Shawney Cohen is one of Toronto’s "video store" generation of filmmakers, raised on rewinds and late fees. He studied computer animation in college and was a CG supervisor on Zack Snyder’s first film in 2004. For much of his career, he produced content for Vice Media during the company’s rise as a major force in digital journalism and documentary filmmaking. His directing debut, The Manor, an intimate vérité portrait of his family’s strip club and his parents’ eating disorders, was the opening night film at Hot Docs, awarded the Tribeca Film Institute Documentary Fund, and nominated for Best International Documentary at the Zurich Film Festival. In 2019, Cohen received the TELUS Feature Documentary Fund to direct the Crave Original Rat Park, an exploration of addiction that is now used in college psychology programs.

Shawney has directed, written, and produced unscripted series and specials for Hulu, Discovery, CBC, Paramount+, FOX, and Amazon. He has also worked under the name Sean Cohen on select animated and commercial projects.

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Shawney Cohen

Director

Writer

Producer

Cinematographer

Editor

Visual Effects

Camera and Electrical Department

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