Filming

Karen Shenfeld brings to the art of filmmaking her poetic sensibility and the skills she honed researching and writing magazine articles.

She began working in documentary films as a researcher in 1998. She was engaged as the Head Researcher and Production Assistant for "Street Racing: The Need for Speed," a one-hour documentary produced by Associated Producers, which first aired on "The Inside Story," Arts and Entertainment, in January 2000. Shot in the middle of the night, it presents a unique and intense look at the dangerous and pervasively masculine world of illegal street-racing in Toronto.

She then worked as the Head Researcher for "Friendly Fire," produced by YAP Films, which first aired on the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation in June 2004. She was responsible for locating, gaining access to, and interviewing all of the documentary's subjects, and conducting original historical research. She worked closely with Director Scott Harper to shape the film's narrative line. Presenting two parallel stories, in Afghanistan and in France, set 60 years apart, the documentary explores the emotional wake of the military tragedy of friendly fire.

Since February of 2002, Shenfeld has been engaged as a freelance Developer for YAP Films, and most recently for Canadian filmmaker Dany Chiasson.

In the winter of 2007, she completed her first independent documentary, "Il Giardino, The Gardens of Little Italy." Poignant and personal, the film is a lyrical ode that celebrates the ever-changing and eternal gardens of Toronto's Little Italy. Through intimate conversation with lively subjects, and bucolic footage, the film lovingly documents the urban garden as a unique setting for self- and cultural expression. At the same time, "Il Giardino" vividly explores how the garden can deepen the relationship between an individual and her community.

Shenfeld is currently developing two new documentaries and writing her first feature. She is also working as the coordinator of The Toronto Italian Film Festival.

Trailer for "Il Giardino, The Gardens of Little Italy"

Karen Shenfeld's works copyright © to the author.