Celeste is a Walkley Award winning filmmaker who sets out to find raw moments of courage and beauty in unexpected places. Whether crafting intimate character based portraits or conceptually driven films, Celeste couples her deep curiosity for the human condition with a strong narrative sensibility.
Celeste’s films celebrate the power of human connection and resilience under pressure while highlighting the wonders of our natural world. Her current feature documentary The Endangered Generation? takes its audience on a hopeful journey to reconnect with our environment and each other. Narrated by Laura Dern, the film follows intrepid scientists, activists, artists and First Nations leaders from around the world as they rise to the global challenges of our time. It's a moving, and surprisingly joyous, exploration of who we are and how we relate to the natural world that defines us.
In Then The Wind Changed (ABC TV 2013) Celeste interwove her own family’s recovery in the aftermath of the devastating Black Saturday Bushfires with the experiences of other members of a close knit community to render a story of heartbreak and survival. The film won the 2012 Walkley Award for Best Documentary, the 2013 AACTA Award for Best Documentary Under One Hour and was nominated for a Logie in 2012 for Most Outstanding Factual Program. Earlier films include "Mick’s Gift" (ABC TV 2002) and "Veiled Ambition" (SBS 2006) (MIFF 2006 Winner Human Rights Award ).
She has also worked as a director on many TV documentaries for broadcast TV on ABC TV and SBS including Me and My Tourettes (SBS 2022), Filthy Rich & Homeless (SBS 2017) Keeping Australia Alive (ABC TV 2016) and Catalyst Science of Sleep (ABC TV 2018).
Celeste also works in the commercial field, directing high end commercials designed to activate social change. While the advertising work sharpens her storytelling skills, Celeste’s documentary practice brings authenticity and insight to her commercial work directing major brand campaigns for Linkedin, Monash IVF, Ronald McDonald House Charities, ANZ, Medibank, AFLW, Women’s Cricket and Comm Bank. Stand out campaigns include the Victorian reimagining of the iconic “This Girl Can" Campaign for Vic Health and ANZ’s “Pocket Money” won which won gold and bronze Lions at Cannes and to date has reached 1 billion people.