Chelsea McMullan is a Canadian documentary and fiction filmmaker, writer, and producer. Their films have screened at Sundance, TIFF, and the BFI London Film Festival, among other international festivals.
McMullan is best known for their 2013 film My Prairie Home, a film about transgender musician Rae Spoon."Interview with My Prairie Home Director Chelsea McMullan". Filmmaker, January 19, 2014.
McMullan is non-binary, and uses they/them pronouns.Johanna Schneller, "How Chelsea McMullan produced two of this year’s most startling documentaries". The Globe and Mail, September 30, 2022.
Early life McMullan was born in 1984, grew up in Langley, British Columbia, and began creating short movies at the age of seven. McMullan, an avid basketball player, received a basketball scholarship to play at Brookswood Secondary School and was scouted to play at the university level in Canada, but eventually decided to pursue an interest in film.
Career Chelsea McMullan studied film in the Department of Film (now Cinema and Media Arts) at York University in Toronto; graduating with a BFA (Specialized Honours) in 2006, and receiving their MFA in 2010.
McMullan's early film credits include the documentary films Derailments (Deragliamenti) and The Way Must Be Tried, and the short films Plume and Bath Time.
Derailments (Deragliamenti) McMullan created the short film Derailments (Deragliamenti) during their residency at Fabrica, which took place in Italy at the Benetton artistic institute. The film depicts the cartoonist Milo Manara's experience re-imagining the lost Federico Fellini film Il Viaggio di Mastorna detto Fernet through his drawings. McMullan through their Fabrica connections was able to sit down with the 66-year-old Milo Manara for an interview. With the help from a translator McMullan was able to create the 11-minute short film, which was then featured in Vogue Italia. The film was nominated for the 2012 Genie Award for best short documentary.
My Prairie Home The documentary-musical follows the transgender musician Rae Spoon, whom McMullans first met when they wanted to secure rights to one of Spoon's songs as background music for Deadman. The film was produced by the NFB, along with the Governor General's Performing Arts Awards Foundation.
The film competed as the only Canadian feature in the World Cinema Documentary program at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival"Chelsea McMullan doc to compete at Sundance". Playback, December 4, 2013. It won the grand jury award for best documentary at the Milan International Lesbian and Gay Film Festival, earned a special mention at the Krakow Film Festival and was nominated for the Canadian Screen Award for Best Feature Length Documentary at the 2nd Canadian Screen Awards."Canadian Screen Awards: Orphan Black, Less Than Kind, Enemy nominated". CBC News, January 13, 2014.
McMullan has worked on several projects with the National Film Board of Canada."Chelsea McMullan doc to compete at Sundance". Playback, December 4, 2013. In addition to My Prairie Home, their prior films Mise en Scène and Deadman were also made in collaboration with the NFB.
Michael Shannon Michael Shannon John & World Famous Gopher Hole Museum In 2015 McMullan released the documentary Mystery film, Michael Shannon Michael Shannon John
McMullan's 2015 film World Famous Gopher Hole Museum was nominated for the Canadian Screen Award for Best Short Documentary at the 4th Canadian Screen Awards."2016 Canadian Screen Awards Nominees Announced". ET Canada, January 19, 2016.
Ever Deadly In 2022, McMullan and Inuk throat singer-songwriter-avant-garde performer Tanya Tagaq collaborated on the film Ever Deadly."Tanya Tagaq film to debut at Toronto festival". Nunatsiaq News, August 15, 2022. Filmed in Nunavut the film showcases Tanya Tagaq life, both her on-stage performances and her personal life with Tagaq highlighting Inuit and Canadian history. Tagaq highlights the human rights crisis of the missing and murdered indigenous women, discussing the death of an Inuk girl named Loretta Saunders.
Crystal Pite: Angels' Atlas The film Crystal Pite: Angels' Atlas profiling a dance work by ballet choreographer Crystal Pite, was also released in 2022. The film won the VIFF audience showcase award that year.
Swan Song In 2023, McMullan released Swan Song, a documentary film profiling Karen Kain as she prepares to retire from her career in dance.Manori Ravindran, "Neve Campbell Boards TIFF-Bound Ballet Documentary ‘Swan Song’ as Executive Producer". Variety, July 25, 2023. That same year Swan Song, won the Rogers Best Canadian Film Award for Best Canadian Documentary. Along with the award McMullan received a cash prize of $50,000. The awards were held at The OMNI King Edward Hotel in Toronto. McMullan attended the gala with the film's producer Sean O'Neill.
Their latest work is a short film titled Healer which premiered at the 2025 Toronto International Film Festival.
McMullan's forthcoming project is a narrative feature film, Swan Killer."Interview with My Prairie Home Director Chelsea McMullan". Filmmaker, January 19, 2014.
Filmography +FilmsYearTitle2004Bath Time2006Plume2009Deadman2011The Way Must Be Tried2011Derailments2012Mise En scène2013My Prairie Home2015World Famous Gopher Hole Museum2015Notes On The Gaze2015Michael Shannon Michael Shannon John2015Getting There: Isabel Marant2016What Is #Perfection?2022Ever Deadly2022Crystal Pite:Angels' Atlas2023Swan Song2025Healer +TV seriesYearTitleEpisode(s)2019B.A. Johnston's Ham Jam"Subs Part 1" "Subs Part 2" "Steel" "Arcades" "Waterfalls" "Slater"2018-2019In the Making"Crystal Pite" "Shelley Niro" "Curtis Talwst Santiago"2021This Is Pop"The Boyz II Men Effect" "The Brill Building in 4 songs"2023Swan Song"Queen Behaviour" "Captured Women" "Razor's Edge" "Opening Night"
References
External links
Mise en Scène at NFB.ca