlife.

Director: JJ Kelley | produced By JJ Kelley, LLC
Blue Ocean Film Festival’s Best Short Film

LIGHT RIDERS

National Geographic Channel

EXPLORER embeds with a member of a motorcycle squad in Tanzania who works in step with a Silicon Valley startup. Their mission is to venture into the African bush carrying solar panels into areas that have never had power, giving villagers electricity for the first time in their lives. We explore how Africa’s lack of existing infrastructure has cleared the way for beaucoup profits in an energy market that could eclipse the United States, where partisan politics block progress.

Director: JJ Kelley | produced By national GEOGRAPHIC studios
Explorer Season Premiere

READY FOR WAR

National Geographic Channel

Americans are now taking the commander of the Hermit Kingdom seriously on his threats of nuclear war. Kim Jong-un’s proclamations of leveling the “cesspool of evil” are now backed with missile tests demonstrating the capability of striking anywhere in the U.S.. Explorer travels from the beaches of Hawaii to the Great Plains of the Midwest to see how Americans are preparing for a nuclear attack.

Director: JJ Kelley | produced By national GEOGRAPHIC studios

Explorer Season Premiere

DOOMSDAY PREPPERS

National Geographic Channel

`It's the end of the world as we know it (and I feel fine)', sang R.E.M.'s Michael Stipe, and it's a proclamation that must resonate with the people profiled in this programme. The series goes inside America's `prepping' subculture and introduces otherwise ordinary folks who are stockpiling food, water, weapons and whatever else they think is necessary in the event basic services should falter and society turns chaotic and violent. 

Director: JJ Kelley | produced By Sharp Entertainment