The award winning documentary film director and producer, Susan Morgan Cooper, grew up in a tiny village in Wales where her parents produced plays to raise money for charity. Shortly after arriving in America, she landed a small role in a Clint Eastwood film, but found film editing more fascinating than acting.
In 1991, when she met a 16 year old girl from Croatia, displaced by The Balkan War, Susan felt compelled to make her first documentary , Mirjana- One Girl's Journey. In 2000 she produced and directed a documentary television series about heroes, called Heroes and Sheroes...ordinary people who did extraordinary things for others. For three months in 2005 she filmed in Tuscany 'The Making Of' Shadows in the Sun, directed by Brad Mirman with Harvey Keitel, Joshua Jackson, Claire Forlani and Giancarlo Giannini .
In 2008 Susan made the highly acclaimed, award winning documentary, An Unlikely Weapon. It was the story of Pulitzer Prize Winning Photographer, Eddie Adams, who's Saigon Execution photo was credited with helping end the Vietnam War. The Hollywood Reporter called it ' a terrific documentary'.
In 2012 Susan went to China to film Mulberry Child, where she traced a present day mother and daughter's emotional disconnect back to Mao's Cultural Revolution. Critic Roger Ebert called Mulberry Child 'a powerful and touching film' and gave it three and a half stars.
In 2013, with Cass Warner, Susan wrote and produced a documentary about the iconic actor Dennis Hopper.
Currently Susan is in pre-production on a narrative feature film , East L.A. Kings. Based on real life events and the documentary she made ten years ago, it's the story of a cop from East L.A. who takes a group of troubled boys off the streets and turns them into a championship roller hockey team.
Susan's latest film, To the Moon and Back, is the story behind the Russian Adoption Ban and it's impact on the lives of hundreds of American families and thousands of Russian orphans. Can you imagine bonding with your child and promising to return to bring them home? Imagine the loss you would feel if you were prevented from keeping that promise. These mothers and fathers are forced to live with the guilt of having betrayed their commitment to these children. Click
here to view the trailer or
here to learn more about the film.