HÉLÈNE GOUPIL

I am a documentary filmmaker who uses an intimate, observational approach to uncover the beauty in everyday objects and environments. My work weaves small details into larger narratives, telling personal stories that resonate with universal themes.

• Online News Association
• J-Lab: The Institute for Interactive Journalism
• Conferences for international journalists visiting U.S. newsrooms

• Documentary Video & Photography Teacher, Bay Area Schools, San Francisco, CA, 01/01/23 - Present
• Freelance Journalist, Producer, Video Editor, 01/01/08 - Present, Directed, produced, and edited The Seed and The Mission (Still I Rise Films), Edited The Elephant (Still I Rise Films), Produced brand films for the United Nations Population Fund, Lycée Français de San Francisco, and French-American Chamber of Commerce, Shot and produced videos for The Bay Citizen, Wall Street Journal, and Mission Local
• Lecturer, Fellow, Advisor, UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism, 01/01/09 - 01/01/19
• Front Page Editor & News Desk Manager, Yahoo News, 01/01/14 - 01/01/18
• Assistant Editor, Agence France-Presse, San Francisco, CA, 01/01/06 - 01/01/08

• Grand Jury Award, Best Short Documentary, United Nations Association Film Festival, 01/01/21
• Best of the Fest Award, San Francisco Independent Short Film Festival, 01/01/21
• Second Place Excellence in Journalism, San Francisco Press Club, 01/01/02
• General Excellence in Online Journalism, Online News Association, 01/01/22

• Co-author, San Francisco: The Unknown City (Arsenal Pulp Press), Shortlisted for ForeWord Magazine Book of the Year Award
• Articles published in, Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Le Figaro, among others

• 01/01/21, Still I Rise Fellowship, San Francisco, CA
• 01/01/20, Pulitzer Center Fellowship for Crisis Reporting
• 01/01/11, UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism Fellowship
• 01/01/10, Carnegie-Knight News21 Fellowship, UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism

• 05/01/25, The Seed (Short Documentary), Screening, Atlanta, GA
• 04/01/24, Letters (silent feature film projected with a live orchestra), Roulette, Brooklyn, NY
• 03/01/23, The Mission, The Seed (Short Documentary), Lycée Français de San Francisco, San Francisco, CA
• 03/01/23, Letters (silent feature film projected with a live orchestra), Berlin, Berlin, Germany
• 03/01/23, The Mission (Short Documentary), Bernal Heights Outdoor Cinema, San Francisco, CA
• 03/01/23, The Mission (Short Documentary), San Francisco Latino Film Festival, San Francisco, CA
• 03/01/23, The Mission (Short Documentary), Los Angeles Latinx Film Festival, Los Angeles, CA
• 06/01/22, The Mission (Short Documentary), San Francisco Documentary Festival, San Francisco, CA
• 10/01/21, The Seed (Short Documentary), Screening & Grand Jury Award, Best Short Documentary, Palo Alto, CA
• 10/01/21, The Seed (Short Documentary), Best of the Fest Award, San Francisco Independent Short Film Festival, San Francisco, CA
• 01/01/21, We All Break with Ches Smith ensemble (editor, feature documentary)
• 01/01/09, Mission Local Photography Show (Group Exhibition), 526 Gallery, San Francisco, CA