 Helen S. Cohen Helen S. Cohen is an award-winning filmmaker and working artist based in the San Francisco Bay Area. She brings to documentary filmmaking a long and eclectic history of activism and professional work with cultural, educational and community development organizations. She holds a bachelor’s degree from Hampshire College and a master’s degree in urban planning from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
Until the end of 2004, when she became an independent producer, Helen was co-director of Women's Educational Media, now called Groundspark, a nonprofit organization specializing in the production and distribution of social issue documentaries. She is the co-creator of GroundSpark’s acclaimed Respect for All Project, a program that produces cutting edge films, curriculum guides and training resources to help prevent prejudice among young people. Helen spearheaded the Project’s outreach and teacher-training program, which has been recognized nationally as a model for using film to affect progressive social change.
Helen’s producing credits include all of the films in the Respect for All series: It’s Elementary: Talking About Gay Issues in School (1996); That’s a Family! (2000); and Let’s Get Real (2003). Helen has also directed, produced and/or executive produced documentaries for public interest organizations, including the Institute for Community Economics (Homes & Hands: Community Land Trusts in Action, 1998); the California Nurses Association; the National Center for Victims of Crime; the Island Affordable Housing Fund of Martha’s Vineyard; BTW - informing change; Vanguard Public Foundation, and Star Academy.
Through Open Studio Productions, Helen continues to make independent and commissioned films, as well as consult with other filmmakers, artists, foundations, and educational institutions. She is a long-standing member of New Day Films, a national cooperative of independent filmmakers who self-distribute social issue documentaries.
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