Claire Sanford is a Canadian cinematographer and documentary storyteller based in Montreal, Canada. Originally from Texada Island on the west coast of Canada, Claire grew up immersed in nature and became versed in the quiet art of observation. She earned her BFA in Film Production from the School for the Contemporary Arts at Simon Fraser University, Vancouver (2009). Recent cinematography work includes the feature documentaries Fanny: The Right to Rock (2021) by Bobbi Jo Hart, Stolen Time (2023) by Helene Klodawsky, Larry (they/them) by Catherine Legault, The Bones (2023) by Jeremy Xido and numerous cinematic shorts. Her work has been exhibited at film festivals, theatres and galleries internationally, most recently her intimate documentary Violet Gave Willingly which was featured at IDFA, DOC NYC and Hot Docs 2022. She is a fellow of filmmaking initiatives including the Hot Docs Accelerator program (2014), the RIDM Talent Lab (2014), the Points North Fellowship (2016) and the Redford Centre Grant Program for Environmental Storytelling (2016). She is currently creating documentary and virtual reality work that explores and distorts anthropocentric visions of the natural world in partnership with the Canada Council for the Arts, the Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec and the National Film Board of Canada. 

Claire lives and works on unceded land in Tiohtiá:ke/Montreal, situated on the traditional territory of the Kanien’kehà:ka, a place which has long served as a site of meeting and exchange amongst many First Nations including the Kanien’kehá:ka of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy, Huron/Wendat, Abenaki, and Anishinaabeg. She recognizes and respects the Kanien’kehà:ka as the traditional custodians of the lands and waters on which she engages in artistic practice, collaboration and exchange.