View source for Studio D

{{Short description|Canadian women's film unit}}
{{Infobox company
| name = Studio D (National Film Board of Canada)
| logo =
| logo_size =
| image = studio_d_whistle.jpg
| image_size =
| image_caption = The world's first publicly funded feminist filmmaking studio
| type =
| industry =
| successor =
| founded = 1974
| founder = Kathleen Shannon
| defunct = 1996
}}
'''Studio D''' was the women's unit of the [[National Film Board of Canada]] (NFB) and the world's first publicly funded [[Feminist film|feminist]] filmmaking studio.<ref>{{Cite news|title=Documentary profiles feminist filmmaker|last=Walker|first=Susan|date=October 24, 1997|work=Globe and Mail}}</ref> In its 22-year history, it produced over 140 films and won 3 [[Academy Awards]]. ''[[Cinema Canada]]'' once called it the "Jewel in the [[Crown corporations of Canada|Crown Corporation]]."<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|title=Why not D? An historical look at the NFB's Woman's Studio|last=Chris|first=Sherbarth|date=1987-03-20|publisher=Cinema Canada|oclc=801554443}}</ref>
Many of Canada's most notable women filmmakers passed through Studio D, as employees, freelancers, or trainees, including [[Bonnie Sherr Klein]], [[Lynne Fernie]], and [[Justine Pimlott]]. Studio D was also instrumental in training and supporting women in key production roles such as cinematography (including Susan Trow and [[Zoe Dirse]]); sound (including [[Aerlyn Weissman]] and Jackie Newell); and editing (including Anne Henderson and [[Ginny Stikeman]]).
Decades before the [[Time's Up (organization)|#TimesUp movement]], Studio D "left an important legacy: a commitment to women’s filmmaking and [[cultural diversity]] that is now deeply anchored in every studio [at the NFB]."<ref name=":2">{{Cite web|url=http://onf-nfb.gc.ca/en/about-the-nfb/parity/|title=National Film Board of Canada|last=Government of Canada|first=National Film Board of Canada|date=2017-10-12|access-date=2019-03-26}}</ref><ref name=":9">{{Cite web|url=https://time.com/5044854/hollywood-women-studio-d/|title=Filmmaking Has a Gender Problem. Here's What Happened When Canada Tried to Solve It|website=Time|language=en|access-date=2019-03-26}}</ref>
== Shannon leadership (1974–86) ==
=== Founding ===
Studio D was founded by [[Kathleen Shannon]] in 1974. She credits the success of her series, ''[[Challenge for Change#Working Mothers Series|Working Mothers]]'', as well as the ''[[En tant que femmes]]''<ref>{{Cite magazine|last=Hartt|first=Laurinda|date=1974|title=en tant que femmes|magazine=Cinema Canada|volume=53|pages=52–4}}</ref> series by [[Anne Claire Poirier]] for proving that there was both a market for films about women’s issues and women eager for filmmaking careers.<ref name=":1">{{Cite magazine|last=Shannon|first=Kathleen|date=Winter 2018|title=D is for Dilemma|magazine=Herizons|pages=24–27}}</ref> The NFB received funding from the Women’s Program of the Secretary of State in recognition of the [[United Nations|United Nation's]] [[International Women's Year|International Women’s Year]], which was split equally between Poirier and Shannon. In the end, Poirier decided against launching a French-language women’s unit and the money was used to fund a film already in production.<ref name=":0" /> Shannon, however, used the money to launch Studio D. The priorities for Studio D were to provide employment and training opportunities for women, meet the information needs of women, bring women's perspectives to social issues and, as Shannon phrased it, facilitate "exploring our creativity in our own way."<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.csmonitor.com/1989/0330/lstudio.html|title=National Film Board of Canada's All-Women Studio D: Prize-Winning, Controversial. FILM: INTERVIEW|last=Sterritt|first=David|date=1989-03-30|work=Christian Science Monitor|access-date=2020-02-03|issn=0882-7729}}</ref>
Its first project was a training program for thirty women that resulted in a series of one-minute films woven together as one film under the name ''Just-a-Minute''. It was the first ever “quilt film,” a unique genre of collaborative short filmmaking often used by Studio D to stretch budgets and provide training.<ref name=":5">{{Cite book|title=D Is for Daring|last=Vanstone|first=Gail|publisher=Sumach Press|year=2007|isbn=9781894549677|location=British Columbia}}</ref>
At first, Studio D relied on freelancers and the few women already employed by the NFB. The first members were [[Yuki Yoshida]] and [[Margaret Pettigrew]], both producers, with Shannon as Executive Producer. ''Great Grand Mother'' was the first film released by Studio D, but it had already begun production by independent filmmakers [[Anne Wheeler]] and [[Lorna Rasmussen]] through their company, Filmwest Associates. A portrayal of early women settlers on the [[Canadian Prairies|Canadian prairies]], it combined interviews, recreations, and voice-over narratives from archival letters and diaries. Shannon recalled, “When we previewed it for the branch program committee, we used some footage of an elder woman, a midwife who also dressed bodies for burial. I thought it was riveting. The head of the committee pronounced it boring.”<ref name=":1" />
The films produced in the beginning were very much within the [[Cinéma vérité|cinema verité]] tradition of the NFB and its social documentary program [[Challenge for Change]].<ref>{{Cite magazine|last=Longfield|first=Micharl|date=2009|title=Sounds Like Canada: A reexamination of the development of Canadian cinéma-vérité|magazine=CineAction|volume=77|pages=9–17|via=ProQuest}}</ref> An emphasis on the recuperation of Canadian’s women’s history led to the re-release of NFB films from the 1940s and 50s as an educational package called ''[[How They Saw Us]]'' in 1977. The use of inter-titles to re-contextualize the films from a feminist perspective drew attention to "the evidence of the patriarchal camera eye" of the NFB.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Canadian National Cinema|last=Gittings|first=Chris|publisher=Routledge|year=2002|pages=263}}</ref>
More women joined the Studio, including Challenge for Change veterans Bonnie Sherr Klein (who had left the NFB but returned for the chance to work in an all-woman environment) and [[:fr:Dorothy Todd Henaut|Dorothy Todd Hénaut]]. In 1979, [[Beverly Shaffer]] was the first Studio D filmmaker to win an [[Academy Awards|Academy Award]] for her film, [[I'll Find a Way]], part of the Children of Canada Series.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://aaspeechesdb.oscars.org/link/050-18/|title=Academy Awards Acceptance Speeches - Search Results {{!}} Margaret Herrick Library {{!}} Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences|website=aaspeechesdb.oscars.org|access-date=2019-03-26}}</ref> Other early members included [[Ginny Stikeman]], who later became Executive Producer of Studio D, [[Margaret Wescott]], Gloria Demers, [[Susan Huyke]], Margaret Wong, and Signe Johansson. Freelancers who collaborated with Studio D included [[A Song for Tibet|Anne Henderson]], [[Irene Angelico]], [[The Burning Times|Donna Read]], Sharon McGowan, and Moira Simpson.
=== Studio success ===
One year later, Studio D again courted controversy with the film ''[[If You Love This Planet|If You Love this Planet]]'', directed by [[Terre Nash]]. It featured a lecture given by [[Helen Caldicott|Dr. Helen Caldicott]] about the immanent dangers of nuclear weapon proliferation. The NFB officer in charge of distribution for the United States warned that the film may harm relations with the Reagan administration, and sought support from Canada’s External Affairs office to stop the film’s release. The film won the Academy Award for best documentary short in 1982,<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://aaspeechesdb.oscars.org/results.aspx?AC=PREV_RECORD&XC=/results.aspx&BU=http://aaspeechesdb.oscars.org/&TN=aatrans&SN=AUTO677&SE=658&RN=1&MR=0&TR=0&TX=1000&ES=0&CS=0&XP=&RF=WebReportList&EF=&DF=WebReportOscars&RL=0&EL=0&DL=0&NP=255&ID=&MF=oscarsmsg.ini&MQ=&TI=0&DT=&ST=0&IR=0&NR=0&NB=0&SV=0&SS=0&BG=&FG=&QS=&OEX=ISO-8859-1&OEH=utf-8|title=Academy Awards Acceptance Speeches - Search Results {{!}} Margaret Herrick Library {{!}} Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences|website=aaspeechesdb.oscars.org|access-date=2019-04-01}}</ref> and its influences can be seen in [[Al Gore]]’s [[An Inconvenient Truth]].<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia|last=Laberge|first=Yves|chapter=An Inconvenient Truth|date=2012|chapter-url=http://sk.sagepub.com/reference/globalwarming2ed/n364.xml|encyclopedia=Encyclopedia of Global Warming & Climate Change|pages=754–756|edition=2|publisher=SAGE Publications, Inc.|doi=10.4135/9781452218564.n364|access-date=2019-04-01|isbn=9781412992619}}</ref>
In 1983, Studio D won its third and last Academy Award for ''[[Flamenco at 5:15]]''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://aaspeechesdb.oscars.org/link/056-10/|title=Academy Awards Acceptance Speeches - Search Results {{!}} Margaret Herrick Library {{!}} Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences|website=aaspeechesdb.oscars.org|access-date=2019-04-01}}</ref> Directed by [[Cynthia Scott]], it was a marked departure from the controversy that had swirled around the studio. The film showcased the instructors and senior students in a master class in [[Flamenco]] at the [[National Ballet School of Canada]]. [[The New York Times]] praised it as “a small jewel of a documentary” that demonstrates the leap from studying dance to becoming an artist.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1986/07/14/arts/flamence-at-5-15-on-channel-13.html|title='Flamence at 5:15' on Channel 13|last=Dunning|first=Jennifer|date=1986-07-14|work=The New York Times|access-date=2019-04-01|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}}</ref>
''[[Behind the Veil]],'' a sprawling documentary “which seeks nothing more than to examine critically the history of women in the Christian church of the Western world,” provided a rare glimpse into the lives of cloistered and apostolic [[nun]]s.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Murray|first=Katherine|date=1987|title=Review of Behind the Veil: Nuns|journal=American Anthropologist|volume=89|issue=2|pages=520–522|doi=10.1525/aa.1987.89.2.02a00940|issn=0002-7294|jstor=677849}}</ref> ''[[Abortion: Stories From North and South]]'' was the first Studio D film with an all-women (instead of majority) crew. Documenting women’s stories about accessing abortion services in Canada, Columbia, Ireland, Japan, Peru, and Thailand, the film won the Grand Prize at the San Francisco International Film Festival.<ref>{{Cite magazine|last=Hitch|date=June 12, 1985|title=Abortion: Stories from North and South|magazine=Variety|volume=319|issue=7|pages=20}}</ref>
Studio D's training and internship programs helped build women filmmakers in all areas of production. In 1984 it brought 20 women age 18-25 for a nine-month intensive residency funded by the Secretary of State’s [[International Youth Year]] Secretariat. The films ''Beyond Memory'' (dir. Louise Lamarre), ''First Take Double Take'' (dir. [[Paula Fairfield]]), and ''Thin Dreams'' (dir. Susie Mah) were produced by this program. A year later, a new internship program made possible films such as ''D.E.S.: An Uncertain Legacy'' (dir. Sidonie Kerr), ''The Impossible Takes a Little Longer'' (dir. Anne Henderson), and ''Spirit of the Kata'' (dir. Sharon McGowan).<ref name=":1" />
Smaller budget films were produced within Studio D by the [[Federal Women's Film Program|Federal Women’s Film Program]]. Launched in 1980, it was a unique partnership with various federal government departments to produce documentaries about women’s issues that were identified as government priorities.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Changing focus : the future for women in the Canadian film and television industry.|last=Toronto Women in Film and Television (Organization)|date=1991|publisher=Toronto Women in Film and Television|isbn=0969535104|oclc=26856536|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/changingfocusfut0000unse}}</ref> These included women’s labor participation (''Women and Work Series''), Indigenous women’s leadership (''Doctor, Lawyer, Indian Chief''), gender-based violence (''The Next Step Series''), women in agriculture (''Gathering Strength Series'') and women and aging (''When the Day Comes'', ''The Power of Time'', and ''Pills Unlimited''). The program was the only one in the studio to require versions of the films in both official languages (English and French). In 1986, the newly formed [[Regards de femmes]] program in the NFB's French studio joined the initiative.
=== Budget reductions ===
By the mid-eighties, Studio D was receiving a budget on par with the other studios, but it was still not enough to respond to the steady requests from women across the country for more training and financial support. It didn't help that other studios – including regional offices – sent women to Studio D to protect their own budgets.<ref name=":0" /> Furthermore, while other studios within NFB could rely on in-house crew members, Studio D had a heavier contract budget in order to hire more women.<ref name=":4">{{Cite news|title=Studio D's films garner few financial awards|last=Anderson|first=Doris|date=1986-02-22|work=Toronto Star}}</ref> In 1980, only 30 women held full-time technical positions within the NFB. By 1986, the number shrunk to 23, compared to 130 men.<ref name=":3" />
Despite Shannon’s lobbying for more funds, it was the only English filmmaking studio to have its budget cut in 1984.<ref name=":5" /> Its overall share of the NFB budget dropped to 6% in 1986.<ref name=":4" /> The Federal Women’s Film Program was cancelled two years later. However, NFB’s five-year plan promised to “allocate increased resources to women’s filmmakers and … maintain its support of Studio D, the women’s film unit, enabling it to meet a national mandate.”<ref name=":3">{{Cite book|title=Equality and Access: A New Social Contract|last=Diamond|first=Bonnie and Francine Fournier|publisher=National Film Board of Canada|year=1987|isbn=0660538326|pages=13}}</ref> That, coupled with recently passed legislation enshrining [[Employment equity (Canada)|employment equity]], prompted a public study. ''Equality and Access: A New Social Contract'' was the first of what was to be many studies on the lack of opportunities for women at the NFB.<ref name=":2" /> It showed that there were more than two times as many men filmmakers as women, and that slightly more than half of all women employed at the NFB were in support staff roles.<ref name=":3" /> The newly appointed Employment Equity Director at the NFB also drew attention to the lack of racial, ethnic, and Indigenous diversity within the NFB. However, NFB's Commissioner, [[François N. Macerola|François Macerola]] claimed that he was "not ready for an employment equity program involving the disabled, natives and visible minorities" and would maintain focus on women for the foreseeable future.<ref name=":8">{{Cite news|title=Equality for female staff pledged in NFB program|last=Young|first=Kathryn|date=December 16, 1986|work=Globe and Mail}}</ref> At the same time, he criticized Studio D in his report to the House of Commons Standing Committee on Culture and Communication, and declared that he was deliberately holding back funds to them. “First of all, I think Studio D is very important. Nevertheless, it is presenting only one point of view. What I am planning to do is really to open the place to women at the NFB. I want to have more and more films produced by women for women. [What] I mean by that [is] that I will not give all the financial resources to Studio D.”<ref name=":5" />
The NFB created the Women's Film Development Group, originally made up of marketing managers hired into the regional studios to promote Studio D films, implement training programs, and recruit women filmmakers. The benefits of this initiative led to the launch of regional feminist film festivals such as [[herland Feminist Film Festival]] in Calgary and the [[St. John’s International Women’s Film Festival|St. John's International Women's Film Festival]]. Early programming for these festivals relied heavily on Studio D films. Bonnie Thompson, of the NorthWest Studio in Edmonton, recalls, "It was so radical for women to see themselves."<ref>{{Citation|last=Media|first=Alberta|title=AMAAS in conversation with Bonnie Thompson 2018|date=2018-06-25|url=https://vimeo.com/277003130|access-date=2020-02-06}}</ref> Despite these advances across the country, Studio D was under fire both within the NFB, which kept cutting its budget, and from independent and grassroots feminist filmmakers who demanded more resources without having to go through Studio D.<ref name=":0" /> In October 1986, Shannon resigned as Executive Producer, although she continued with Studio D as a producer. [[Ginny Stikeman]] was appointed Interim Executive Producer until [[Rina Fraticelli]] took over the role in March 1987.
== Fraticelli leadership (1987–90) ==
At the time of her appointment as Executive Producer in 1987, Rina Fraticelli was not a filmmaker, but a [[dramaturge]] and community organizer. Her [[Pan-nationalism|pan-national]] networks were expected to bring fresh insights to Studio D, especially "women who represent the diversity of points of view within the women's movement."<ref>{{Cite news|title=Studio D faces big job small budget|last=Sweet|first=Lois|date=May 4, 1987|work=Toronto Star}}</ref> With a slashed budget and a slate of unfinished films by resident filmmakers, her first year proved challenging.
In 1989, with the support of [[Kathleen Shannon]], Fraticelli transferred the remaining six resident Studio D filmmakers to other NFB units: Bonnie Sherr Klein (who, at that time was on long-term disability), Dorothy Todd Hénaut, Margaret Wescott, Susan Huycke, Cynthia Scott, and Beverly Shaffer. Shannon remained in her reduced role as producer. The goal was to expand Studio D's financial reach to support women of colour and other marginalized filmmakers across the country. "Instead of working to maintain and protect the work of a privileged few, Studio D had attempted and would continue to attempt to expand the rights of all."<ref name=":5" /> By that time, the budget had been reduced from $1 million to $795,000, much of it tied to salaries. Despite the fact that the filmmakers remained employees of the NFB, and the public message was that it was a mutual decision, many spoke off the record of being "turfed out." With the exception of Shannon, none of the original resident filmmakers directed a film for Studio D again.
In the place of resident filmmakers came a new generation of artists from across the country. While only seventeen films were released during Fraticelli's tenure, among them were Shaffer's last film for Studio D (in production prior to Fraticelli's appointment), the groundbreaking documentary on child sexual abuse, ''To a Safer Place'', and Gail Singer's short excerpt from ''[[Abortion: Stories From North and South]]'', ''A Mother and Daughter on Abortion'', which renewed public criticism of Studio D by [[REAL Women of Canada]].<ref name=":5" /> Fraticelli had brokered an innovative partnership with renowned poet [[Dionne Brand]] to develop a series of films on Black Canadian women's experiences, called [[Dionne Brand#Filmmaking|Women at the Well]], and spearheaded ''[[Five Feminist Minutes]]'', a continuation of Studio D's practice of "quilt films", which screened at most feminist film festivals across the country. Arguably her most significant contribution to Studio D was the launch of the [[New Initiatives in Film]] program, which had been initiated by Ginny Stikeman who dedicated herself to mentoring new filmmakers. Co-created with independent filmmaker [[Sylvia Hamilton]], the program's mandate was to provide filmmaking opportunities to women of colour and First Nations women. Fraticelli had ambitions to break with the in-house style that was heavily influenced by Shannon's aversion to artistic or experimental documentary. "As far as I was concerned, we had the right to be artists, not just social workers," Fraticelli explains. "I wanted these women filmmakers to challenge the form of filmmaking, as well as the context, and I think other women at the studio had a problem with this."<ref name=":7">{{Cite magazine|last=Yi|first=Sun-Kyung|date=Summer 1994|title=Trouble in Paradise or Testing the Limits at Studio D|magazine=Take One}}</ref>
Despite Fraticelli's advancement of both diversity and artistry within Studio D, she faced insurmountable challenges. She was accused of "brutal behaviour,"<ref>{{Cite news|title=Reel women Filmmaking for a new generation of Canadian women directors is 'a calling, not a career'|last=Steed|first=Judy|date=September 9, 1989|work=Toronto Star}}</ref> by past members of Studio D, and frustrated by the NFB's budget cutting and broken promises which ricocheted into criticism by independent filmmakers that they were not being given the opportunities she allegedly promised.<ref name=":5" /> She left in March 1990. Two years later, Shannon retired.
== Stikeman leadership (1990–96) ==
=== New Initiatives in Film (1990–1996) ===
New Initiatives in Film was envisioned as a multi-year funded program along the lines of the Federal Women's Film Program, but the NFB would only commit to one year at a time, with increasingly limited funds.<ref name=":5" /> Furthermore, filmmakers were hired only on short-term contracts.  NIF was only supposed to represent Studio D's contribution to a NFB-wide effort to improve racial and ethnic diversity but under Macerola it became the only program, further stretching its budget. A 1997 report ''Diversity On and Off the Screen'' claimed, "year after year NIF was the only thing NFB management had to show."<ref>{{Cite report|last=Reyes|first=Cynthia|date=1997|title=Diversity On and Off the Screen}}</ref> The month before Fraticelli resigned was the first time in its history that the National Film Board recognized [[Black History Month]]. It had only two films to screen: ''Black Mother Black Daughter'', by NIF co-creator Hamilton and NIF producer [[Claire Prieto]], which won the 1990 NFB [[Kathleen Shannon Award]]; and ''Older, Stronger, Wiser'', by Prieto.
NIF offered multiple services and programs: workshop institutes for aspiring but untrained filmmakers, longer in-house internships for artists to complete a film, and post-production support to established filmmakers. In addition, it developed a resource bank of filmmakers and production personnel in Canada who were either Indigenous or women of colour.<ref name=":10">{{Citation|last=Anderson|first=Elizabeth|title=Studio D's Imagined Community: From Development (1974) to Realignment (1986-1990)|date=1999-01-31|work=Gendering the Nation|publisher=University of Toronto Press|isbn=978-1-4426-7522-3|doi=10.3138/9781442675223-005|editor1-last=Armatage|editor1-first=Kay|editor2-last=Banning|editor2-first=Kass|editor3-last=Longfellow|editor3-first=Brenda}}</ref> Unfortunately, the program was rife with interpersonal conflicts. By 1994, acrimony had spilled out into the wider film community. A brief exposé of NIF claimed it was "another example of cultural ghettoization, that instead of including marginalized groups in the mainstream, NIF represents how factionalized and segregated our society has become."<ref name=":7" />
Their first program coordinator, Reneé Du Plessis, herself a light-skinned woman of colour originally from South Africa, was fired and subsequently sued the NFB (the case was settled out of court). "I was accused by the advisory board and Studio D of being inflexible and insensitive to women of colour. I was also accused of contributing to systemic racism," Du Plessis says. "Apparently, I contributed to systemic racism because I didn't let them do what they wanted to do. There wasn't much time, and some of these women (who had never been to Montreal) wanted to go shopping."<ref name=":7" /> Many NIF trainees were leaving NFB headquarters to receive support and mentoring from Montreal-based filmmakers who were more encouraging of experimental and political documentary filmmaking. In response to Du Plessis' criticism, they spoke anonymously (because Studio D "was the only game in town"), complaining that, "Studio D hasn't progressed in the last 20 years. They've been making the same damn films that carry the same message: women are victims. At first, white women made them, now they're getting women of colour to make the same thing."<ref name=":7" />
Despite criticisms of structural and cultural racism, the New Initiatives in Film series brought to light both emergent filmmakers and heretofore untold stories. The Women at the Well series by Dionne Brand was among the most high-profile venture by NIF. Already an internationally heralded poet, Brand co-directed ''Sisters in the Struggle'' (1992) with Stikeman, and solo directed ''Long Time Comin''' (1993). In 1996, she made one last film with Studio D, ''Listening for Something: Adrienne Rich and Dionne Brand in Conversation''. NIF also oversaw the production of Michelle Wong's ''Return Home'' (1992) and Doris Nipp's ''Under the Willow Tree'', both explorations of Chinese immigrant women. [[Loretta Todd]]'s film ''Hands of History'' (1994) was a lush profile of four major Indigenous feminist artists, including [[Jane Ash Poitras]]. [[Norma Bailey]]'s ''Women Under Shadows'' (1991) traced Métis filmmaker [[Christine Welsh]]'s journey to discover her Indigenous great grandmother, Margaret Taylor, who was the consort to [[Hudson's Bay Company|Hudson’s Bay Company]] Governor [[George Simpson (HBC administrator)|George Simpson]].<ref>{{Cite magazine|last=Welsh|first=Christine|date=1997|title=Women in the Shadows: Reclaiming a Métis Heritage|magazine=New Contexts of Canadian Criticism|publisher=Broadview Press}}</ref> Welsh herself directed ''Keepers of the Fire'' (1994), about Indigenous women land defenders.
=== Studio D's closure (1996) ===
[[Kathleen Shannon]] publicly criticized the move: "This a loss of a perspective that's different from the corporate culture. Because when we never see our own perceptions validated - most of us are too afraid to speak up. It seems so, particularly right now - we're in this stranglehold that corporations have on us, and it's extremely important for us to have some validation and empowerment."<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.montrealmirror.com/ARCHIVES/1997/082197/film4.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20021231170032/http://www.montrealmirror.com/ARCHIVES/1997/082197/film4.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=2002-12-31|title=Kathleen Shannon talks about being captured on film|last=Hays|first=Matthew|date=August 21, 1997|work=Montreal Mirror}}</ref> Gail Singer also spoke out against the decision: "This is not a wise decision, but I think it is almost inevitable in the current, careless mood of cutbacks."<ref>{{Cite news|title=Film board awaits fate of renowned studios|last=Crew|first=Robert|date=March 13, 1996|work=Toronto Star}}</ref> Others warned that cutting Studio D just at the point where filmmaking equity had just been met within the NFB would send it backwards.<ref>{{Cite news|title=It's RIP for Studio D: NFB's feminist unit is slated to close|date=March 15, 1996|work=Montreal Gazette}}</ref> However, others in the feminist film community felt that Studio D was no longer relevant. Barbara Janes, the NFB's Director-General of English Programming, stated adamantly at the time, "Studio D had been in existence for twenty years. In that time, society changed a lot. But Studio D kept the mindset of 1975, fighting battles already won."<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Jones|first=D. B.|date=1991|title=Brave New Film Board|journal=North of Everything: English-Canadian Cinema Since 1980|volume=University of Alberta Press|pages=19–45}}</ref> Some suggested Studio D had turned into “a kind of ghetto for women at the NFB, left behind in the 1980’s move into the production of more high-profile feature films.”<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Armatage|first=Kay|date=1991|title=A Brief History of Women Filmmakers in Canada|journal=Changing Focus: The Future for Women in the Canadian Film and Television Industry|volume=University of Toronto Press}}</ref>
== Legacy ==
In 2016, the NFB announced a new gender parity initiative in response to successive annual reports by Women in View<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://womeninview.ca/reports/|title=Reports|website=Women in View|language=en-CA|access-date=2020-02-06}}</ref> on inequity in Canadian film and television. While its president, [[Claude Joli-Coeur]], insisted that director and producer credits were near parity, he acknowledged that production personnel statistics were much worse, with women representing only 24% of editors and 12% of cinematographers. The NFB claimed they were uniquely situated to meet an ambitious target of full parity in credits and funding by 2020 because they were "a Canadian film industry leader in [[gender equality]] that made history in 1974 when it established Studio D, the world’s first production unit devoted exclusively to work by women filmmakers."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://onf-nfb.gc.ca/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/0715_COM_Journe%CC%81e-de-la-femme_EN_V1.pdf|format=PDF|title=A HISTORY OF WOMEN’S FILMMAKING AT THE NATIONAL FILM BOARD OF CANADA|website=Onf-nfb.gc.ca|access-date=2022-03-28}}</ref> By 2023, the NFB reported that "63% of all ongoing projects at the NFB (254) were directed by women or by teams with equal or greater representation of women than men."<ref>{{Cite web |last=Board |first=National Film |date=2023-03-08 |title=NFB reports strong results in gender parity. Coming soon: a new self-declaration questionnaire to assess progress on its commitments to equity, diversity and inclusion. |url=https://www.canada.ca/en/national-film-board/news/2023/03/nfb-reports-strong-results-in-gender-parity-coming-soon-a-new-self-declaration-questionnaire-to-assess-progress-on-its-commitments-to-equity-divers.html |access-date=2024-08-15 |website=www.canada.ca}}</ref>
In a 2017 article for [[Time (magazine)|''Time'' magazine]], film critic [[Matthew Hays]] suggested Hollywood look north to solve its gender problem. He claimed that Studio D films "remain vital, fresh and pertinent, and in many cases were films made by first-time directors. They prove that when a space is carved out for women to pursue filmmaking, they can succeed on their own terms, and create cinema that is distinct, powerful and every bit as full of creative ideas as films made by men."<ref name=":9" /> The 2019 [[Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival|Hot Docs Festival]] in Toronto featured a retrospective of Studio D films, and a revival of ''[[Five Feminist Minutes]]'', called ''Five Feminist Minutes 2019.''<ref>''[https://blog.nfb.ca/blog/2019/05/01/five-feminist-minutes-four-directors-take-another-look/ Five Feminist Minutes 2019]'', Blogs.nfb.ca</ref> It also hosted a Doc Summit, "Dare to Be Studio D" in which contemporary filmmakers [[Ann Marie Fleming]], [[Alexandra Lazarowich]], and Glace Lawrence shared the stage with Studio D alumni Zoe Dirse, Rina Fraticelli and Gail Singer, as well as NFB Executive Director Michelle Van Beusekom. It was billed as an opportunity to "revisit the studio’s monumental impact on feminist film culture and look to the future of inclusive, diverse docs that implement social change in Canada."<ref>{{Cite web|website=Vimeo.com|title=Doc Summit: Dare to be Studio D in Hot Docs 2019 {{!}} Industry Conference|date=2019-05-28|url=https://vimeo.com/channels/1508612/338930985|access-date=2020-02-06}}</ref>
Studio D was far from the only feminist film organization in Canada, and some contemporary assessments argue that its prominence overshadows the work of grassroots collectives like the Isis Women and Film Festival that toured eighteen cities in 1974.<ref>{{Cite news|title=Isis: Our Branch of Women and Film|last=Mertens|first=Susan|date=August 15, 1974|work=Vancouver Sun}}</ref> Beginning in 1972, feminist media collectives such as Reelfeelings and [[Groupe Intervention Vidéo]] were not only screening films in community settings but also engaging in guerilla film tactics such as occupations.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Bociurkiw|first=Marusya|date=2016|title=Big Affect: The Ephemeral Archive of Second-Wave Feminist Video Collectives in Canada|journal=Camera Obscura|volume=31|issue=3|pages=4–33|doi=10.1215/02705346-3661991}}</ref> At least seven different feminist film and video collectives and festivals launched in 1973.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Desiring Change: Contemporary Feminist Art in Canada|last=Davis|first=Heather|publisher=McGill-Queen's University Press|year=2017|pages=274–5}}</ref>
Many argue that its institutional foundation and Shannon's own feminist ideology prevented it from taking more aesthetic and political risks, particularly in its explorations of race and sexual identity, until very late.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://povmagazine.com/articles/view/unfinished-business|title=Unfinished Business: Against a unified history of feminist documentary filmmaking in Canada|last=Reardon|first=Kiva|date=December 17, 2017|website=povmagazine.com|language=en|access-date=2020-02-06}}</ref> Such criticism raises questions about the fraught dynamics between feminist activism and state funding.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Mouffe|first=Chantal|author-link=Chantal Mouffe|date=2007|title=Artistic Activism and Agonistic Spaces|url=http://www.artandresearch.org.uk/v1n2/mouffe.html|journal=Art & Research|volume=1|issue=2}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Schraeder|first=Alicia|date=1990|title=The State-Funded Women's Movement: A Case of Two Political Agendas|journal=Community Organization and the Canadian State|volume=Garamond Press|pages=189–95}}</ref> Nonetheless, more Studio D films are being brought back into circulation through [https://www.nfb.ca/channels/studio-d-films-women-women a dedicated NFB Channel] of "these enduring gems of feminist filmmaking."<ref>{{Cite web |last=Martín-Flórez |first=Camilo |date=2024-02-28 |title=Celebrating the 50th Anniversary of Studio D's Founding, Part 2: Award-Winning Pioneers of Feminist Filmmaking |url=https://blog.nfb.ca/blog/2024/02/28/celebrating-the-50th-anniversary-of-studio-ds-founding-part-2-award-winning-pioneers-of-feminist-filmmaking/ |access-date=2024-08-15 |website=NFB Blog |language=en-CA}}</ref>
== Studio D filmography ==
{| class="wikitable sortable"
!Year
!Film
!Series
!Duration
!Director
|-
|1974
|''[https://collection.nfb.ca/film/its-not-enough/ It's Not Enough]''
|Working Mothers
|15m57s
|[[Kathleen Shannon]]
|-
|1974
|''[https://www.nfb.ca/film/like_the_trees/ Like The Trees]''
|Working Mothers
|14m30s
|Kathleen Shannon
|-
|1974
|''[https://www.nfb.ca/film/luckily_i_need_little_sleep/ Luckily I Need Little Sleep]''
|Working Mothers
|07m38s
|Kathleen Shannon
|-
|1974
|''[https://www.nfb.ca/film/mothers-are-people/ Mothers Are People]''
|Working Mothers
|07m18s
|Kathleen Shannon
|-
|1974
|''[https://collection.nfb.ca/film/the-spring-and-fall-of-nina-polanski/ The Spring and Fall of Nina Polanski]''
|Working Mothers
|05m56s
|[[Joan Hutton]]
Louise Roy
|-
|1974
|''[https://collection.nfb.ca/film/they-appreciate-you-more/ They Appreciate You More]''
|Working Mothers
|14m42s
|Kathleen Shannon
|-
|1974
|''[https://collection.nfb.ca/film/tiger-on-a-tight-leash/ Tiger on a Tight Leash]''
|Working Mothers
|07m35s
|Kathleen Shannon
|-
|1974
|''[https://collection.nfb.ca/film/would-i-ever-like-to-work/ Would I Ever Like to Work]''
|Working Mothers
|08m53s
|Kathleen Shannon
|-
|1975
|''[https://www.nfb.ca/film/and-they-lived-happily-ever-after/ "…And They Lived Happily Ever After"]''
|Working Mothers
|13m07s
|Kathleen Shannon
[[Irene Angelico]]
Anne Henderson
|-
|1975
|''[https://www.nfb.ca/film/our_dear_sisters/ Our Dear Sisters]''
|
|14m40s
|Kathleen Shannon
|-
|1975
|''[https://www.nfb.ca/film/great_grand_mother Great Grand Mother]''
|
|28m47s
|[[Anne Wheeler]]
Lorna Rasmussen
|-
|1975
|''[https://www.nfb.ca/film/my_friends_call_me_tony My Friends Call Me Tony]''
|Children of Canada
|12m07s
|[[Beverly Shaffer]]
|-
|1975
|''[https://www.nfb.ca/film/my_name_is_susan_yee/ My Name is Susan Yee]''
|Children of Canada
|12m18s
|Beverly Shaffer
|-
|1976
|''[https://collection.nfb.ca/film/justaminute-part-1 Just-a-minute]''
|
|07m05s
|Mary Aitkin
Mary Daemen
Tina Horne
Joan Hutton
Sharon Madden
[[Terre Nash]]
Margaret Pettigrew
Patricia Robertson
[[Candace Savage]]
|-
|1976
|''[https://www.nfb.ca/film/maud_lewis_a_world_without_shadows Maud Lewis: A World Without Shadows]''
|
|10m01S
|Diane Beaudry
|-
|1977
|''[https://www.nfb.ca/film/beautiful_lennard_island Beautiful Lennard Island]''
|Children of Canada
|23m45s
|Beverly Shaffer
|-
|1977
|''[https://www.nfb.ca/film/gurdeep_singh_bains/ Gurdeep Singh Bains]''
|Children of Canada
|11m55s
|Beverly Shaffer
|-
|1977
|''[https://www.nfb.ca/film/ill_find_a_way I'll Find a Way]''
|Children of Canada
|25m47s
|Beverly Shaffer
|-
|1977
|''[https://www.nfb.ca/film/kevin_alec/ Kevin Alec]''
|Children of Canada
|16m28s
|Beverly Shaffer
|-
|1977
|''[https://www.nfb.ca/film/veronica/ Veronica]''
|Children of Canada
|14m13s
|Beverly Shaffer
|-
|1977
|''[https://www.nfb.ca/film/how_they_saw_us_careers_and_cradles/ Careers and Cradles]''
|How They Saw Us
|11m07s
|Anne Pearson
|-
|1977
|''[https://www.nfb.ca/film/how_they_saw_us_is_it_a_womans_world/ Is It a Woman's World?]''
|How They Saw Us
|29m20s
|Anne Pearson
|-
|1977
|''[https://www.nfb.ca/film/how_they_saw_us_needles_and_pins/ Needles and Pins]''
|How They Saw Us
|10m55s
|Anne Pearson
|-
|1977
|''[https://www.nfb.ca/film/how_they_saw_us_proudly_she_marches/ Proudly She Marches]''
|How They Saw Us
|18m27s
|Anne Pearson
|-
|1977
|''[https://www.nfb.ca/film/how_they_saw_us_service_in_the_sky/ Service in the Sky]''
|How They Saw Us
|9m48s
|Anne Pearson
|-
|1977
|''[https://www.nfb.ca/film/how_they_saw_us_wings_on_her_shoulder/ Wings on Her Shoulder]''
|How They Saw Us
|11m07s
|Anne Pearson
|-
|1977
|''[https://www.nfb.ca/film/how_they_saw_us_women_at_war/ Women at War]''
|How They Saw Us
|10m23s
|Anne Pearson
|-
|1977
|''[https://collection.nfb.ca/film/the-lady-from-grey-county/ The Lady from Grey County]''
|
|26m13s
|Janice Brown
|-
|1977
|''[https://www.nfb.ca/film/some_american_feminists/ Some American Feminists]''
|
|55m51s
|[[Luce Guilbeault]]
[[Nicole Brossard]]
Margaret Wescott
|-
|1978
|''[https://www.nfb.ca/film/benoit/ Benoît]''
|Children of Canada
|20m23s
|Beverly Shaffer
|-
|1978
|''[https://collection.nfb.ca/film/eve-lambart/ Eve Lambart]''
|
|51m40s
|Margaret Wescott
|-
|1978
|''[https://www.nfb.ca/film/patricias_moving_picture Patricia's Moving Picture]''
|
|25m50s
|[[Bonnie Sherr Klein]]
|-
|1978
|''[https://www.nfb.ca/film/sun_wind_and_wood/ Sun, Wind and Wood]''
|
|24m30s
|[[:fr:Dorothy Todd Henaut|Dorothy Todd Hénaut]]
|-
|1978
|''[https://collection.nfb.ca/film/an-unremarkable-birth/ An Unremarkable Birth]''
|
|52m22s
|Diane Beaudry
|-
|1979
|''[https://collection.nfb.ca/film/prairie-album/ Prairie Album]''
|
|14m47s
|[[Blake James]]
|-
|1979
|''[https://www.nfb.ca/film/right_candidate_for_rosedale The Right Candidate for Rosedale]''
|
|32m52s
|Bonnie Sherr Klein
Anne Henderson
|-
|1979
|''[https://www.nfb.ca/film/sea_dream/ Sea Dream]''
|
|05m31s
|Ellen Besen
|-
|1980
|''[https://www.nfb.ca/film/boys-will-be-men/ Boys Will Be Men]''
|
|29m07s
|Donald Rennick
|-
|1980
|''[https://collection.nfb.ca/film/just-a-lady/ Just a Lady]''
|
|21m20s
|Susan Trow
|-
|1980
|''[https://www.nfb.ca/film/laila/ Laila]''
|
|10m33s
|Diane Beaudry
|-
|1980
|''[https://www.nfb.ca/film/rusting_world/ Rusting World]''
|
|06m17s
|[[Laurent Coderre]]
|-
|1980
|''[https://www.nfb.ca/film/town_mouse_country_mouse The Town Mouse and the Country Mouse]''
|
|05m25s
|[[Evelyn Lambart]]
|-
|1981
|''[https://www.nfb.ca/film/julie_obrien Julie O'Brien]''
|Children of Canada
|18m52s
|Beverly Shaffer
|-
|1981
|''[https://collection.nfb.ca/film/louise-drouin-veterinarian/ Louise Drouin, Veterinarian]''
|
|21m37s
|Margaret Wescott
|-
|1981
|
|68m40s
|[[Bonnie Sherr Klein]]
|-
|1982
|''[https://collection.nfb.ca/film/four-centuries-the-firearm-in-canada/ Four Centuries: The Firearm in Canada]''
|
|26m52s
|Joan Henson
|-
|1982
|''[[If You Love This Planet]]''
|
|25m50s
|[[Terre Nash]]
|-
|1982
|''[https://www.nfb.ca/film/its_just_better It's Just Better]''
|Children of Canada
|15m23s
|Beverly Shaffer
|-
|1982
|''[https://www.nfb.ca/film/portrait-of-the-artist-as-an-old-lady/ Portrait of the Artist - As An Old Lady]''
|
|27m03s
|Gail Singer
|-
|1982
|''[https://www.nfb.ca/film/way-it-is-the/ The Way It Is]''
|
|24m13s
|Beverly Shaffer
|-
|1983
|''[https://collection.nfb.ca/film/attention-women-at-work/ Attention: Women at Work!]''
|
|28m20s
|Anne Henderson
|-
|1983
|''[https://collection.nfb.ca/film/dream-of-a-free-country-a-message-from-nicaraguan/ Dream of a Free Country: A Message from Nicaraguan Women]''
|
|59m50s
|Kathleen Shannon
[[Ginny Stikeman]]
|-
|1983
|''[[Flamenco at 5:15]]''
|
|29m22s
|[[Cynthia Scott]]
|-
|1983
|''[https://www.nfb.ca/film/i-want-to-be-an-engineer/ I Want to Be An Engineer]''
|
|28m34s
|Beverly Shaffer
|-
|1984
|''[[Abortion: Stories From North and South|Abortion: Stories from North and South]]''
|
|54m50s
|Gail Singer
|-
|1984
|''[https://collection.nfb.ca/film/adele-and-the-ponies-of-ardmore/ Adele and the Ponies of Ardmore]''
|
|13m48s
|[[Char Davies]]
|-
|1984
|''[https://www.nfb.ca/film/behind_veil_nuns/ Behind the Veil: Nuns]''
|
|130m04s
|Margaret Wescott
|-
|1984
|''[https://collection.nfb.ca/film/head-start-meeting-the-computer-challenge/ Head Start: Meeting the Computer Challenge]''
|
|27m25s
|Diane Beaudry
|-
|1984
|''[https://collection.nfb.ca/film/on-our-own/ On Our Own]''
|
|26m30s
|Laurette Deschamps
|-
|1984
|''[https://www.nfb.ca/film/this-borrowed-land/ This Borrowed Land]''
|
|28m49s
|Bonnie Kreps
|-
|1984
|''[https://collection.nfb.ca/film/too-dirty-for-a-woman/ Too Dirty for a Woman]''
|
|16m52s
|Diane Beaudry
|-
|1984
|''[https://collection.nfb.ca/film/the-treadmill/ The Treadmill]''
|
|43m02s
|Dagmur Teufel
|-
|1984
|''[https://www.nfb.ca/film/turnaround_a_story_of_recovery/ Turnaround: A Story of Recovery]''
|
|46m42s
|Moira Simpson
|-
|1984
|''[https://www.nfb.ca/film/waterwalker Waterwalker]''
|
|86m38s
|[[Bill Mason]]
|-
|1985
|''The Best Time of My Life: Portraits of Women in Midlife''
|
|58m35s
|[[Patricia Watson]]
|-
|1985
|''Dark Lullabies''
|
|81m20s
|Irene Angelico
Abbey Jack Neidik
|-
|1985
|''DES: An Uncertain Legacy''
|
|54m47s
|Bonnie Andrukaitis
Sidonie Ker
|-
|1985
|''Speaking Our Peace''
|Speaking Our Peace
|55m19s
|Terre Nash
Bonnie Sherr Klein
|-
|1985
|''Spirit of the Kata''
|
|27m28s
|Sharon McGowan
|-
|1985
|''A Writer in the Nuclear Age''
|Speaking Our Peace
|09m10s
|Terre Nash
|-
|1986
|''Beyond Memory''
|
|14m15s
|Louise Lamarre
|-
|1986
|''Children of War''
|
|25m20s
|Premika Ratnam
|-
|1986
|''Doctor, Lawyer, Indian Chief''
|
|28m42s
|Carol Geddes
|-
|1986
|''Firewords: Louky Bersianik, Jovette Marchessault, Nicole Brossard''
|
|84m35s
|Dorothy Todd Hénaut
|-
|1986
|''First Take Double Take''
|
|08m47s
|[[Paula Fairfield]]
|-
|1986
|''The Impossible Takes a Little Longer''
|
|45m35s
|Anne Henderson
|-
|1986
|''Moving On''
|The Next Step
|28m02s
|Tina Horne
|-
|1986
|''No Longer Silent''
|
|56m28s
|Laurette Deschamps
|-
|1986
|''Nuclear Addiction: Dr. Rosalie Burtell on the Cost of Deterrence''
|Speaking Our Peace
|18m47s
|Terre Nash
|-
|1986
|''A Safe Distance''
|The Next Step
|27m40s
|Tina Horne
|-
|1986
|''Speaking of Nairobi''
|
|56m08s
|Tina Horne
|-
|1986
|''Sylvie's Story''
|The Next Step
|27m43s
|Tina Horne
|-
|1986
|''Thin Dreams''
|
|20m38s
|Susue Mah
|-
|1987
|''The Legacy of Mary McEwan''
|
|55m40s
|Patricia Watson
|-
|1987
|''A Love Affair with Politics: A Portrait of Marion Dewar''
|Speaking Our Peace
|26m45s
|Terre Nash
|-
|1987
|''The Man Who Stole Dreams''
|
|11m01s
|[[Joyce Borenstein]]
|-
|1987
|''A Mother and Daughter on Abortion''
|
|12m25s
|Gail Singer
|-
|1987
|''To a Safer Place''
|
|58m20s
|Beverly Shaffer
|-
|1987
|''Worth Every Minute''
|
|28m27s
|[[Catherine Macleod (writer)|Catherine Macleod]]
[[Lorraine Segato]]
|-
|1988
|''Mile Zero: The SAGE Tour''
|
|48m41s
|Bonnie Sherr Klein
|-
|1989
|''15th Anniversary''
|
|57m16s
|Sidonie Kerr
|-
|1989
|''Adam's World''
|
|19m07s
|Donna Read
|-
|1989
|''Goddess Remembered''
|Women and Spirituality
|54m29s
|Donna Read
|-
|1989
|''Half the Kingdom''
|
|58m45s
|Francine E. Zuckerman
Roushell Goldstein
|-
|1989
|''Illuminated Lives''
|
|05m51s
|Ellen Besen
|-
|1989
|''In Her Chosen Field''
|Gathering Strength
|28m04s
|Barbara Evans
|-
|1989
|''Older, Stronger, Wiser''
|Women at the Well<br />
|27m59s
|[[Claire Prieto]]
|-
|1989
|''Russian Diary''
|Speaking Our Peace
|27m17s
|Terre Nash
Bonnie Sherr Klein
|-
|1989
|''Studio D: 15 Years in the Making''
|
|04m21s
|Janice Brown
|-
|1989
|''A Time to Reap''
|Gathering Strength
|28m05s
|Dagmur Teufel
|-
|1989
|''Unnatural Causes''
|
|06m45s
|[[Maureen Judge]]
|-
|1989
|''Working Nights''
|
|19m52s
|Sarah Butterfield
|-
|1990
|''After the Montreal Massacre''
|
|27m14s
|[[Gerry Rogers]]
|-
|1990
|''[[The Burning Times]]''
|Women and Spirituality
|56m10s
|Donna Read
|-
|1990
|''Fair Trade''
|African Market Women
|26m57s
|Barbara Doran
|-
|1990
|''[[The Famine Within]]''
|
|118m30s
|Katherine Gilday
|-
|1990
|''[[Five Feminist Minutes]]''
|
|113m40s
|[[Marie Annharte Baker]]
Kim Blain
[[Lorna Boschman]]
[[Christene Browne]]
Alison Burns
[[Janis Cole]]
[[Shawna Dempsey and Lorri Millan|Shawna Dempsey]]
[[Ann Marie Fleming]]
Angèle Gagnon
Gwendolyn
Jennifer Kawaja
Frances Leeming
[[Sook-Yin Lee]]
[[Mary Lewis (Canadian actress)|Mary Lewis]]
[[Catherine Martin (director)|Catherine Martin]]
[[Lorri Millan]]
[[Michelle Mohabeer]]
[[Violet McNaughton (activist)|Violet McNaughton]]
[[Andrée Pelletier]]
Cathy Quinn
Tracy Traeger
|-
|1990
|''Fragments of a Conversation of a Language''
|
|19m
|Nora Alleyn
|-
|1990
|''From the Shore''
|African Market Women
|15m57s
|Barbara Doran
|-
|1990
|''Gathering Together''
|The Faithful Women
|53m07s
|Kathleen Shannon
|-
|1990
|''Harmony and Balance''
|The Faithful Women
|53m40s
|Kathleen Shannon
|-
|1990
|''I'll Never Forget You''
|The Faithful Women
|53m05s
|Kathleen Shannon
|-
|1990
|''No Time to Stop''
|
|29m05s
|Helene Klodawsky
|-
|1990
|''Pills Unlimited''
|
|28m44s
|Sylvie van Brabant
|-
|1990
|''The Power of Time''
|
|28m44s
|Liette Aubin
|-
|1990
|''Priorities and Perspectives''
|The Faithful Women
|53m15s
|Kathleen Shannon
|-
|1990
|''Texts and Contexts''
|The Faithful Women
|53m14s
|Kathleen Shannon
|-
|1990
|''Through Ignorance or Design: A Discussion of Stereotypes''
|The Faithful Women
|53m05s
|Kathleen Shannon
|-
|1990
|''Toying With Their Future''
|
|30m04s
|CLAIRE NADON
|-
|1990
|''Where Credit is Due''
|African Market Women
|27m38s
|Barbara Doran
|-
|1990
|''Working Towards Peace''
|The Faithful Women
|53m25s
|Kathleen Shannon
|-
|1991
|''Mother Earth''
|
|10m33s
|Terre Nash
|-
|1991
|''Sisters in the Struggle''
|Women at the Well
|49m20s
|[[Dionne Brand]]
Ginny Stikeman
|-
|1991
|''When the Day Comes''
|
|28m27s
|Sharon McGowan
|-
|1991
|''[[Wisecracks]]''
|
|92m58s
|Gail Singer
|-
|1991
|''Women in the Shadows''
|
|55m55s
|[[Norma Bailey]]
|-
|1992
|''A Balancing Act''
|Women and Work
|23m43s
|Helena Cynamon
|-
|1992
|
|84m35s
|[[Lynne Fernie]]
[[Aerlyn Weissman]]
|-
|1992
|''Glass Ceiling''
|Women and Work
|27m30s
|Sophie Bisonette
|-
|1992
|''Making Babies''
|On the Eighth Day: Perfecting Mother Nature
|50m50s
|Gwynne Basen
|-
|1992
|''Making Perfect Babies''
|On the Eighth Day: Perfecting Mother Nature
|50m50s
|Gwynne Basen
|-
|1992
|''Return Home''
|
|29m19s
|Michelle Wong
|-
|1992
|''Toward Intimacy''
|
|61m46s
|Debbie McGee
|-
|1993
|''Careers to Discover''
|
|25m28s
|Ginette Pellerin
|-
|1993
|''Long Time Comin'''
|Women at the Well
|52m27s
|Dionne Brand
|-
|1993
|''A Web Not a Ladder''
|Women and Work
|23m55s
|Bonnie Dickie
|-
|1994
|''Hands of History''
|
|51m43s
|[[Loretta Todd]]
|-
|1994
|''Keepers of the Fire''
|
|54m42s
|[[Christine Welsh]]
|-
|1994
|''Motherland: Tales of Wonder''
|
|89m45s
|Helene Klodawsky
|-
|1994
|''Twenty Years of Feminist Filmmaking''
|
|05m05s
|Cheryl Sim
Janice Brown
|-
|1994
|''When Women Kill''
|
|47m58s
|Barbara Doran
|-
|1994
|''Widening the Circle: A Gathering of Women''
|
|25m13s
|[[Annette Clarke (producer)|Annette Clarke]]
Patricia Diaz
Danielle Dyson
Nicole Hubert
Barbara Hutchinson
Cheryl Sim
|-
|1995
|''Skin Deep''
|
|80m59s
|[[Midi Onodera]]
|-
|1996
|''Alternate Route''
|
|45m
|DENISE WITHERS
|-
|1996
|''Asking Different Questions: Women and Science''
|
|51m
|Gwynne Basen
Erna Buffie
|-
|1996
|''The Dreams of the Night Cleaners''
|
|46m30s
|[[Leila Sujir]]
|-
|1996
|''Kathleen Shannon: On Film, Feminism & Other Dreams''
|
|49m50s
|Gerry Rogers
|-
|1996
|''Listening for Something''
|
|55m58s
|Dionne Brand
|-
|1996
|''Taking Charge''
|
|25m34s
|Claudette Jaiko
|-
|1996
|''Under the Willow Tree''
|
|51m39s
|Dora Nipp
|}
== References ==
{{reflist}}
== External links ==
* [https://www.nfb.ca/channels/studio-d-films-women-women/ NFB Studio D Channel]
* [http://femfilm.ca/index.php?lang=e Canadian Women Film Directors Database]
* [https://blog.nfb.ca/blog/tag/studio-d/ NFB Blog entries on Studio D]
* [http://onf-nfb.gc.ca/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/0715_COM_Journe%CC%81e-de-la-femme_EN_V1.pdf A History of Women's Filmmaking at the National Film Board of Canada]
[[Category:1974 establishments in Canada]]
[[Category:1996 disestablishments in Canada]]
[[Category:Feminism in Canada]]
[[Category:National Film Board of Canada]]
[[Category:Women filmmakers]]
[[Category:Former Crown corporations of Canada]]