Social Issue Documentaries a Specialty
Shirley Thompson has been editing documentaries since 1991, specializing in social issue documentary: independent works with a strong point of view and a desire to change the world. She also works as a story consultant or "film doctor," helping filmmakers fine tune their stories at all stages of post production.
Clients include the Independent Television Service, PBS' Independent Lens, Marlene Booth/Pau Hana Films, Kathy Leichter/Two Suns Media, Kara Herald Media, Kauffman/Snitow Productions, Debra Chasnoff/Groundspark.
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Documentary Credits
"Mother Land," Editor of documentary about the filmmaker's family story: growing up with a bipolar mother and reconciling with the legacy of her mother's suicide. Kathy Leichter, Producer/Director. January - March 2010, February - March 2008, May & November 2007.
"Unlisted: A Story of Schizophrenia," Story consultant for documentary about living with and coming to terms with a loved one with mental illness. Director/producer: Delaney Ruston. August 2009.
"Discontinuity" Editor of documentary fundraising reel for a film about Jewish identity and culture and "the continuity crisis." For Kauffman/Snitow Productions, Deborah Kauffman & Alan Snitow, producers/directors. August 2009.
"Pidgin: The Voice of Hawai‘i," Editor of documentary which profiles the language of Hawaii's working people in its rise from plantation jargon to a source of island identity and pride. Marlene Booth & Kanalu Young, Producers, Marlene Booth , Director. Summer - Fall 2008.
"Bachelorette 34" Story consultant for comic documentary on one woman's attempts to survive her mother's marriage campaign. Kera Herold, Producer/Director. July - August 2007.
"It's Still Elementary" a documentary looking back at ten history- making years since the release of the landmark documentary It's Elementary. Debra Chasnoff, Producer/Director. January - March 2007.
"Eating Alaska" Producer and story consultant for a documentary in progress about eating local and sustainable food on the last frontier. Ellen Frankenstein, Producer/Director. July 2005 - October 2008.
Independent Lens On-Air Promotions, Writer, producer and editor of dozens of promos and trailers for PBS' Independent Lens series. Lois Vossen, Series Producer, January 2004 to present.
"Special Circumstances" Editor, writer and co-producer for PBS documentary which follows Chilean exile Hector Salgado, as he returns to Chile from the US to confront the men who imprisoned him and who tortured and killed his friends after the coup of 1973. Marianne Teleki, director. October 2005, March 2006 - September 2006.
"The New Muslim Cool ," Additional Editor for PBS documentary about the intersection of Islam and hip hop culture among urban American youth. Jennifer Maytorena Taylor, director. October 2005 & October 2006.
"Nerd Girls," Editor of fundraising clip for PBS documentary series about young women engineers that encourages young girls to excel in math and science and pursue careers in engineering. For Good Entertainment Pictures, Karen Johnson Producer/Director. November 2005.
"By Invitation Only " One of the editors of a one hour PBS documentary about debutantes and Mardi Gras queens in the elite Carnival organizations of New Orleans. Broadcast on PBS August 2006. For Palmetto Pictures, New Orleans, LA, Rebecca Snedeker, Producer/Director. October 2001 - December 2001.
"Tangled Roots" Editor of personal documentary on the filmmaker's struggle to reconcile her dual identity as both a German and a Jew. A searing look at three generations of a Jewish and a German family, the legacy of war and the Holocaust. For Spirit Productions, Heidi Schmidt Emberling, Producer/Director. April 2001 - September 2001.
"San Francisco at the Movies, Bogart & Beyond" Editor, along with co-editor Dee Watt. Historical documentary detailing the great films made in the Bay Area from WWII to the present. Winner 2003 Emmy Award. For KRON-TV, Christa Reising, Producer/Director. March 2001 - April 2001.
"San Francisco at the Movies, the Silent Era" Editor of historical documentary about film stars, movies and technical innovation during the Bay Area's pioneering days of cinema. For KRON-TV, Ken Swartz, Producer/Director. December 2000 - February 2001.
"No Loitering" Editorial consultant on one hour PBS documentary about teens in Sitka, Alaska trying to find their place in the world. PBS broadcast February 2002. For Frankenstein Films, Sitka, Alaska, Ellen Frankenstein, Producer/Director. September 2000 - February 2001.
"Why 2K" Editor of two shorts about social change in the last century. "Things Change" produced by Nicole Atkinson Roach and "Old Timers" produced by Jon Frommer for KQED-TV. 2000 Emmy award. Aired nationally on PBS, December 1999.
"Yield To Total Elation: The Life and Art of A. G. Rizzoli" Editor of documentary portrait of visionary San Francisco artist Achilles G. Rizzoli. For Ferrero Films, Pat Ferrero, Producer/Director. February - March 1998, August 1999 - Sept. 2000
"Surfing for Life" Editor of feature length documentary about surfers who are still stoked at 70, 80 and even 90 years old. 1999 Best Documentary Hawaii International Film Festival. National PBS broadcast, April 2001. For David L. Brown Productions, David Brown, Director/Producer, Roy Earnest, Producer. May 1999 - December 1999.
"Red Rain" Story consultant on one hour PBS documentary chonicling Gina "Boom-Boom" Guidi's rise to women's IFBA junior middleweight champion of the world. PBS broadcast February 1999. For Lola Films, Laura Plotkin, Producer/Director. September 1998.
"San Francisco in the 1920's" Editor of documentary on San Francisco's freewheeling history during the age of jazz, speakeasys, Prohibition and the early days of cinema and radio. 2000 Northern California Emmy award for Outstanding Achievement in Editing. For KRON-TV, Joan Saffa, Producer/Director. February 1999 - April 1999.
"Homes and Hands: Community Land Trusts in Action" Editor of 30 minute documentary on affordable housing issues. 1999 CINE Golden Eagle. For Women's Educational Media, Debra Chasnoff, Director, Helen Cohen, Producer. August 1997 - March 1998.
Carnegie Museum Native American Series Editor of nine short documentaries on Native American cultures and environmental issues for installation in the new Native American wing of the Carnegie Museum in Pittsburgh, PA. For Ferrero Films, Pat Ferrero, Producer/Director. March 1997 - September 1997.
"Peace Talks" Editor for 5 half-hour talk shows on violence prevention for teenagers, hosted by Michael Pritchard. Winner of 1997 CINE Golden Eagle. Silver Plaque award, Chicago International Film Festival. For Heartland Media, Jim Watson, Producer/Director. June 1996 - December 1996.
"The Macho Mystique" Editor for a half hour documentary on the myths, misconceptions and realities of machismo in the Latino community. 1997 Emmy nomination. For KGO-TV, Frank Zamacona, Director, Richard Saiz, Producer. April 1996 - May 1996.
"It's Elementary : Talking About Gay Issues in School" Editor for feature length documentary on educators in six schools who are introducing gay and lesbian issues into their elementary school lessons in order to combat homophobia at the elementary school level. 1996 CINE Golden Eagle. Numerous Best of Festival Awards, screened at the White House, used in over 2000 high schools. National PBS broadcast June 1999. For Groundspark (formerly Women's Educational Media), Debra Chasnoff, Director, Helen Cohen, Producer. March 1995 - April 1996.
Frontline, "School Colors" One of five editor editing team on 2 1/2 hour documentary about race, multiculturalism and integration at Berkeley High School. Winner of a 1995 DuPont Award for Excellence in Journalism. For Telesis Productions & the Center for Investigative Reporting, broadcast October 18, 1994. Scott Andrews, Director and Stephen Olsson, Producer. March 1994 - October 1994.
"Young Aspirations/Young Artists," produced, directed and edited independent documentary project about an afterschool art & design studio for talented, inner-city New Orleans teenagers. 1994 Emmy Award, and Golden Gate Award, San Francisco International Film Festival. Broadcast on WYES & KQED-TV, June 1993. Self distributed documentary through the New Day Films cooperative. May 1991 - July 1992.
