![]() The world's first publicly funded feminist filmmaking studio | |
Founded | 1974 |
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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 filmmaking studio.[1] 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 Corporation."[2]
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 #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]."[3][4]