Janis Cole & Holly Dale

• Janis Cole and Holly Dale

Janis Cole (b. 1954, Chatham, Ontario) and Holly Dale (b. 1953, Toronto, Ontario) are a filmmaking duo who have produced and directed works together, and separately. They first met in 1975 at Sheridan College, in Oakville, in the film studies program. At the time, the pair both lived near Toronto’s Yonge Street strip, which was known for its sex shops, massage parlours, and sex workers. Cole and Dale took to documenting the people and scenes around them in their signature direct cinema style, relying mostly on interviews with their subjects, and minimal to no voiceover narration. Their first documentary films together, “Cream Soda” (1976) and “Minimum Charge, No Cover” (1976) both dealt frankly with sex trade workers and entertainers. Their next film, “Thin Line” (1977) also explored the lives of those on the social margins – this time focusing on the inmates at the Penetang Hospital for the Criminally Insane.
The pair launched their film production company, Spectrum Films, in the early 1980s, and continued to explore themes of social marginality. Their first feature and breakthrough film, “P4W: Prison For Women” (1981) focused on the stories, experiences, and relationships of five inmates at Kingston’s Prison for Women, Canada’s only female prison at the time. “P4W” was groundbreaking in terms of its largely positive portrayal of a lesbian relationship onscreen. It was also incredibly successful, earning over half a million dollars in Canadian sales against its modest $32,000 budget, and garnering Cole and Dale a Genie Award for Best Theatrical Documentary.
Cole and Dale followed up the success of “P4W” with “Hookers on Davie” (1984), which examined the lives of cis and transgender sex workers on Davie Street in the West End of Vancouver, set in the context of mayor Mike Harcourt’s efforts to “clean up” Vancouver’s streets, as well as the federal government’s Fraser Commission investigations into prostitution and pornography. In gaining the trust of their subjects, Cole and Dale produced a remarkably fierce and candid work that earned the duo their second Genie Award nomination for Best Theatrical Documentary.
The pair’s next film dealt with the world of filmmaking itself. “Calling the Shots” (1988) was a feature-length documentary about the lives of women in the film industry, with interviews of Jeanne Moreau, Anne Wheeler, Sandy Wilson, Margot Kidder, Penelope Spheeris, and Lizzie Borden among others. The film premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in 1988 and was nominated for Best Theatrical Documentary at the Genie Awards in 1989.
Cole and Dale also collaborated on projects for television. In 1992, Cole wrote, and Dale directed a Canadian Heritage minute about Agnes MacPhail, the first woman to be elected to the Canadian House of Commons, and her battle for penal reform. And in 1996, Cole wrote, and Dale directed the television film “Dangerous Offender” (also known as “Dangerous Offender: The Marlene Moore Story”) for CBC. The film centered on Marlene Moore, one of the women Cole and Dale had originally profiled in “P4W,” and the first woman in Canada to be designated as a dangerous offender. The wrenching portrayal of Moore’s life behind bars earned the film seven Gemini Award nominations and two wins: one for Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Dramatic Program or Mini-Series, for Brooke Johnson’s performance as Marlene, and one for Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Supporting Role in a Dramatic Program or Mini-Series, for Jayne Eastwood’s performance as Marlene’s mother.
Cole and Dale also collaborated on a book version of their film “Calling the Shots”, which was released by Quarry Press in 1994. Together, they also received the 1994 Toronto Arts Award. Their films have appeared in countless international festivals, including Toronto, Chicago, Paris, Berlin, Tel Aviv, Syndey, and Tokyo.
Outside of her collaboration with Dale, Janis Cole continued her own work in film and television. In 1990, she directed the documentary short “Shaggie: Letters from Prison”, a segment in the Canadian film anthology “Five Feminist Minutes.” This film also explored the life of Marlene Moore through letters she wrote from prison, until her suicide in 1988. Cole also directed the short film “Bowie: One in a Million” (2001), which was a tribute to her friend Cathie Bowie, who was murdered by her husband. Cole also wrote for the television series ”Bliss” as well as “Exhibit A: Secrets of Forensic Science.” Additionally, Cole was also a contributing writer and editor of “POV Magazine” and a writer and film reviewer for “NOW Magazine.” Cole has taught several filmmaking, writing, and documentary workshops at the Winnipeg Film Group, Charles Street Video, and Trinity Square Video. She was also a professor in the Integrated Media program at OCAD University for 30 years and is now a Professor Emerita. Cole holds a Master of Fine Arts in Documentary Media from Toronto Metropolitan University.
Outside of her collaboration with Cole, Dale also continued to work in film and television. Dale attended the inaugural Canadian Film Center program in 1995, resulting in her first narrative feature film – the vampire romp “Blood and Donuts” (1995). Dale then largely focused on directing for television, starting in the mid-90s on series such as “Traders”, ”Bliss” and “Exhibit A: Secrets of Forensic Science.” In the early 2000s, her credits included several episodes of “Twice in a Lifetime”, “The Collector” and “Sue Thomas: F.B.Eye.” Dale also directed several episodes of “Durham County”, the first of which earned her both the Gemini Award for Best Direction in Dramatic Series and the DGC Craft Award for Direction in a Television Series. Dale also directed episodes of hit Canadian shows such as Flashpoint” and “Being Erica.” Dale began to find work south of the border, directing episodes of well-known American programs such as “Law and Order: Special Victims Unit,” “The Americans,” and “Dexter.” She also continued to direct on high-profile Canadian series such as “Mary Kills People” and “Transplant,” the latter of which earned her a Canadian Screen Award for Best Direction in a Drama Series. Her recent directorial credits include “Batwoman” and the Netflix series “FUBAR” starring Arnold Schwartzenegger.

Record created January 23, 2024

“Blood and Donuts.” Wikipedia. Accessed at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blood_and_Donuts
“Calling the Shots.” Wikipedia. Accessed at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calling_the_Shots
“Dangerous Offender: The Marlene Moore Story”. The Internet Movie Database. Accessed at: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0116018
“Five Feminist Minutes.” Wikipedia. Accessed at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Five_Feminist_Minutes
“Hookers on Davie.” Wikipedia. Accessed at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hookers_on_Davie
Harkness, John. “Nightworld: An Interview with Janis Cole and Holly Dale.” Cinema Canada. June, 1984, pp. 11-13.
“Holly Dale”. MediaQueer.ca. Accessed at: https://www.mediaqueer.ca/artist/holly-dale
“Holly Dale.” Wikipedia. Accessed at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holly_Dale
“Janis Cole.” The Internet Movie Database. Accessed at: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0170591
“Janis Cole.” MediaQueer.ca. Accessed at: https://www.mediaqueer.ca/artist/janis-cole
“Janis Cole.” OCAD University. Accessed at: https://www.ocadu.ca/node/100053493
“Janis Cole.” Wikipedia. Accessed at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Janis_Cole
“Spectrum Films – History.” Accessed at: https://www.spectrumfilms.ca/history/history.html

Created by Lindsay Grant, Assistant Media Archivist, University of Toronto Media Commons Archives