View source for Ann Shin

{{short description|Canadian filmmaker}}
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{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2019}}
{{Infobox person
| name          = Ann Shin
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| birth_date    = <!-- {{Birth date and age|df=y|YYYY|MM|DD}} -->
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| nationality   = Canadian
| alma_mater    = [[University of Toronto]]
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| occupation    = Filmmaker, writer
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| notable_works = ''[[My Enemy, My Brother]]''
}}
'''Ann Shin''' is a filmmaker and writer based in [[Toronto]], Ontario, [[Canada]].<ref>Leah McLaren. [https://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/summer-entertainment/how-does-a-poet-attain-smashing-success-just-ask-ann-shin/article12411436/ "How does a poet attain smashing success? Just ask Ann Shin".] ''[[The Globe and Mail]]'', 7 June 2013.</ref>
==Early life==
Shin was born in [[London, Ontario]] to parents Sue Shin (née Kim) and Albert Shin. Her mother was born in [[South Korea]], moved to Canada, and worked as a registered nurse. Her father was an agriculturalist specializing in Animal Husbandry in Denmark and at the [[University of Guelph]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Ann Shin |url=http://www.vmacch.ca/beta/collections/ann_shin.html |website=VMACCH |date=4 December 2014 |publisher=Inkwell Media |accessdate=25 June 2020}}</ref> Her parents met and got married in Toronto, but soon moved to [[Langley, British Columbia (city)|Langley, British Columbia]]<ref>Grace O'Connell. [http://www.openbooktoronto.com/news/poets_profile_ann_shin "Poets in Profile: Ann Shin".] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140714191401/http://www.openbooktoronto.com/news/poets_profile_ann_shin |date=14 July 2014 }} ''Open Book: Toronto'', 1 May 2013.</ref> to start a mushroom farm. Shin spent most of her childhood years on the family farm. In 2019, Shin lost her father to dementia.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Hot Docs 2021 Women Directors: Meet Ann Shin – "A.rtificial I.mmortality" |url=https://womenandhollywood.com/hot-docs-2021-women-directors-meet-ann-shin-a-rtificial-i-mmortality/ |access-date=2022-11-11 |website=womenandhollywood.com |language=en-US}}</ref>
Shin moved to Toronto, and completing a Bachelor of Arts, Honors, and Master of Arts in English Literature at [[University of Toronto]]. During her university years, she wrote three articles for the University of Toronto Student Newspaper, ''The Varsity''.<ref>{{cite web |title=In defiance of neutrality |url=https://thevarsity.ca/2005/12/30/in-defiance-of-neutrality/ |website=The Varsity |date=30 December 2005 |publisher=University of Toronto - Varsity Publications |accessdate=25 June 2020}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Ann Shin |url=https://thevarsity.ca/author/ann-shin/ |access-date=2024-04-01 |website=The Varsity |language=en-US}}</ref> She also hosted the program ''Rights Radio'' on CIUT radio station. Upon graduation, she started working at CBC as a radio producer.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/toronto-film-ann-shin-oscars-nomination-my-enemy-my-brother-1.3289592 |title=Toronto filmmakers on Oscars shortlist for short documentary |author=<!--Not stated--> |date=26 October 2015 |website=cbc.ca |publisher=CBC |access-date=21 May 2024 |quote=}}</ref>
==Journalism career==
Shin's journalism career began at [[CBC Radio]]<ref>{{cite web |title=Canadian Poetry Online |url=https://canpoetry.library.utoronto.ca/kemp/radio.htm |website=University of Toronto Libraries |publisher=University of Toronto and University of Toronto Libraries |accessdate=25 June 2020}}</ref> where she produced a number of shows including ''Metro Morning'', ''Tapestry'', ''Roots and Wings,'' ''Sunday Morning Live.'' During this time she produced sound poetry and radio documentaries, including ''How to Breathe the Air of our Ancestors,'' which won a Gold Medal at the New York Festivals in 1998.<ref>{{Cite web |title=CBC Radio Canada Annual Report 1998-1999 |url=https://epe.lac-bac.gc.ca/100/202/301/ar_cdn_broadcasting_corp/1998-1999/annualreports/1998-1999/6_2_2_11_99.shtml |access-date=August 27, 2024}}</ref>{{citation needed|date=June 2020}}
==Film-making career==
Due to her interest in long-form documentary,<ref>{{cite web |title=Director Ann Shin on making My Enemy, My Brother |url=https://seventh-row.com/2018/03/10/ann-shin-my-enemy-my-brother/ |website=Seventh Row |date=10 March 2018 |accessdate=25 June 2020}}</ref> Shin moved into television. She began to produce television series for a number of networks, as well as direct independent documentaries. Her documentary credits include the documentary ''[[My Enemy, My Brother]],'' which was shortlisted for a 2016 Academy Award<ref>{{cite web |title=Toronto filmmakers on Oscars shortlist for short documentary |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/toronto-film-ann-shin-oscars-nomination-my-enemy-my-brother-1.3289592 |website=CBC |publisher=CBC/Radio Canada |accessdate=21 May 2024}}</ref> and nominated for a News and Documentary Emmy Award. The feature version won Grand Jury Prize at San Diego Film Festival, and the short version was awarded Best Short Documentary in eleven international film festivals including Traverse City Film Festival, Russia's Doker International Festival, Grand Prize Winner of the Best Shorts Humanitarian Awards, the Sepanta Award for Best Short Film.{{Citation needed|date=March 2022}} Other of her films include documentary film ''[[The Defector: Escape from North Korea]]'' (2012){{Citation needed|date=March 2022}}, ''The Four Seasons Mosaic'' ([[Canadian Broadcasting Corporation|CBC]] (2005), ''Western Eyes'' ([[Canadian Broadcasting Corporation|CBC]] Newsworld) (2000), ''The Roswell Incident'' (History) (1998), ''Almost Real'' ([[CBC Newsworld]]) and ''How to Breathe the Air of Our Ancestors'' ([[CBC Radio]]) (1998). Shin has produced programs for [[Canadian Broadcasting Corporation|CBC]], [[TVOntario|TVO]], [[PBS]], [[HBO]], [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]], [[Slice (TV channel)|Slice]], [[HGTV]], W, Discovery and History, and her programs have sold in territories in the US, Europe, Australia, East Asia and Southeast Asia.{{citation needed|date=June 2020}}
''[[The Defector: Escape from North Korea]]'' was highly praised by several critics. [[CNN]] Connect the World called it an "incredible story", while the ''[[Toronto Star]]'' named it one of the 10 Must See Films at the [[Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival]]. ''Next Projection'' said of the film, "The Defector exposes a part of the world that is so heavily shielded we can only know through conjecture."<ref>{{Cite web |last=Heller |first=Doug |date=April 22, 2013 |title=The Defector: Escape from North Korea (2012) |url=https://nextprojection.com/2013/04/22/the-defector-escape-from-north-korea-2012/ |access-date=March 28, 2024 |website=Next Projection}}</ref>
Shin has also created the cross-platform project ''[[The Defector: Escape from North Korea]]'' which won Best Documentary and won Best Documentary Director at the [[2014 Canadian Screen Awards]], as well picking up the [[SXSW]] Interactive Festival Award, the FITC Award and nextMedia Canadian Digi Awards.
===Filmography===
====Documentary====
*''How to Breathe the Air of Our Ancestors'', 1998 - director
*''Turning Points of History: The Roswell Incident'', 1998 - director
*''The Fall of an Asian Tiger'', 1999 - director
*''Western Eyes'', 2000 - director
*''Almost Real, Connecting in a Wired World'', 2002 - director
*''Opening Night: The Four Seasons Mosaic'', 2005 - director
*''[[The Defector: Escape from North Korea]]'', 2013 - writer/director/producer
*''[[My Enemy, My Brother]]'', 2014 - writer/director/producer
*''Sugar Sisters'', 2017 - co-writer, co-director
*''The Superfood Chain'', 2018 - director
*''[[Artificial Immortality]]'', 2021 - director, writer, producer
====Series====
*''Rags to Red Carpet''
*''[[The List (TV series)|The List]]''
*''I Do…Let's Eat'' (2012)
*''[[Save Us from Our House]]'' (2005)
*''Modern Manners'' (2000)
*''[[Venture (TV series)|Venture]]''
*''Face-Off''{{Citation needed|date=March 2022}}
==Writing career==
Shin is a poet and fiction writer, with work published in various anthologies and magazines in both Canada and the United States. She is one of four poets featured in Crossroads Cant, published by Broken Jaw Press in 1997. Mansfield Press published her first volume of poetry, ''The Last Thing Standing''<ref>{{cite web|url=http://reviewcanada.ca/magazine/contributors/ann-shin/ |title=Ann Shin – Literary Review of Canada |publisher=Reviewcanada.ca |accessdate=31 October 2015}}</ref> in 2000 to acclaim. In 2013, Brick Books published her second book of poetry, ''The Family China''<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.brickbooks.ca/?mw_events=ann-shin-launches-new-poetry-collection-the-family-china-in-toronto-this-is-not-a-reading-series-event |title=Ann Shin launches new poetry collection The Family China in Toronto – This Is Not A Reading Series event – Brick Books |publisher=Brickbooks.ca |date=22 October 2015 |accessdate=31 October 2015 |archive-date=3 February 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150203092222/http://www.brickbooks.ca/?mw_events=ann-shin-launches-new-poetry-collection-the-family-china-in-toronto-this-is-not-a-reading-series-event |url-status=dead }}</ref> which won the 2013 Anne Green Award.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.lpg.ca/public/news/ann_shin_wins_2013_anne_green_award |title=Ann Shin Wins the 2013 Anne Green Award|publisher=Literary Press Group of Canada|url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140714173918/http://www.lpg.ca/public/news/ann_shin_wins_2013_anne_green_award |archivedate=14 July 2014 }}</ref>
Author [[Nino Ricci]] referred to her first volume of poetry, ''The Last Thing Standing'' as "A beautiful and memorable book. Ann Shin writes about love, loss and the idea of home with clarity, wit and grace".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://vmacch.apps01.yorku.ca/AC_Visual/Shin_Ann/artistic_contributions_visual_Shin_Ann.html |title=Virtual Museum of Asian Canadian Cultural Heritage – Artistic Contributions – Visual – East Asia – Ann Shin |publisher=Vmacch.apps01.yorku.ca |date=30 April 2009 |accessdate=31 October 2015}}</ref> Of her second collection of acclaimed poetry, author and poet [[Karen Connelly]] wrote, "… This short, dazzling collection of poems contains a universe — nothing short of North American life in the late twentieth and early twenty-first century. Somehow it is all here, joyously offered up, birth, death, and everything in between…".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.brickbooks.ca/shop/the-family-china/ |title=The Family China – Brick Books |publisher=Brickbooks.ca |date=22 October 2015 |accessdate=31 October 2015}}</ref>
Her novel ''The Last Exiles'' was the winner of the [[Trillium Book Award]] for [[Trillium Book Award, English|English Prose]] in 2022.<ref>Deborah Dundas, [https://www.thestar.com/entertainment/books/2022/06/21/toronto-writer-ann-shin-wins-20000-trillium-prize-for-north-korean-novel-the-last-exiles.html "Toronto writer Ann Shin wins $20,000 Trillium Prize for North Korean novel ‘The Last Exiles’"]. ''[[Toronto Star]]'', June 21, 2022.</ref>
===Bibliography===
*''Crossroads Cant'', Broken Jaw Press, 1997<ref>{{cite web|url=http://library.ryerson.ca/asianheritage/authors/shin/ |title=Ann Shin &#124; Asian Heritage |publisher=Library.ryerson.ca |date=1 May 2013 |accessdate=31 October 2015}}</ref>
*''The Last Thing Standing'', Mansfield Press, 2000
*''The Family China'', Brick Books, 2013
*''The Last Exiles'', Park Row, 2021
==Honors, Awards, Nominations, and Accomplishments==
Her films have garnered numerous awards and screened at film festivals around the world, including [[SXSW]], Tribeca International Film Festival, Toronto International Film Festival, [[Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival]], the [[San Francisco Film Festival]], Thessaloniki International Human Rights Film Festival, [[Montreal World Film Festival]], New York Festivals, [[Mumbai International Film Festival]] and the [[Chris Awards]].
At the 2015 [[Vancouver International Film Festival]], the Canadian Images shorts jury gave Shin an honorable mention in the Most Promising Director of a Canadian Short Film category for ''My Enemy, My Brother''.<ref>{{cite press release |url=http://archive.viff.org/e-blasts/viff/2015/20_BCSpotlightCanadianImagesAwards_VIFF2015_PR.html |date=3 October 2015 |accessdate=11 October 2015 |title=VIFF Announces BC -Spotlight and Canadian Images Awards  |publisher=Vancouver International Film Festival}}</ref>-
'''Film and Television'''
'''2017''' My Enemy, My Brother, the feature version, wins Grand Jury Prize at the [https://sdaff.org/2018/ San Diego Asian International Film Festival.]
2015 My Enemy, My Brother, Shortlisted for Academy Award and nominated for an News and Documentary Emmy Award.
''[[The Defector: Escape from North Korea]]''
'''2014''' [[Canadian Screen Awards]]
*Best Director in a Documentary Program (Won)
*Best Documentary Program (Won)
*Diversity Award (Won)
'''2013''' [[SXSW]] Interactive Festival Award
*Best Motion Graphics (Won)
'''2013''' nextMEDIA Canadian Digi Awards
*Best in Cross Platform Non-Fiction (Won)
'''2013''' FITC Awards
*Best Motion Graphics (Won)
'''2012''' [[Sheffield Doc/Fest]]
*Sheffield Innovation Award (Nominee)
''Opening Night''
'''2005''' [[Gemini Awards]]
*Best Direction in a Performing Arts Program or Series (for the episode "The Four Seasons Mosaic") (Nominee)
''Western Eyes''
'''2000''' [[National Film Board of Canada|NFB]] Diversity Competition
*Reel Diversity Award (Won)
''Turning Points of History: Incident at Roswell''
'''2000''' [[Columbus International Film and Video Festival]]
*Bronze Plaque Award (Documentary) (Won)
''How to Breathe the Air of Our Ancestors''
'''1998''' New York Festivals
*Gold Medal (Won)
'''Literature'''
''The Family China''
*2013 Anne Green Award (Won){{Citation needed|date=March 2022}}
==References==
{{Reflist|colwidth=30em}}
==External links==
* {{IMDb name | 1139742 |Ann Shin}}
* {{Twitter | annshin |Ann Shin}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shin, Ann}}
[[Category:1968 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Canadian documentary film directors]]
[[Category:Canadian people of South Korean descent]]
[[Category:Film directors from British Columbia]]
[[Category:Film directors from London, Ontario]]
[[Category:Film directors from Toronto]]
[[Category:Writers from British Columbia]]
[[Category:Writers from London, Ontario]]
[[Category:Writers from Toronto]]
[[Category:Canadian women film directors]]
[[Category:Place of birth missing (living people)]]
[[Category:Canadian television directors]]
[[Category:Canadian women television directors]]
[[Category:20th-century Canadian poets]]
[[Category:20th-century Canadian women writers]]
[[Category:21st-century Canadian poets]]
[[Category:21st-century Canadian novelists]]
[[Category:21st-century Canadian women writers]]
[[Category:Canadian women poets]]
[[Category:Canadian women novelists]]
[[Category:Canadian writers of Asian descent]]
[[Category:Canadian women documentary filmmakers]]