Ann Shin is a multi-awarded poet, journalist and filmmaker, born in London, Ontario, to a South Korean mother and a Danish father. Shin completed her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in English Literature (University of Toronto) and started her career as a journalist at CBC Radio, producing sound poetry and radio documentaries such as How to Breathe the Air of Our Ancestors (Gold Medal winner at the 1998 New York Festivals). 

Shin has directed 11 documentary films, two of which were produced by the NFB: Western Eyes (2000), about two Canadian women of Asian descent who are contemplating eyelid surgery, and Almost Real: Connecting in a Wired World (2002), about a group of people who use the Internet to connect with like-minded souls in surprising ways. She received international acclaim for her award-winning films The Defector: Escape from North Korea (2013) and My Enemy, My Brother (2014), which made the Oscars shortlist for Documentary Short Subject