Aileen Silverstone began researching at an early age, investigating animal welfare cases for her mother’s humane society under the dubious self-ascribed alias, “Ellen McKelly.”  It sparked a lifelong interest in digging for information that eventually led to a career in documentary film.

Born and raised in rural Ohio, Aileen went on to study fiction writing with the novelist Richard Price as an undergraduate, and received a Master of Arts in Creative Writing from Boston University. She spent eight years at WGBH Public Television in Boston working on a variety of programs, including Eisenhower (Peabody Award) for The American Experience series and Driving Passion, a 4-hour film on the social history of the automobile. After moving to Los Angeles, she worked as a researcher on projects for President Bill Clinton, Steven Spielberg, composer John Williams, National Public Radio, MTV, Vh1, War Letters and The Cutting Edge, the first documentary to cover the history of cinema editing.

Aileen worked as an associate producer and photo researcher on The National Parks: America’s Best Idea, helping to amass a database of more than 12,000 images. She has re-upped at Florentine Films to work on the upcoming Dust Bowl film.  

She finds Walpole, NH to be a serenely beautiful part of the world, where the best hot chocolate on the planet can be had, right around the corner.