Making Movie History: Bonnie Sherr-Klein

Bonnie Sherr-Klein looks back on the moment when a small group of women within the Canadian Film Board pushed to create space for their own stories. The film follows her memories of the early days of Studio D, showing how a handful of filmmakers pooled resources, argued about form and politics, and ultimately made a provocative documentary called Not a Love Story, which she co-directed. Through interviews, recollection, and archival material, the documentary traces the creative process and the tensions around representing difficult subjects on screen, without revealing outcomes or later developments in Klein's life and career.

Directed by Joanne Robertson and released in 2014, the documentary centers on Bonnie Sherr-Klein and the women of Studio D, drawing on the filmmaker's firsthand recollection rather than a dramatized biography.

The film had a limited release aimed at specialized audiences, with screenings geared toward film communities and academic settings, so it did not generate mainstream box office figures.

Making Movie History highlights how Not a Love Story and Studio D influenced conversations in feminist film circles, opening space for women to take editorial and directorial roles. The documentary frames those works as touchstones in women's cinema, showing how a single production can shift attention to representation and industry practices.

Critical and public reception has been modest and focused, with the film likely to resonate most with historians, activists, and students of documentary practice. Major themes include collective creative labor, gender and authorship in institutional settings, memory and testimony, and the practical challenges of making politically charged films within public institutions. The tone is reflective, valuing testimony and context over sensationalism.