Tanya Ballantyne (May 4, 1944 - June 18, 2015), also known later in her career as Tanya Ballantyne Tree, was a Canadian film director,Ina Warren, "Filmmmaker shoots update of a disputed documentary". The Globe and Mail, December 28, 1984. most noted for her 1967 documentary film The Things I Cannot Change."The Tragic Face of Poverty". Montreal Star, April 29, 1967.
Created for the National Film Board of Canada, the film was broadcast by CBC Television on May 3, 1967, as an episode of the anthology series Festival,Frank Daley, "Television". Ottawa Journal, May 4, 1967. and received a special mention from the jury at the 1967 Montreal International Film Festival."Canadian Film Festival Winners Booed". Montreal Gazette, August 14, 1967.
However, with the film having generated some controversy around whether it was exploitative of stars Kenneth and Gertrude Bailey, she opted to concentrate on raising her family with her then-husband Bruce Mackay,Bruce Bailey, "Controversial documentary revived at NFB screening". Montreal Gazette, March 30, 1985. and did not return to filmmaking until deciding in the 1980s to track down the Baileys to update their story in a new film, Courage to Change.Bruce Bailey, "Film-maker tells her side of the Baileys controversy". Montreal Gazette, June 1, 1985. Having divorced from Mackay, she added Tree to her surname at this time, telling the press that she wanted to be known by a surname that she had chosen for herself, instead of being defined solely by the surnames of her father and ex-husband.
She subsequently directed the documentary films Nurses Care: One Day at a Time,Maxine Ruvinsky, "Nursing documentary in the works". Vancouver Sun, May 29, 1989. Niagara Falls and Ted Allan: Minstrel Boy of the 20th Century,Brendan Kelly, "Ted Allan, 'missing man of Canadian letters'". Montreal Gazette, March 6, 2002. before her death in 2015.
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