‘We really have to stop being invalidated by people who call us idealistic, or naive, or too emotional, or all these other things that are said to silence the brilliance of ordinary people.’ – Kathleen Shannon

Kathleen Shannon died Jan. 9, less than two weeks after she was diagnosed with lung cancer. She was assured the cancer was localized and the doctors hoped they could remove it. She died on the operating table. I can’t help but wonder how she would have prepared for her death if she had known she was leaving so quickly.
She probably would have sat down at her dining room table by the fire in her wonderful, cozy home in the Kootenay mountains with a strong cup of tea, a cigarette, a pen and paper and made a list… making notes and doodling endlessly while she pondered.
I’d say she’d have made a list of all those who were close to her. And beside each name she would write down the gift she was making for them.
Kathleen loved to make and give gifts. And always each gift was so considered and was just the right thing. But the biggest problem often was that Kathleen would have a hard time finishing it. In her eyes it wasn’t quite yet done… or maybe there was a little more she could do to make it the best it could possibly be. There were many gifts in her house that were waiting to be given…
Kathleen was born in b.c. in 1935. Her father was a mining engineer. The family moved often across the north. At 17 she started a job cataloguing film music for Crawley Films in Ottawa. In 1956 she joined the nfb in Montreal, working as a music editor, sound editor, picture editor and finally, in the early 1970s, she got to direct.
Her first film, Goldwood, was an elegant and innovative portrait of her life as a child living at a gold mine. She then went on to direct the celebrated Working Mothers series, a collection of films portraying the lives of women trying to cope with child-rearing and working outside the home. It was during these films that she stumbled into feminism and never turned back.
In 1974, Kathleen started the nfb’s Studio d, the first and only government-funded feminist filmmaking unit in the world. As executive producer of Studio D, Kathleen was responsible for the production of over 100 films, among them three Academy Award winners, If You Love This Planet, I’ll Find A Way and Flamenco at 5:15.
Kathleen had an unwavering commitment to make filmmaking and the world a better place for women. Starting in film at a time when only a very few women were doing work other than clerical, she was determined to make the industry as accessible to women as she possibly could.
And her commitment was not only to filmmakers but to audiences as well. She worked tirelessly, aiming to make films that would speak to all women, everywhere. Her battles were many, her successes many. She took great risks, often giving women wanting to work in film their first break.
And those risks paid off. There is a whole generation of women filmmakers in Canada who have in some way benefited from the work Kathleen did through Studio d.
In 1986, Kathleen was awarded the Order of Canada. She also received three honorary degrees: Doctor of Laws (Queen’s ’84), Doctor of Letters (York ’96) and Doctor of Humane Letters (Mount Saint Vincent ’97).
In the fall of 1997, the nfb released Kathleen Shannon: on film, feminism and other dreams, a portrait of Shannon, her life and work. It was one of the last films produced through Studio d.
Her legacy lives on in the body of films she produced and the filmmakers who were lucky enough to learn from and be supported by one of Canada’s great film pioneers. Her gift to many of us who were fortunate to know her and work with her was the constant encouragement to make it the best you can.
Personal tributes
‘There is an entire encyclopedia of women’s hand gestures and facial expressions that we would never have known in cinema without Kathleen Shannon.’
Gail Singer, filmmaker, sculptor, cook
‘She was a visionary with a great sense of tenderness and generosity toward the future of womankind.’
Diane Beaudry, director
‘The enormous diversity, energy and impact of the films we make at Studio D are all
rooted in the radical vision of Kathleen Shannon. She gave a voice and a vision to several generations of Canadian filmmaking women. All of Canada is in her debt.’
Bonnie Sherr Klein, filmmaker,
broadcaster, writer
‘Everything that a film-maker needs –
perseverance, persistence and commitment – is embodied in the life and work of Kathleen Shannon.’
Patricia Kearns, filmmaker, social activist
‘If the front door was closed to women
filmmakers, she’d let us in the back door. If the back door was closed, she’d let us in through the windows.’
Terre Nash, director, If You Love This Planet
‘We were privileged to work under Kathleen’s courageous leadership, inspired by the clarity of her vision and guided by her keen intellect and deep and steadfast commitment to women’s lives in the global community’
Sidonie Kerr, film editor

Gerry Rogers directed Kathleen Shannon: on film, feminism and other dreams, a National Film Board documentary chronicling the life of the filmmaker and founder of the NFB’s Studio D, Kathleen Shannon