Shannon Cohn
Director / Producer
For over a decade, Shannon has produced award-winning feature films and TV series for Discovery Channel and NatGeo. Before that, she practiced international law and was part of the legal team that prosecuted Enron. She went to film school at NYU and has a law degree from Vanderbilt.
That’s what she’s done, but not who she is.
She’s a wife, a mother, a daughter. She’s a woman who lives with severe endometriosis. In her case, that means over 20 years of debilitating pain, miscarriages, multiple surgeries and misdiagnoses.
She started thinking about how little things have changed since she first had symptoms at 16. What if a film could help stop the vicious cycle? A film to put power in the hands of women.
This is that film.
Patricio Cohn
Producer / Cinematographer
Hailing from Argentina, Patricio ("Pato") is a world-traveling adventurer and filmmaker. For the past decade, he's produced award-winning independent films and TV series for Discovery Channel International and NatGeo. He's currently directing the feature documentary Prudy & Albert, where he filmed for weeks in India among 100 million spiritual pilgrims. He produced and appears in the travel adventure series Sea Nation, which currently airs in over 60 countries.
Endo is a personal experience for Pato as he is Shannon's husband. He understands firsthand the experience of being a partner to someone living with the disease. On making the film, he says, "It's helped me understand both the personal nature of the disease and its pervasiveness. I've heard countless women from around the world repeat similar stories. It's incredible to me that they still have to convince not only doctors and other professionals, but their own family and friends. We're making this film to not only help empower women, but also help those around them better understand what they go through on a daily basis."
Arix Zalace
Producer / Editor
Arix's work has aired on Discovery Channel, Comedy Central, Travel Channel, and History Channel. He started working in film part time, producing and directing commercials and short documentary style educational pieces. His production company AZA Productions, focuses on commercial work and film projects. AZA represents several brands, is currently the film company for SEASIDE® FL (location of the 1998 film The Truman Show), and has several films currently in production.
When Shannon asked Arix to join the Endo What team he was hesitant at first: "I knew it was a very heavy subject matter, one that I knew nothing about." After listening to the interview footage and doing research on the disease, he realized the confusion surrounding endometriosis. "There are too many women in the world being misinformed, misdiagnosed, and mistreated. Once you learn the truth about the disease and how it's handled in the medical community, it compels you to educate others. This disease affects everyone in the world, whether we realize it or not."
