Anna Cooley

Anna Cooley is an award-winning director, writer, cinematographer, and producer. Her projects push the boundaries of conventional storytelling by identifying unique narratives, collaborating with artists from a diverse range of disciplines, and experimenting with cutting-edge technologies. She gravitates towards projects that tackle difficult subject matter with humour and empathy. 

Anna directed her first scripted feature Faultline which premiered at the 2023 Calgary International Film Festival. She wrote and directed the documentary feature A Sauropod Abroad, and the short documentaries Garden Shark: there are some things dementia can’t touch and See Me. Other recent works include Canadian Screen Award short documentary nominees The Goats of Monesiglio and Clebs, CBC’s Living Without Menace, Abracadavers Season 2, and the VR project sandboxxii.com. Upcoming projects include the web series Scout and Gender? I Hardly Know Them, and the feature documentary 300 Million BC. 

Anna is an alumna of the Whistler Doc Lab, Women in the Director’s Chair Story and Leadership Program, and the Canadian Academy Directors Program for Women. She shadowed directors Todd Slavkin on Shadow Hunters and Eleanor Lindo on CBC's Heartland. She teaches, mentors, and is a long-standing board member of the Calgary Society of Independent Filmmakers.