Sheona McDonald
Sheona McDonald is a Canadian film-maker.[1][2]
She is best known for her work on non-fiction films, produced through her production company, Dimestore Productions.[3] She won a Canadian Screen Award for directing When Dreams Take Flight, and has been nominated for a Gemini Award for writing Capturing a Short Life.
Her film Into Light was part of an online film festival Canada's National Film Board organized, in May 2021, and is scheduled to show at the Calgary film festival, in 2021.[4][5]
In addition she has directed episodes of reality TV series, like Love it or list it.[6]
In May 2019 McDonald released Candice, a profile of Candice Vadala.[7] Vadala, also known by the stage name Candida Royale, had been an artist, then a film extra, then an actor in porn films, and finally a film director. She invited McDonald to profile her after she had been diagnosed with ovarian cancer.
McDonald featured a documentary about Gerald Cotten, the director of a Canadian cryptocurrency exchange, entitled "Dead Man’s Switch", at the Hot Docs film festival, in May 2021, and the Gimli Film Festival, in July 2021.[1][8] Cotten's death apparently left $250 CAD of funds in cryptocurrency locked in "cold wallets". His death triggered speculation that he had already squandered his investor's funds, or that he had faked his death, in order to rob them. The Winnipeg Free Press said the film "had the scent of Citizen Kane".
Deadman's switch was scheduled to be broadcast on the Discovery+ channel on December 23, 2021.[9][10]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Kara Headley (2021-05-03). "Hot Docs 2021 Women Directors: Meet Sheona McDonald – “Dead Man’s Switch: a crypto mystery”". Hot Docs 2021. Archived from the original on 2021-05-10. https://web.archive.org/web/20210510210319/https://womenandhollywood.com/hot-docs-2021-women-directors-meet-sheona-mcdonald-dead-mans-switch-a-crypto-mystery/. Retrieved 2021-07-29. "'Dead Man’s Switch' is a feature length documentary that explores the mysterious, twisted, and unregulated world of cryptocurrency through the story of the rise and fall of the Canadian cryptocurrency exchange QuadrigaCX and the mysterious death of its CEO and founder, Gerald Cotten."
- ↑ "Sheona McDonald". Canadian Filmmakers Distribution Centre. https://www.cfmdc.org/filmmaker/1560. Retrieved 2021-07-29. "Starting in 1994, Sheona did a two year media program at Capilano College in Vancouver. Within that program she made two documentaries, 'With My Boots On,' the story of Rosalin MacPhee's fight against breast cancer; and 'Breaking the Cycle' an examination of Canadian Aboriginal men and domestic violence."
- ↑ "About". Dimestore Productions. https://www.dimestore.ca/sheona-mcdonald. Retrieved 2021-07-29.
- ↑ Steve Newton (2021-04-15). "Four new National Film Board of Canada documentaries to be featured online at the DOXA Documentary Film Festival". Straight. Archived from the original on 2021-10-12. https://web.archive.org/web/20211012142129/https://www.straight.com/movies/four-new-national-film-board-of-canada-documentaries-to-be-featured-online-at-doxa. Retrieved 2021-10-12. "They include Into Light, Sheona McDonald’s new short doc about a mother and child navigating the complexities of gender identity;"
- ↑ "Kainai documentary premiere at Calgary festival". Fort Macleod Gazette. 2021-09-15. Archived from the original on 2021-09-17. https://web.archive.org/web/20210917084858/https://www.fortmacleodgazette.com/2021/kainai-documentary-premiere-at-calgary-festival/. Retrieved 2021-10-12. "Into Light, a short doc shot in Yellowknife by West Vancouver’s Sheona McDonald, a Canadian Screen Award-winning director, writer and producer."
- ↑ "Sheona McDonald". Women Make Movies. Archived from the original on 2021-10-12. https://web.archive.org/web/20211012135801/https://www.wmm.com/filmmaker/Sheona+McDonald/. Retrieved 2021-10-12. "Sheona has produced, directed and written a number of documentaries including Inside Her Sex, When Dreams Take Flight and Capturing a Short Life. Sheona also directed season two of Emergency Room: Life and Death at VGH for Knowledge Network, and has directed several episodes of Love It or List It Vancouver."
- ↑ Jeremy Shepherd (2019-05-03). "Doc examines life of adult film star turned feminist icon". Times Colonist. https://www.timescolonist.com/2.2551/2.3024/doc-examines-life-of-adult-film-star-turned-feminist-icon-1.23810935. Retrieved 2021-07-29. "Candice, a new documentary from Horseshoe Bay director Sheona McDonald, offers a last look at Vadala and the measures of pain and comfort she drew from the answers to those questions."
- ↑ Randall King (2021-07-14). "Tales from the crypto: Documentary explores life and death of Canadian CEO -- and the disappearance of $215 million of cryptocurrency". Winnipeg Free Press. Archived from the original on 2021-07-14. https://web.archive.org/web/20210714141431/https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/arts-and-life/entertainment/arts/tales-from-the-crypto-574828102.html. Retrieved 2021-07-29. "But this story is all too real. The film by Vancouver-based documentarian Sheona McDonald examines the suspicious circumstances surrounding the death of Canadian CEO Gerald Cotten, who died at the age of 30 in India, apparently as a result of Crohn’s disease."
- ↑ Peter White (2021-10-01). "‘Dear Mr. Brody’ Lands At Discovery+ As Part Of Latest Feature Doc Slate". Deadline magazine. Archived from the original on 2021-10-06. https://web.archive.org/web/20211006112746/https://deadline.com/2021/10/dear-mr-brody-lands-at-discovery-as-part-of-latest-feature-doc-slate-1234847623/. Retrieved 2021-10-12. "Dead Man’s Switch, which comes out December 23, is directed by Sheona McDonald (When Dreams Take Flight) with Espresso Media International representing worldwide rights."
- ↑ Andrew Jeffrey (2021-10-04). "Discovery+ expands documentary slate with “Dear Mr. Brody”". Real Screen. Archived from the original on 2021-10-07. https://web.archive.org/web/20211007214326/https://realscreen.com/2021/10/04/discovery-expands-documentary-slate-with-dear-mr-brody/. Retrieved 2021-10-12. "Dead Man’s Switch, meanwhile, is about an international scandal caused by the mysterious death of a 30-year-old cryptocurrency exchange CEO with $215 million still missing."
