ELLA COOPER is an award winning producer, director, writer, multi-media artist, educator and Canadian cultural leader who has been working in the arts, film and cultural sector for over 25 years.

Her creative practice spans broadcast media, photography, writing, textile, and illustration, with recent museum projects supported by the Righteous Person's Foundation.

In film and television, Ella is the founder of Black Women Film! Canada, a nonprofit supporting the development of Black women in film and media, celebrating its 10th anniversary in Spring 2026. She directs children’s content, episodic series, comedy, contemporary dance, music videos, and art documentaries. She was longlisted for a 2023 Canadian Screen Award for Best Direction in a Youth Series and is entering her third season as writer-director of Sunny’s Quest (TVO Kids, produced by Apartment 11).

Ella also leads Brown Rabbit Studios, a boutique BIPOC production company focused on television, lifestyle, arts, and children’s programming, with an animated projects currently in development with CBC Kids, Karen Chapman, and Sphere.

As an episodic director for kids tv, Ella has written directed over 20 episodes of children's television and has shadowed Zoe Hopkins on Season 2 of Run the Burbs (CBC) and Aleysa Young on a Capital One commercial shoot. Her documentary Black Men Loving received Best Canadian Film at Caribbean Tales, and her limited series Dance for Life on Bell Fibe earned an Honorable Mention at the San Francisco Dance Film Festival. She has created and directed over 20 short films, including an animation for CBC Books.

As a visual artist, her work has been exhibited at the Art Gallery of Ontario, Winnipeg Art Gallery, Dunlop Gallery, Nuit Blanche, Exposure Festival, and internationally. Her photo series Witness received a 2020 Editor’s Pick in Canadian Art, and her documentary, dance, and video installations have been presented across Canada, the U.S., Europe, and in Vienna (on view through June 2026). She continues to receive support from major arts councils.

A respected cultural leader and speaker, Ella creates transformative leadership programs and masterclasses internationally. She is a recipient of the Tiffany’s Hometown Hero Award, was nominated for the 2019 TAC Mayor’s Arts Award for Cultural Leadership, and was featured in Chatelaine as one of 33 Black Canadians Making Change Now.