Jess Kelly is a BAFTA nominated journalist and filmmaker with over a decade of experience making compelling, impact-driven documentaries for broadcasters including Channel 4, the BBC and PBS.
Her 2025 BBC documentary Syria’s Stolen Children revealed the forced disappearance of hundreds of children of political detainees in Syria by the Assad regime. The film was shortlisted for Best Broadcast Investigation at the 2026 Amnesty Media Awards and won the Sigma award for data journalism.
Under Poisoned Skies, her 2022 BBC documentary investigated the devastating human and environmental impact of gas flaring in Iraq, tracing how pollution linked to the oil industry has left communities facing soaring cancer rates and toxic air. The film won multiple awards including the Royal Television Society Award for Current Affairs – International, the AIB award, the DIG award and an FPA award. It was also nominated for Best Current Affairs Programme at the 2024 Broadcast Awards. Jess also wont the Rory Peck Sony Impact award with this film.
In 2021, Jess earned a BAFTA nomination for her films The Schools That Chain Boys and Silicon Valley’s Online Slave Market. The former uncovers systemic child abuse by inside Islamic schools in Sudan. The film won major awards including the Royal Television Society Award, an Amnesty Award, and the ARIJ Gold Award. It also received a special commendation at the Grierson Awards along with a Peabody nomination.
Her 2019 BBC investigation, Silicon Valley’s Online Slave Market, exposed the illegal online trafficking of domestic workers and followed the story of a 16-year-old girl being sold into slavery in Kuwait. Viewed over 5 million times and screened at the United Nations and in the British Parliament, the film helped bring global attention to the modern-day slavery still faced by many.
Jess has also made several documentaries for BBC Three, including Inside the Real Saudi Arabia: Why I Had to Leave (2019), continuing her mission to confront injustice and give a voice to those who are too often silenced.