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Ann Shin | She is a writer and filmmaker born
in London, Ontario and raised on the West Coast.
Her mother came to Canada during the Trudeau
years to work as a nurse; her father specialized in animal husbandry.
Like most Korean immigrants however, they went into business,
opening a handful of grocery stores one after another and ultimately
starting up a commercial mushroom farm in B.C.'s Fraser Valley.
A near-fatal accident on the farm left her mother wheelchair bound
when Ann was 9 years old. The accident profoundly affected her
and the rest of the family.
Ann started writing poetry when
she was a child. Her work has since been published in anthologies
and magazines in Canada and the United States. Her first volume
of poetry is called The Last Thing Standing of which Nino Ricci
writes is "a beautiful and memorable book. Ann Shin writes
about love, loss and the idea of home with clarity, wit and grace."
Her other publications include
The Last Thing Standing (Mansfield Press, 2000) and Crossroads
Cant (Broken Jaw Press, 1997).
Her films explore themes of
migration, alienation, cultural myths, race and beauty. Her documentaries
have been broadcast worldwide and screened in numerous festivals,
garnering awards. 'How to Breathe the Air of Our Ancestors' won
a gold medal at the 1998 New York Festivals, 'The Roswell Incident'
won Bronze at the 1999 Columbus International Film Festival, 'Western
Eyes' won the 1998 National Film Board Reel Diversity Competition,
'The Four Seasons Mosaic' was nominated for Best Performance Documentary
at the 2005 Geminis. Currently, she resides in Toronto with her
husband and two daughters. She works as a producer and is writing
a novel.
Ann's documentaries include:
The Four Seasons Mosaic, CBC, 2004
Almost Real, Connecting in a Wired World, National Film Board
of Canada, 2002
Western Eyes, NFB and CBC Newsworld, 2000
The Fall of an Asian Tiger, Vision TV, 1999
The Roswell Incident, History TV, 1998
How to Breathe the Air of Our Ancestors, CBC Radio, 1998
For more information about Ann's
publications:
<http://www.mansfieldpress.net/authors/Shin.html>
<http://www.brokenjaw.com/catalog/pg31.htm>
<http://www.thedrunkenboat.com/shin.htm>
For more information about Ann's
film and television work:
<www.fathomfilmgroup.com>
<http://www.nfb.ca/explore-by/director/Ann-Shin/>
<http://www.telefilm.gc.ca/data/production/prod_3121.
asp?lang=en&cat=tv&g=doc&y=2004>
Video links for Ann Shin
To view 'Western Eyes'
http://www.nfb.ca/film/western-eyes/
To view 'Almost Real: Connecting
in a Wired World'
http://www.nfb.ca/film/almost-real/
To listen to 'How to Breathe
the Air of Our Ancestors'
http://www.cbc.ca/outfront/listen/2004/04-09-20.html
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