Fellows – Isabella O’Brien - Pseads

Isabella O’Brien is a freshman at UC Berkeley, an emerging filmmaker, artist, and advocate whose work blends creativity with purpose. A longtime member of the Pseads community, Isabella was involved before there was a formal fellowship – helping to inspire the idea itself. In 9th grade, she collaborated with Pseads as an intern, contributing to curriculum design and supporting new film projects centered on creativity, environmental engagement, and youth voice. She participated in Pseads’ poetry, writing, and filmmaking programs in elementary and middle school, stayed connected even after moving away in 10th grade, and later returned as a member of the inaugural 2025 Lambert Light Fellowship cohort.

Isabella’s passion for filmmaking – especially environmental storytelling – runs deep. In 2021, her short film Nature earned distinction in the Redford Center Stories Challenge. She then received a Planet 911 Youth Film Fellowship, during which she created We the Trees, a film inviting audiences to consider what humans can learn from the natural world. As a student at Redwood High School, she also participated in programs and film events hosted through the California Film Institute, and traveled twice to Ecuador as a student documentarian – filming students’ learning and work on a bamboo farm and helping design and paint a community mural. In addition to filmmaking, Isabella loves screen printing, drawing, painting, and photography. Her visual artwork has earned national recognition: Absent Smiles received a national Silver Medal in the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards, and Out the Sliding Door received a 2022 Gold Key – the same honor once awarded to Amanda Gorman and Andy Warhol. 

Fellowship Project Description

Isabella’s fellowship centers on filmmaking. She used the first half of her fellowship stipend to travel to Guatemala, where she supported her friend Ginger Howard’s nonprofit project, Chains4Change, which provides bicycles to students so they can attend school. Ginger founded Chains4Change after learning that many students in the rural town of San Andres Itzapa work full days – often in the fields – before walking an hour to attend night school. By supplying bikes, helmets, locks, and lights, Chains4Change reduces commute time and increases school attendance, expanding access to education.   

Isabella joined the project as a filmmaker, documenting the daily lives of students and teachers, the community’s knowledge and partnerships, and the process of building and distributing the bikes. Her goal was to create a short film that celebrate the community and uplifts both the power of education and the tangibility of meaningful change.