Skip to content

Canadian doc about trans soul singer Jackie Shane wins Peabody award

A Canadian documentary about trailblazing transgender soul singer Jackie Shane has won a Peabody Award.
279d058987f804f0a560dfc42f8b679a7eb0220a4ddcdfeb18d30e4bf4d88d49
A year before her death in 2019, Jackie Shane decided it was finally time to tell her life story. Directors Michael Mabbott, left, and Lucah Rosenberg-Lee pose for a photograph for their new film "Any Other Way: The Jackie Shane Story" in Toronto on Thursday, April 18, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette

A Canadian documentary about trailblazing transgender soul singer Jackie Shane has won a Peabody Award.

“Any Other Way: The Jackie Shane Story," directed by Edmonton's Michael Mabbott and Toronto's Lucah Rosenberg-Lee, was named a winner in the documentary category.

The film tells the story of Shane, who disappeared from the spotlight in 1971 after dominating Toronto’s music scene throughout the 1960s. Shane died in Nashville in 2019 at age 78, a year after getting a Grammy nod for an album that put her back on the map.

"Any Other Way" was also named best Canadian documentary by the Toronto Film Critics Association in February.

Co-produced by Banger Films and the National Film Board of Canada, the doc is currently streaming on Crave.

Peabody winners will be celebrated at a ceremony in Los Angeles on June 1.

Mabbott told The Canadian Press earlier this year that the reception to the film has been “overwhelming.”

“I’ve never seen anything like it, where young teenagers are moved by Jackie, and people in their 70s and 80s who remember seeing Jackie are moved by the story," he said.

"It’s really incredible, the response and support."

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 1, 2025.

Alex Nino Gheciu, The Canadian Press

push icon
Be the first to read breaking stories. Enable push notifications on your device. Disable anytime.
No thanks