Shelley Saywell
Shelley Saywell is an Emmy Award winning Canadian documentary filmmaker. A two-time winner of the [[Hot Docs Award for Best Canadian Feature Documentary, her films are focused on issues of social justice and conflict, with a particular emphasis on women and children. Her films have been officially selected by numerous international festivals and broadcast in more than 30 countries. Saywell has been personally honoured with an Award for Creative Excellence, by Women in Film and Television, and UNESCO’s Gandhi Medal for the Promotion of Peace. Her complete collection of research, footage, photographs, and transcripts is now held by the University of Toronto, Media Commons Archives.
Saywell is author of the upcoming “If Only Love, A Memoir of Second Chances,” Random House Canada, publication date spring 2026. Women in War:First Hand Accounts from World War II to El Salvador, Penguin Viking, 1986, contributing editor, Ourselves Among Others, St Martins Press, 1988
She was co-founder with Deborah Parks of Bishari Films. Saying it Very Well, POV magazine, 2003, Hot Docs, Director in Focus, 2003