01
El Sisè cicle
A Catalan family of gravediggers spanning six generations in the coastal town of El Masnou.
INDEPENDENT FILMMAKER & STORYTELLER
Ariella Jelic.
Documentary Director
Finding the extraordinary
in the everyday.
A WAY OF SEEING
I tell intimate, visual, auteur-driven nonfiction stories about everyday heroes.
Films rooted in connection. Told with curiosity, care,
and a belief that every life holds a story worth sharing.
SELECTED WORK / 2022 — 2026
Stories that stay.
02
Act Fem
In one of Europe’s most densely populated neighbourhoods, just outside Barcelona, a pioneering theatre group confronts a high school dropout rate.
Watch trailer ↗03
Matriarch
My grandmother’s migration from Serbia to Australia in 1983, and her return to Serbia after COVID.
04
Open
A portrait of Barcelona-based Russian visual artist Julia Buruleva. Made in 48 hours for Otoxo Productions’ Doc in a Weekend competition.
Watch film ↗05
Water Remembers
An immersive, sound-driven journey into the psyche and mental health of a community at ground zero in the aftermath of a catastrophic flood.
06
Čuvari
A feature documentary exploring elderly loneliness in Stara Planina, at the epicentre of Serbia’s depopulation crisis.
OBSERVE CLOSELY. LISTEN DEEPLY.BEHIND THE LENS
People first.
Always.
I'm an Australian-Serbian filmmaker working between Barcelona and Serbia. I'm drawn to the quiet human stories behind cultural, political and environmental upheaval. From generations of Catalan gravediggers to communities rebuilding after devastating floods, my work explores how ordinary lives carry extraordinary stories.
I believe the most revealing way to understand the world is through the people quietly living its changes.
Get in touch ↗Ariella Jelic
BETWEEN THE FRAMES
A moment, held.
A PLACE IN THE CONVERSATION
EVERY STORY STARTS WITH A CONVERSATION
Let’s make
something matter.
↗ariellajelic@gmail.com ↗
For collaborations, commissions,
and stories waiting to be told.