D is for Daring
The Women behind the Films of Studio D
by Gail Vanstone

D is for Daring is the first published history of Canada's one and only feminist filmmaking studio. From its founding in 1974 to its closing in 1996, Studio D produced over 150 documentaries and won more than 100 international awards, including three Academy Awards. It was one of the most accomplished units of the National Film Board, despite being given limited funding and starting up its operations in nothing more than a janitor's storeroom.

Under the guidance of its three executive producers — Kathleen Shannon, Rina Fraticelli and Ginny Stikeman — and with the talents of in-house and freelance feminist filmmakers, writers and directors, Studio D created filmmaking opportunities for women in a field traditionally dominated by men, and brought to the public's attention the concerns and issues emerging from the Canadian women's movement. Its documentaries tackled hotly debated issues that ranged from sexuality and pornography to women's work and feminist identity to nuclear war and environmental destruction. Two of its most popular films, Not a Love Story and If You Love This Planet, unleashed international debates at the time of their release and continue to attract critical attention today.

Through personal interviews and drawing on the Studio's archival records, Vanstone introduces us to the key players behind the Studio, the reasons they chose to make the films they did, the challenges they faced working within a government institution and their many accomplishments. D is for Daring is a welcome tribute to a feminist organization whose documentaries recorded the unfolding of an exciting period of the Canadian women's movement.

Kathleen Shannon: On Film, Feminism & Other Dreams
from Women Make Movies (www.wmm.com) is an inspiring portrait depicting the life of Kathleen Shannon, the founder of Studio D.