On this episode of Finding Your Bliss, Celebrity Interviewer and Bliss Coach Judy Librach is joined by the visionary storytellers and creators behind “Fairly Equal: Conversations Toward a Feminist Future”, Karen Shopsowitz, Barri Cohen and Linda Silver Dranoff.
Karen Shopsowitz is a Peabody-award winning producer, director, editor and cameraperson, whose work has been screened nationally and internationally. She was the director of TVO’s “Magic Shadows: Elwy Yost: A Life in Movies”, produced by Firestarter Productions. She also co-produced and edited “Mudder’s Hands”, a short documentary which was featured in FIN Atlantic International Film Festival, the Montreal Independent Film Festival, and the Middlebury New Filmmakers Festival in Vermont.
Karen was also the producer, director, editor and second cameraperson of “The Other Side of the Hero”, a documentary about first responders and PTSD, which aired on CBC’s documentary channel and has been screened across North America at several festivals and events. Other documentary highlights include directing, editing and co-writing “My Father's Camera”, which went on to win a prestigious Peabody Award. As well as her role as series producer, director and co-editor of CBC and SRC’s “Canada's War in Colour”, producer, director and editor of TVO’s “GrandParenting” and the CBC Documentary “One Summer at Camp Winston”. She was also the producer, director, writer, editor of the award-winning “My Grandparents Had a Hotel” which has screened globally.
Karen has worked as a director and editor on dozens of productions, ranging from stand-alone documentaries to documentary series for television, fiction including “Angel
Light”, which starred Sheila McCarthy and was screened at the Montreal World Film Festival, educational works, and music videos.
Karen has a Masters of Fine Arts in Film and Video from York University, a Bachelor of Journalism (Honours) from Carleton University, and a Certificate in Feature Film Writing from UCLA Extension, Writer’s Studio. She was also a participant in the 2012 Women in the Director’s Chair program.
Barri Cohen is the Co-Producer and Director of “FAIRLY EQUAL: Conversations Toward a Feminist Future.”
She is an award-winning producer, director, writer and consultant. Among her awards and nominations are those for her feature documentary “Unloved: Huronia's Forgotten Children”, and for “Toxic Trespass: Children’s Health and the Environment”. She also co-produced Phyllis Ellis's
feature film, “Toxic Beauty” – which garnered an International Emmy nomination and several CSA
awards, along with Banff Rockie and DGC nominations. Cohen’s film, “Unloved” premiered at Hot Docs in 2022, won the 3rd prize Audience Award, a DGC Award, and was nominated for four CSA awards. She recently completed story editing and production consulting on the feature documentary film, “Exclusion: A Century of Silence”, which uses a filmmaker's POV and family history to delve into the shocking history of Canada's anti-Chinese racist immigration policies. For Omni & Knowledge Network.
Linda Silver Dranoff is a lawyer, writer and activist. As a lawyer in private practice, she appeared at every level of court in a precedent-setting career, helping countless individuals navigate the legal system.
As an author and columnist, she provided Canadians with access to accurate, understandable and empowering legal information throughout her 25-year stint as a columnist at Chatelaine and as the author of “Women in Canadian Law (a history)”, “Every Woman’s Guide to the Law”, “Every Canadian’s Guide to the Law” and most recently, a memoir and history of the women’s movement “Fairly Equal: Lawyering the Feminist Revolution”.
As an activist, she has advanced the cause of equality and social justice for Canadian women, including spearheading the reform of Ontario family law to provide for the equal sharing of family assets.
She has spoken widely on legal, community, women's and law reform issues at ...
