Kathleen Shannon

Kathleen Shannon (11 November 1935 – 9 January 1998) was a Canadian film director and producer. She is best known as the founder and first executive producer of Studio D of the National Film Board of Canada, the first government-funded film studio in the world dedicated to women filmmakers.

Career Early career Shannon began her career in the Canadian film industry cataloging music for Crawley Films in Ottawa after dropping out of high school at the age of 16. She later joined the National Film Board (NFB) as an editor in 1956 when she was 21. In her early years at the NFB Shannon worked as a sound, music, and picture editor. The films delve into the experiences of working mother's throughout Canada, with some of the films focused on an individual women, including Our Dear Sisters, whose subject was Indigenous filmmaker Alanis Obomsawin. The series was created as part of the NFB's Challenge for Change Program (1967–1980), which was a government funded initiative to bring the art and practice of film making to communities across Canada in an effort to incite social change. Initially meant to be one film, Shannon and distributive consultant Doris Mae Oulton proposed a format change of several short films and held small test screenings across different communities to try convince the NFB and the projects federal government sponsor of the new format's potential for success. With the new format approved, the Working Mother's series became arguably one of the most important achievements of Challenge for Change, and its success paved the way for Shannon's proposal for a women's studio within the NFB.

Studio D Shannon was the driving force behind the creation of Studio D. She lobbied the unenthusiastic NFB to create a women's film production unit that would produce feminist documentaries created by and for women. When the studio was launched in 1974, it was housed in the basement of the NFB headquarters in Montreal with a budget of $100,000 and three women on staff; Shannon, Margaret Pettigrew, and Yuki Yoshida. Shannon became the first executive producer and remained in the role for 12 years before stepping down in June 1986.

In an interview with The Christian Science Monitor, Shannon outlined in what her opinion was the five objectives of Studio D: "providing employment opportunities for women, providing training opportunities for women, meeting the information needs of women, creating an environment that would facilitate 'exploring our creativity in our own way', [and] bringing the perspective of women to bear 'on all social issues.'"

While executive producer, Shannon oversaw the creation and production of over 80 films, including Not a Love Story: A Film About Pornography (1981), and the Academy Award-winning documentaries I'll Find a Way (1977) and If You Love This Planet (1982). The film includes personal interviews with Shannon as well as archival footage and photography. In the film Shannon reflects on various topics: from childhood, aging, and alcoholism, to the work-life balance, and her experiences during her time at the NFB and Studio D. After Shannon retired, she moved to the Kootenays where she opened a guest house for women and worked as a therapist. Shannon was also bestowed three honorary degrees: a Doctor of Laws from Queen's University in 1984, a Doctor of Letters from York University in 1996, and a Doctor of Humane Letters from Mount Saint Vincent University in 1997.

Shannon died on January 9, 1998, at the age of 62. She had been diagnosed with lung cancer two weeks prior, and died during surgery to remove a tumor in Kelowna, British Columbia.