About
Panda Bear Films is a Texas production company headed by Chelsea Hernandez that specializes in non-fiction content.
Director, Producer, Editor
Chelsea Hernandez is a National Emmy®-Nominated Director. She has worked in television since the ripe age of nine, hosting and co-producing a children's educational TV program with her mother. A native of Texas and raised in Austin, Chelsea sought out the media industry by studying film in New York City at Adelphi University and Brooklyn College. She gained internships at Steeplechase Films, home of PBS documentary filmmaker Ric Burns, and Jon Alpert's Downtown Community Television.
Chelsea found her way back to Austin after her mother experienced a traumatic illness, Guillain-Barré Syndrome. Chelsea helped her mother heal while finishing her college education at the University of Texas. She studied Radio-Television-Film and received a Bachelor’s of Science in 2010. Chelsea is the first in her Mexican-American family to receive a college degree.
Named as DOC NYC’s 2021 40 Under 40 Class, Chelsea has worked for ten years in the documentary television and film industry on such projects like PBS national broadcast special, FIXING THE FUTURE, hosted by David Brancaccio of NPR’s Marketplace and directed by Ellen Spiro (BODY OF WAR), UNITED TACOS OF AMERICA an 8 episode series for El Rey Network and most recently on THAT ANIMAL RESCUE SHOW a 10 episode series for CBS All Access executive produced by Richard Linklater.
Beyond television work, Chelsea has directed and produced various documentary films including the 2018 SXSW Texas Short Jury Winner AN UNCERTAIN FUTURE, a commissioned project with Field of Vision and Firelight Media. Chelsea completed her first feature documentary, Building the American Dream which premiered at SXSW 2019 and was financially supported by the Ford Foundation | JustFilms, Latino Public Broadcasting, Tribeca Film Institute, Firelight Media, Marcy Garriott, City of Austin Cultural Arts Division, Bay Area Video Coalition, Seed & Spark, and Austin Film Society. The film had its national television broadcast premiere on PBS in September 2020, was nominated for a National Emmy® Award and was a 2021 Silver Telly Award Winner for Social Impact.
In 2019 Chelsea was selected as 1 of 3 Line Hotel / Big medium Artist in Residence and lived and worked at the Line Hotel on a student debt art exhibition and podcast. She is a Warner150 Grant Recipient and proud member of Brown Girls Doc Mafia.
Full Filmography
(starting with most current)
Breaking the News - Prod. Diane Quon, Dir. & Prod. Chelsea Hernandez, Heather Courtney, Princess Hairston
Seeking to buck the white male status quo, a group of women and LGBTQ+ journalists launch a news startup asking who’s been omitted from mainstream coverage, and how to include them.
Emily Ramshaw and Amanda Zamora wanted to do something radical about the white men dominating newsrooms. “70% of policy and politics editors are men, almost all of them are white,” says Emily. “These are the people deciding which stories are told, who is telling them, and whether they will be on the front page or the back page, if they get there at all.”
So, Emily and Amanda along with Editor-at-Large Errin Haines and a scrappy group of fearless women and LGBTQ+ journalists band together to buck the status quo and launch The 19th*, a digital news start-up. Named after the 19th Amendment which gave women the right to vote, but with an asterisk to acknowledge the Black women and women of color who were omitted, the 19th’s work is guided everyday by the asterisk - asking who is being omitted from the story, and how can they be included.
Errin Haines covers politics and race, including breaking the first national story on the killing of Breonna Taylor. Emerging Latina reporter Chabeli Carrazana is based in Florida and reports on gender and the economy. LA-based Kate Sosin, a nonbinary reporter, covers LGBTQ+ stories, including the large numbers of anti-trans bills becoming law in states around the country. The film documents the honest discussions at The 19th* around race and gender equity, revealing that change doesn’t come easy, and showcasing how one newsroom confronts these challenges both as a workplace and in their journalism. But this film is about more than a newsroom. It’s about America in flux, and the voices that are often left out of the American story.
Co-Director, Producer
That Animal Rescue Show - Exec Prod. Richard Linklater and Bill Guttentag
This documentary series explores the animal rescue community in and around Austin, Texas, providing a window into the captivating world through moving, humorous and powerful stories of animals and the humans who love them. The episodes transport audiences to a ranch where humans heal alongside goats, a pioneering no-kill shelter that has saved the lives of 80,000 dogs and cats, an arena where children disabilities learn to walk with the help of horses and a program in which female prisoners find second chances alongside rescue puppies. The series captures the inspiring, life-changing bond that occurs between people who have dedicated their lives to rescue and the animals who rescue them right back. (Network: CBS All Access)
Producer
United Tacos of America - Exec Prod. Robert Rodriguez, Mando Rayo, Jarod Neece, Dennis Burnett
Join Taco Journalists, Mando Rayo and Jarod Neece on an epic taco journey in United Tacos of America. Uncover and explore taco life and culture through Birria in L.A., Carnitas in Chicago, Brisket in Austin, Nixtamal tortillas in NYC y más! (Network: El Rey Network)
Post-Production Supervisor
Building the American Dream - Dir. & Prod. Chelsea Hernandez
In Texas, construction workers face the deadliest conditions in the country. Building the American Dream follows three immigrant families who are rising up to seek justice and equality in an industry rife with exploitation. (Network: Latino Public Broadcasting, PBS Broadcast Premiere in 2020)
World Premiere SXSW 2019
Awards: 2021 National Emmy Nominee for Best Business and Economic Documentary, Silver Telly Award Winner for Social Impact, Thin Line Film Festival Emerging Director, El Paso Film Festival Grand Jury Award Winner and Best Documentary, CineFestival Premio Mesquite Award for Best Documentary
Director, Producer, Cinematographer, Co-Editor
An Uncertain Future - Dir. & Prod. Chelsea Hernandez & Iliana Sosa
In Austin, Texas, two expectant mothers—one undocumented and one US citizen—must contend with increased ICE raids and mounting hostility towards immigrants under President Trump. (Distributor: Field of Vision) - - - An Uncertain Future is part of Our 100 Days is a partnership between Firelight Media and Field of Vision that aims to tell stories from the perspective of vulnerable communities and explore threats to U.S. democracy in this current, polarized political climate. New episodes, each from filmmakers of color, will be released weekly.
Awards: SXSW 2018 Texas Short Jury Winner, AspenShorts Youth Jury Winner, Dallas International Film Festival Special Jury Mention, CineFestival Premio Mesquite Winner for Best Short Documentary
Director, Producer, Cinematographer
Arts In Context - Dir. Mario Troncoso
Arts In Context is a monthly arts documentary series exploring the process of creation through collaboration and the condition of living and working as an artist. (Distributor: NETA)
Director & Editor
In Face (EMMY WINNER)
Producer & Editor
Sacred Hearts
HOME
Considering Matthew Shepard
Passing it Forward
The House of Songs
Shakespeare on the Farm
A'lante
Sing Me a Lullaby
A Light In The Dark
Classical Undead
Here and Beyond
In Their Words (EMMY WINNER)
Music for All (EMMY NOMINATED)
People’s Choice (EMMY NOMINATED)
Rebirth
Rude Mechs
The Influencers
A Reason to Dance (1-hr program)
Performing Possibilities (1-hr program)
Songwriting With Soldiers: In Their Words (1-hr program)
Associate Producer & Editor
A Moving Canvas
Let Me Tell You About The Octopus Project
The Best Little Art House in Texas (EMMY WINNER)
There Will Be Fun (EMMY WINNER)
Thirst (EMMY WINNER)
Tiny Puppets
PowerUP
Masters of Ceremony
Editor
Tardeadas
Associate Producer
Somos Krudas (EMMY NOMINATED)
Beautiful Creatures
El Taller (1-hr program, EMMY WINNER)
Perception Unfolds
The Art of Playing
Not Alone
Arts In Context SHORTS - Dir. Chelsea Hernandez & Eve Tarlo
Arts In Context SHORTS is a bi-monthly docu-web series showcasing local artists and their process of creation. (Distributor: Austin PBS)
Director, Producer, Editor
6 Pianos (EMMY NOMINATED)
Never a Dull Moment
A Strange Pilgrimage
The Thing We Are Not
Activism Like A Punk
Producer, Cinematographer
Silence to Power
See The Dirt - Dir. Chelsea Hernandez, Erik Mauck
Short documentary (15min) - Scott MacMillan is a typical 14-year-old, in many ways. But it’s his vast collection of vacuum cleaners that sets him apart from the other kids. (Distributor: Xfinity)
Director, Producer, Editor
Before Midnight - Dir. Richard Linklater
Feature Narrative (109min) - We meet Jesse and Celine nine years on in Greece. Almost two decades have passed since their first meeting on that train bound for Vienna. (Distributor: Sony Picture Classics)
Editorial Intern
Ancient Roads from Christ to Constantine - Dir. Hector Galan
TV series (six 1-hr episodes) - A six-hour television series that takes the viewers on a journey to the historical places where Christianity was born and grew into the official religion of the Roman Empire. Hosted by author and distinguished history professor Jonathan Phillips of Royal Holloway, University of London. (Distributors: PBS International, APT)
Post Supervisor, Associate Producer, Assistant Editor
Canine Soldiers - Dir. Nancy Schiesari
Documentary feature, Work In Progress Cut (20min) - Canine Soldiers, shot entirely in 3-D, with permission from the US Army, reveals the intimate bond between trainers and the dogs they send to war.
Editor, Field Sound Recordist, Editing Consultant
The Road to Livingston - Dir. Erik Mauck
Feature documentary (1hr 26min) - Delia Perez Meyer is introduced to the community surrounding the prison system in Texas after her brother is convicted of a triple murder. (Distributors: FILMRISE)
Co-Producer, Camera Operator
Fixing the Future - Dir. Ellen Spiro, Exec. Dir. John Siceloff
TV special (56min) - In Fixing the Future, host David Brancaccio, of public radio’s Marketplace and NOW on PBS, visits people and organizations across America that are attempting a revolution: the reinvention of the American economy. (Distributor: PBS)
Associate Producer, Assistant Editor, Camera Operator
The American Experience: Eugene O’Neill - Dir. Ric Burns
TV series (56min episode) - The life and career of American playwright Eugene O’Neill (Distributor: PBS)
Research Intern