Beverly Shaffer

Born in Montreal on May 8, 1945, Beverly Shaffer is one of Canada’s most celebrated documentary filmmakers. Over a span of 33 years at the National Film Board (1975–2008), she directed 24 films that centred the lives of women and challenged stereotypes, earning more than 35 international awards.

Her Academy Award-winning I’ll Find a Way (1977) follows a nine-year-old girl with spina bifida who dreams of attending a regular school. It was the first Oscar-winning NFB film directed by a woman.

Shaffer’s work often blends playful meta-cinematic touches with powerful storytelling, as seen in The Way It Is (1982), about a 12-year-old girl navigating her parents’ divorce.

Other highlights include I Want to Be an Engineer (1983), a celebration of women in non-traditional careers, To a Safer Place (1987), a chronicle of Shirley Turcotte’s triumph over a traumatic childhood, To My Birthmother… (2002), a moving personal journey, and Mr. Mergler’s Gift (2004), which was shortlisted for an Academy Award.