Janis Cole (born 1954) is a Canadian filmmaker, producer, writer, editor and professor. She has directed several films over the span of her career. Most of these films were done in cooperation with her friend and professional partner,

Holly Dale Holly Dale (born December 23, 1953) is a Canadian filmmaker and television director. Over the course of her career, Dale has worked in the Canadian film and television industry as a director, producer, writer, and editor. Although she has compl ...

. Her most notable films include ''Cream Soda'' (1976) and ''Prison For Women'' (1981).

Early career

Cole has had a long career, beginning with her time in school where she made short films with Dale. Their first, a short documentary called ''Cream Soda'' (1976), took a look at

sex trade The sex industry (also called the sex trade) consists of businesses that either directly or indirectly provide sex-related products and services or adult entertainment. The industry includes activities involving direct provision of sex-related se ...

workers in the city of

Toronto, Ontario Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

. The film focuses on the body rub industry, while highlighting tricks of the trade as explained by the workers. Their next two films ''Thin Line (''1977) and ''Minimum Charge No Cover'' (1976), which are documentaries as well, explored new ideas. The former takes a look into the maximum security mental health centre at Penetanguishene, Ontario, where Cole and Dale interviewed and photographed the inmates. The film is a serious take on crime, and the compassion one can feel towards such hardened criminals. ''Minimum Charge No Cover'', again deals with the sex industry in Toronto. The film follows several subjects, from all walks of life, including a

transsexual A transsexual person is someone who experiences a gender identity that is inconsistent with their assigned sex, and desires to permanently transition to the sex or gender with which they identify, usually seeking medical assistance (incl ...

homosexuals Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior between people of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions" exc ...

, hookers, transvestites, and female impersonators. These early films paved the way for Janis' career as a documentarian and filmmaker, focused on feminist and female themes.

First feature film

Cole and Dale's first feature film, '' P4W: Prison for Women'' (1981), won the duo a

Genie Award The Genie Awards were given out annually by the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television to recognize the best of Canadian cinema from 1980–2012. They succeeded the Canadian Film Awards (1949–1978), known as the "Etrog Awards" for sculptor ...

for Best Theatrical Documentary and is considered the most well known film of Cole's career. ''P4W'' follows the lives of inmates in Canada's only female prison at the time. The film focuses less on the crimes that have been committed and more on their stories, relationships, and isolation in the

Kingston, Ontario Kingston is a city in Ontario, Canada, on the northeastern end of Lake Ontario. It is at the beginning of the St. Lawrence River and at the mouth of the Cataraqui River, the south end of the Rideau Canal. Kingston is near the Thousand Islands, ...

penitentiary A prison, also known as a jail, gaol, penitentiary, detention center, correction center, correctional facility, or remand center, is a facility where people are Imprisonment, imprisoned under the authority of the State (polity), state, usually ...

. The film centres on 5 women, which is only a small focus compared to the number of women who wanted to be involved in the film. "There were about 100 inmates. We met with them maybe half a dozen times before we started to shoot. We really got to know a lot of the inmates, and we researched their crimes very well. There were about sixty women who wanted to be in the film; we narrowed the list to half a dozen people that we really wanted to focus on," said Cole in an interview for the book, '' The View from Here: Conversations with Gay and Lesbian Filmmakers'' by

Matthew Hays Matthew Hays is a Canadian film critic, writer, film festival programmer and academic. He won a Lambda Literary Award for his 2007 book '' The View from Here: Conversations with Gay and Lesbian Filmmakers''. Hays teaches film studies, journalism ...

. This feature film was important in the acceptance of lesbian relationships in film, especially documentary. The lack of men present in this film made the idea more believable, helping audiences to accept the love between two female inmates shown on screen.

Later works

After ''P4W'' came '' Hookers on Davie'' (1984, 86), which followed street prostitution, this time located in Vancouver. This film was well received, helping the pair to a second

. Cole continued her work in the industry, making films such as ''Calling the Shots'' (1988) and ''Bowie: One in a Million'' (2001). '' Calling the Shots'' (1988), is a documentary that sees Cole and Dale interviewing and recording women who work within the feature film business, reflecting on their time and trials over their careers. ''Bowie: One in a Million'' (2001), Cole's final piece is a portrait of the life of Cathy Bowie, who was murdered by her husband George Jackson. After her life became a headline, Bowie faded into a statistic. This 10 minute short was a tribute to Bowie, who herself was a friend of Cole's. Cole worked as a professor at

OCAD University Ontario College of Art & Design University, commonly known as OCAD University or OCAD U, is a public university, public art school, art university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Its main campus is located within Toronto's Grange Park (neighbourh ...

in Toronto for thirty years and is now Professor Emerita.

Early career

First feature film

Later works

Filmography

See also

References

Further reading