A woman with shoulder-length red hair smiling outdoors in a forest, wearing a green sweater and a silver necklace.

Emmy-nominated documentary film producer and director

I am passionate about telling innovative and engaging stories about the natural world, as well as mentoring emerging filmmakers.

About

Back to top

Chelsea Turner is an Emmy-nominated director and producer based in Vancouver, British Columbia. She is the lead producer at River Road Films, a multi-award-winning company specializing in premium natural history that has produced dozens of acclaimed documentaries and landmark series over the past 40 years for the BBC, CBC, PBS, Netflix and many more.

Filmmakers filming a herd of cattle at sunset on open grassland.

Chelsea has a long relationship collaborating with CBC Television’s “The Nature of Things” spanning more than thirteen years and twenty-one films, including four landmark series - “Wild Canada”, “Wild Canadian Year” (winner of Best Science / Nature Series at the Canadian Screen Awards), “Wild Canadian Weather”, “Shared Planet” and the upcoming “Wild Canadian Waters”.

Filming Lion Ambassadors in Kenya.

Filmmaking crew filming inside an ice cave, with ice stalagmites on the right and rocky walls, using a camera mounted on a rig and crew members dressed warmly.

Chelsea is committed to uplifting other storytellers, supporting new voices in the industry through meaningful, long-term mentorship and capacity building initiatives. Chelsea has produced two films for CBC operating in a mentorship role for emerging directors, and has led a master class for early career filmmakers at CBC’s The Nature of Things Science & Nature Filmmaking Workshop.

Setting up the time lapse of ice stalagmites in central BC.

Two women outdoors in a natural, mountainous setting with trees and rocky hills, smiling and looking at a drone controller. One woman holds a drone controller with a green indicator screen, and a large camera mounted on a drone is visible in the foreground.

Her work as a director on Netflix’s hit wildlife series “Island of the Sea Wolves” was honoured with a Daytime Emmy nomination in 2023 for Outstanding Directing for a Non-Fiction Program. Filmed on Vancouver Island, the series follows charismatic animal characters—including sea wolves, marmots, and sea otters—through the changing seasons. Chelsea’s direction helped shape the series’ immersive style and narrative depth, earning praise for its innovative use of remote cameras and intimate wildlife storytelling.

Reviewing shots with key contributor in South Africa.

Group of people in formal attire posing on a red carpet at an Emmy awards event, with a backdrop displaying the number 50 and logos.

Chelsea has also worked in the world of giant-screen cinema, as the assistant producer of IMAX feature film “Great Bear Rainforest,” narrated by Ryan Reynolds and scored by Hans Zimmer. The film won Best Youth Film at Jackson Wild and Best Cinematography at the Giant Screen Cinema Association Awards in 2019, and received a worldwide theatrical release.

At the Daytime Emmys for Island of the Sea Wolves.

Two people standing outdoors near a flowing stream, with a professional camera on a tripod between them, surrounded by trees.

She is also an experienced outdoorsperson. As a director, she has spent over 450 days on location, covering wildlife subjects from pocket mice to elephants. She has worked in a wide variety of landscapes from filming sparring polar bears above the Arctic Circle to lions hunting in the moonlight in the Maasai Mara to millions of bats emerging from underground caves on the border of Mexico and Guatemala. Chelsea has also directed stories about people from all walks of life - from athletes to farmers to world-famous conservationists.

Filming in BC’s Great Bear Rainforest

Film crew setting up to film a free diver going under the ice on a beautiful lake under sunny skies.

Filming a free diver going under the ice in the Rocky Mountains.

Chelsea’s work is grounded in a deep respect for the natural world and the communities that protect it. Through her films, Chelsea invites audiences to reimagine their relationship with nature—not as distant observers, but as active participants in a shared ecosystem.