PANELS//مناقشات

Shonna Foster is a highly visual director whose work truthfully centers story and character. She is passionately invested in telling stories that prioritize, investigate, and celebrate Black and POC experiences, and which explore universal themes through relatable characters with strong points of view. 

A graduate from York University’s Creative Ensemble Theatre Conservatory (BFA Honors), Shonna is described as an ‘actor’s director’ who is all-in, highly committed and collaborative in her approach to the work. She is known for her ability to direct raw talent in scenes with high emotional stakes, and has a strong ability to create compelling imagery through her work in scripted narrative, documentary and branded content. In addition, her passion combined with her reputation for working closely with writers elevates her tenacity for discovering and leaning into compelling stories that lift off the page.

Shonna made her directorial debut with the short film Residue which debuted at the Reelworld Film Festival, and was also licensed for national television broadcast and streaming through CBC’s Gem. Residue was featured on Breakfast Television, CBC Arts, CHCH TV, TO Indie and Black on Both Sides. Her second film Mothers: Out of A Pandemic, a documentary short Executive Produced by Jennifer Podemski and Lauren Grant is currently in the 2023/2024 festival circuit and won the “Best Long Form Short Documentary Film” at the Toronto Documentary Feature & Short Film Festival. Shonna has also directed impactful branded content, including the Gold Series x Pantene campaign which won MLS and Procter & Gamble the Grocer Impact Award.

As a director, Shonna has successfully completed one-on-one mentorships and director observer-shadowing positions with some of the industry’s leading directors and producers in Canada and the US on various television and film productions.  Her impressive resume highlights almost two decade of key positions and executive positions she has held at award-winning production companies, distribution companies and deeply rooted organizations in Canada’s film and television industry. Shonna has worked on productions for Paramount Pictures/Elevation Pictures, Sony Pictures/Lifetime, Warner/OWN, CBC, Reel One Entertainment, Pier 21 Films, and Bell Media. As a highly regarded team member and sought after asset, Shonna’s all encompassing employment experiences have made her a director who comes with a thorough understanding of the production process and pipeline.  A producer’s dream! 

Shonna credits her parents’ and Grandparents love of film, television, and music for planting the seed in her developing an understanding of storytelling and deep appreciation and passion for the art of the moving image from a very young age. Whether she was engaged in an extracurricular creative activity or working on set as a child actor, Shonna would watch performers, directors, and crew work at their craft with both intrigue and fascination. She knew from a young age that the world of film and television was where she felt most at home.

Shonna deeply loves the process of creating and feels equally at home in rehearsal, on set, in a writers room, and in an editing suite. She hopes to leave this world with a body of work that is impactful, motivating, transcends time, elevates the Black community and shifts the world just a little bit. She believes this is best achieved through fostering truthful and meaningful connections with other human beings globally and through the process of collaborating on important works of art – one episode, film, and commercial at a time.