John Chester

Directing

John Chester

Born

1971-08-03 (55)

Place of birth

Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.

Known for

Directing

Credits

8 titles

John Chester is an Emmy award-winning filmmaker and television director. His recent short films for OWN's Super Soul Sunday (including Saving Emma, Worry for Maggie, and The Orphan) have won five Emmy Awards, for outstanding directing, writing, and cinematography, among others. Chester's first primetime television docu-series aired on A&E, Random 1, which he directed and starred in 2006. The series inspired his feature documentary Lost in Woonsocket which premiered at SXSW in 2007. Chester also directed the documentary Rock Prophecies, about the rock photographer Robert Knight, which won three audience awards for best documentary feature and was distributed nationally on PBS in 2010. His pr…

Known for

The Biggest Little Farm: The Return poster
7.3

This special follows the farmers' 10-year tireless journey as they transform the land into a magical working farm and document the whole process in this heartwarming special that is akin to a real-life "Charlotte’s Web."

The Biggest Little Farm: The Return

2022

The Biggest Little Farm poster
7.6

The successes and failures of a couple determined to live in harmony with nature on a farm outside of Los Angeles are lovingly chronicled by filmmaking farmer John Chester, in this inspiring documentary.

The Biggest Little Farm

2019

No artwork available
4.2

A documentary about rock 'n' roll photographer Robert M. Knight and his mission to find the world's best new guitar player.

Rock Prophecies

2009

No artwork available
NR

Random 1 is a documentary-style reality television series that aired from November 2005 to January 2006 on the A&E cable network. In each episode, hosts John Chester and Andre Miller travel from town to town, in Miller's real-life, rickety pickup truck Jackie, searching for total strangers who are looking to have their lives changed. However, unlike other such "do-gooder" shows, Chester and Miller employ an all-shapes-and-sizes approach, with assignments ranging from a new cell phone to a week in rehab to a new prosthetic leg. The show ran for one season, and premiered to favorable reviews. The crew abides by a set of rules: the person being helped must be a stranger, the mission must be completed in one day, and no money may be spent. In order to free up John and Andre to get to know the subject of a given episode, they are aided by three producers in an internet-ready mobile RV. Capella Fahoome, Jim Lefter, and Molly Schrek, once a subject has been decided on, go to their laptops and cell phones, searching for local businesses or individuals willing to help. Typically, the "street team" and the "RV team" do not interact except over the phone, although this policy, too, has had its exceptions.

Random 1

2005

Film credits

Series credits

Behind the camera