Arc of Justice

Since 2004, award-winning directors/producers Helen S. Cohen and Mark Lipman have been creating documentary projects together under their Open Studio Productions banner.

Prior to becoming an independent producer in 2004, 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 the 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 "It’s Elementary: Talking About Gay Issues in School" (1996), the groundbreaking documentary that addresses anti-gay prejudice and explores how teachers can include discussions about LGBT people in their classrooms; "That’s a Family!" (2000), where elementary school–age kids describe in their own words the many shapes that families take in today’s diverse world; and "Let’s Get Real" (2003), an in-depth look at name-calling and bullying in middle schools, told entirely from a youth perspective. She has also directed, produced, and/or executive produced documentaries for public interest organizations, including "Homes & Hands: Community Land Trusts in Action" (1998) and "Street of Dreams: Development Without Displacement in Communities of Color" (2013).

Mark’s films have been broadcast nationally on public television and won numerous awards. His producing/directing credits include "To Have and To Hold" (1981), the first documentary to look at domestic violence through the experiences of men; "Holding Ground: The Rebirth of Dudley Street" (1996), a film about the Dudley Street Neighborhood Initiative’s successful efforts to revitalize a Boston neighborhood devastated by redlining, arson, and illegal dumping; "Father’s Day" (2003), an experimental documentary about the death of his father; "Gaining Ground" (2012), a sequel to "Holding Ground" that explores Dudley Street’s success in preventing foreclosures and fostering youth leadership; and "Street of Dreams: Development Without Displacement in Communities of Color" (2013). He also edited "Alaska Far Away" (2008), a feature documentary about a controversial New Deal program that relocated two hundred destitute farm families into the wilds of Alaska.

Mark has extensive experience designing and implementing audience engagement campaigns for his films. The Ford Foundation included "Holding Ground" as one of ten case studies in an evaluation of its most successful media grants over the prior twenty years.