Marcelle Abela

Director. Writer. Composer. Raised in Malta, but became naturalized American citizen 18 years ago. Her first passion was music, joining the Manoel Theatre Orchestra as a violinist at the age of 12. At 16, Marcelle Abela became the youngest Fellow of the Trinity College of Music (London), later emigrating to the United States to study in Massachusetts and New York City. As a filmmaker, Abela's science shorts have won multiple awards at high profile festivals and been accepted into the European Space Agency's official archives. Her feature documentaries have also won many international awards, her latest documentary America's Woman (2024) receiving its theatrical premiere at Hollywood's TCL Chinese Theatres. Abela has founded her own production company. Her filmmaking style reflects clear influences from documentarians like Ken Burns, the narrative depth of Werner Herzog, and the spiritual and philosophical cinema of Andrei Tarkovsky.