Portraits (101)

The Arthur Lipsett Project: A Dot on the Histomap
Eric Gaucher 2007 52 min
This full-length documentary introduces us to Arthur Lipsett, a man who defined experimental filmmaking at the NFB in the 1960s. His second film, Very Nice, Very Nice, was nominated for an Academy Award. George Lucas claimed him as an important influence. A decade later, Lipsett's last attempt at filmmaking ended in failure. He chained his Steenbeck and film racks to prevent theft and vanished into paranoia.
Anniversary
1963 19 min
Here you will see Marie Dressler, Mary Pickford, Norma Shearer, Walter Huston and a host of other Canadians who achieved world renown on the silver screen. Slapstick, romance, tragedy, comedy--it's all here in an entertaining sampling of what audiences have applauded down the years. You see the audiences too, and the theatres where early movies first drew in the fans. As guide you could hardly find a more knowledgeable or familiar figure than Walter Pidgeon, a Canadian with eighty or more films to his credit. He recalls the personalities of the great stars he has known and explains how the technology developed that shows the stars on the screen.
Alter Egos

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Laurence Green 2004 52 min
In this award-winning animation-documentary, we meet two unusual artists. Ryan Larkin was once a brilliant filmmaker who ended up on the streets in Montreal. Chris Landreth is a rising star in animation beginning to experience the kind of adulation Larkin received decades earlier.

With excerpts from both men's Oscar®-nominated works, this film delves into the tale of Larkin’s descent and the fascinating relationship that developed between the two men. It is a poignant study of artists, addiction and creativity.
The AfterLifetime of Colm Feore
Hannah Cheesman 2019 5 min
After winning a lifetime achievement award, there’s nowhere left to go but down… into the bowels of the Afterlifetime Achievement Agency, a placement service that helps Laureates find their next gig.
Buster Keaton Rides Again

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John Spotton 1965 55 min
In this film Keaton rides across Canada on a railway scooter and, between times, rests in a specially appointed passenger coach where he and Mrs. Keaton lived during their Canadian film assignment. This film is about how Buster Keaton made a Canadian travel film, The Railrodder. In this informal study the comedian regales the film crew with anecdotes of a lifetime in show business. Excerpts from his silent slapstick films are shown.
Crazy, Quilt
Donald McWilliams 1997 27 min
This film is part of a series of television programs including interviews with the directors of short animated films as well as the films themselves. This video includes 2 animated shorts: Quilt (by Gayle Thomas), an animated tribute to patchwork quilting and Scant Sanity (by John Weldon), an exploration into the nature of the mind and reality in which a person seeking job counseling receives psychiatric treatment instead, thereupon becoming convinced of the reality of his own internal world.
Cosmic Current
Anand Ramayya 2003 49 min
An intimate and personal documentary of a family who, brought together by illness, embark on a a modern-day spiritual pilgrimage to India. When Indo-Canadian filmmaker Anand Ramayya, his traditional Hindu mother, Jaya, his psychologist/filmmaker father, Ray, and his Japanese rock star brother, Raj are brought together, from Saskatchewan and Japan to the south of India, what unfolds is an intimate and entertaining portrait of a family trying to reconnect. A mix of first-person diary-cam, lively interviews, and on-the-fly footage put a fresh spin on universal questions of ethnicity, home and self. Their vivid and revelation-filled journey takes them to Tirupati, an ancient site of Hindu worship in India. They've come at the request of Jaya, to pray for her health. It is the first time the family has been together in India for 25 years, and the road is filled with surprises.

Cosmic Current was produced as part of the Reel Diversity Competition for emerging filmmakers of colour. Reel Diversity is a National Film Board of Canada initiative in partnership with CBC Newsworld.
The Commissioners
Philippe Baylaucq 2009 7 min
Former commissioners of the National Film Board of Canada (NFB) talk about their experiences at the institution. In conjunction with celebrations marking the NFB’s 70th anniversary, director Philippe Baylaucq met with Jacques Bensimon (2001-2006), Sandra M. Macdonald (1995-2001), Joan Pennefather (1989-1994), François N. Macerola (1984-1988) and André Lamy (1975-1979). What are their impressions? A common point emerges: the creative freedom given to artists and the filmmakers’ authenticity of vision.
Creative Process: Norman McLaren
Donald McWilliams 1990 1 h 56 min
This feature length documentary is a journey into Norman McLaren’s process of artistic creation. A cinematic genius who made films without cameras and music without instruments, McLaren produced 60 films in a stunning range of styles and techniques, collecting over 200 international awards and world recognition. Drawing on McLaren's private film vaults, a gold mine of experimental footage and uncompleted films, this film explores McLaren's methods, including his celebrated "pixillation" technique.
Co Hoedeman, Animator
Nico Crama 1980 27 min
This short film paints a portrait of Oscar®-winning filmmaker Co Hoedeman (The Sand Castle, Ludovic). It focuses on 3 aspects of his life – family, farm, and studio. We see excerpts of his work and watch him create a new animation clip.
Capturing Reality: The Art of Documentary
Pepita Ferrari 2008 1 h 37 min
In this feature-length film on the art of the documentary, director Pepita Ferrari interviews 33 leading documentarians and shows clips from over 50 films. From cinéma-vérité pioneers like Albert Maysles and Michel Brault to mavericks like Errol Morris and Nick Broomfield, it explores the challenges of capturing reality on film. Directors as diverse as Pakistani feminist Sabiha Sumar and new media guru Peter Wintonick reflect on ethical issues and the contested status of the “truth.”

Featured interviews include German iconoclast Werner Herzog; Chilean filmmaker Patricio Guzmán; British director Kim Longinotto and Alanis Obomsawin, the First Lady of First Nations cinema.
Stunt Family
Lois Siegel 1978 3 min
This short film from the Canada Vignettes series profiles a unique French-Canadian family, the Fourniers, 12 of whom work as stunt men and women for films.
The Creative Process: Where Do I Start?
Scott Smith 2009 12 min
This short documentary captures the savvy of great Canadian storytellers on film. Sharing their insights on inspiration, authenticity, tenacity and what compels them in their creative endeavors are Double Happiness director Mina Shum, Oscar® winner Denys Arcand, The Hockey Sweater author Roch Carrier, Emporte-moi director Léa Pool and Zacharias Kunuk, the filmmaker behind Atanarjuat (The Fast Runner).
Canadian Famous
Kevin McMahon 2013 7 min
This short film is a tribute to Eric Peterson, one of Canada’s most accomplished actors. In a career spanning over 4 decades he has portrayed a broad range of memorable characters, from a World War I flying ace in Billy Bishop Goes to War to left-wing lawyer Leon Robinovitch in Street Legal (CBC TV) and the irascible Oscar Leroy in Corner Gas (CTV). Having secured a place in the nation’s cultural treasure trove, Peterson decides to express gratitude to the Canadians who prize his talents—and sets out, on foot, to thank every single one of them…

This film was produced by the NFB in co-operation with the National Arts Centre and the Governor General's Performing Arts Awards Foundation on the occasion of the 2013 Governor General's Performing Arts Awards.
Deepa Mehta, In Profile
Nettie Wild 2012 6 min
This short film is a tribute to award-winning director and screenwriter Deepa Mehta. A true cultural hybrid, Mehta has been described as a “transnational” artist, able to tell universally meaningful stories from a uniquely Canadian point of view. In a career spanning over 30 years she has consistently broken new ground, tackling such controversial issues as intolerance, cultural discrimination and domestic violence. As an Indian who grew up speaking English first in a British Colonial School and then learning Hindi, she finds her passion and her stories in India, and the freedom to choose how to tell those stories in Canada.

Produced by the National Film Board of Canada in co-operation with the National Arts Centre and the Governor General's Performing Arts Awards Foundation on the occasion of the 2012 Governor General's Performing Arts Awards.
Dreams Come True: A Sheldon Cohen Retrospective
Sheldon Cohen 2005 15 min
Author Roch Carrier hosts this documentary retrospective of the work of animation director Sheldon Cohen. Carrier offers anecdotes and insight about Cohen's movies, created over the past 30 years at the National Film Board of Canada. Lively animation sequences created by Greg Houston as well as Cohen's illustrations offer lively visual counterpoint. There is emphasis on the art of making animation from children's books as Cohen's films are based on the works of celebrated authors from across Canada including: Roch Carrier's The Sweater; Wilma Riley's Pies; Dayal Kaur Khalsa's Snow Cat (adapted by author Tim Wynne-Jones) and Khalsa's I Want a Dog. Excerpts of these films are included in the documentary.
Donald Brittain: Filmmaker
Kent Martin 1992 1 h 34 min
A close look at one of the best documentary filmmakers in the world, this retrospective of Brittain films also offers a glimpse of the man and the restless energy that informed his work. Dedicated and hard-working, Donald Brittain left nothing to chance, driving himself and his colleagues at the NFB and the CBC until perfection was achieved, or until airtime, whichever came first.
Daughter of the Crater

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Nadine Beaudet & Danic Champoux 2019 1 h 15 min
A woman with a deep love of the land, Yolande Simard Perrault sees her life as having been shaped by a planetary upheaval in Charlevoix, Quebec, millions of years ago. As enduring as the Canadian Shield, she’s a woman of strength and spirit, a child of the crater left by the meteor’s impact. This documentary portrays a determined woman who’s the reflection of a land created on an immense scale. She was the creative and life partner of filmmaker Pierre Perrault, who gave up everything to be by her side. The film charts the influence of her unquenchable dreams and her contribution to the building of a people’s collective memory. In a stream of images and words, Simard Perrault recounts the splendours of the landscape and the people who shaped it. Generous and boundless, she embarks on a quest for identity that nurtures and perpetuates the oeuvre of the man who breathed new life into Quebec cinema.
Dream Magic
Katerina Cizek 2008 6 min
This revealing portrait of NFB filmmaker Alanis Obomsawin was shown at a gala ceremony in 2008, where Obomsawin received the Governor General's Performing Arts Award for Lifetime Artistic Achievement. Her work has captured some of the most startling events in Canadian history, including the armed standoff between the Canadian Army and Mohawk warriors in 1993. Her films cross a spectrum of social issues, but they are always human. Obomsawin explains in the interview, "For me, a real documentary is when you're really listening to somebody; they are the ones that will tell you what the story is, not you."
Eldon Rathburn: They Shoot... He Scores
Louis Hone 1995 26 min
This short documentary traces the life and career of composer Eldon Rathburn. A music lover since childhood, Rathburn used to go to the movies in Saint John, New Brunswick, in the 1920s just to hear the soundtrack. In 1947, he joined the National Film Board as a staff composer and went on to score over 300 documentaries and feature films. He is responsible for the music heard in classic NFB films like City of Gold and the IMAX feature Momentum, as well as the scores for lesser-known “classics” like Hog Family Supreme and Fish Spoilage Control.
Evelyn Lambart
Éric Barbeau 2005 5 min
A profile of Norman McLaren’s main collaborator, animator Evelyn Lambart, who worked as his assistant for several years and co-directed six of his films, including the celebrated Begone Dull Care.
Eleven Moving Moments with Evelyn Lambart
Donald McWilliams 2017 1 h 3 min
This feature-length documentary shines a much-deserved spotlight on Evelyn Lambart, who stood side-by-side with Norman McLaren for 21 years. Dubbed The First Lady of Canadian Animation, Lambart was an accomplished animator in her own right. This compilation, playfully contextualized by filmmaker Donald McWilliams, aims to prove just that.
Flash William
John Laing & Thom Burstyn 1978 19 min
This short documentary presents Flash William Shewchuck, a one-man movie industry operating in the Canadian wilderness. Combining the roles of film producer, director, cameraman, actor, promoter, projectionist and ticket taker, Flash finances his company by working on road gangs in the Yukon, or in the oil fields and pulp mills between projects. In this film, he discusses his latest feature, Dawson City Joe, and reveals some aspects of his style and technique.
Fernand Dansereau: In a Lifetime
Sylvie Lapointe 2022 5 min
Fernand Dansereau is one of Quebec’s most prolific filmmakers, having produced, directed and written more than sixty documentaries, fiction films and television serial dramas. Over the course of his career, he has helped forge new filmmaking practices such as cinéma de relation and direct cinema. This short film traces a long journey, during which Dansereau has constantly travelled the pathways of creativity, with kindness as his guide, giving voice to people seeking to define the essence of a nation. In the process, it affords the viewer a glimpse into the filmmaker’s own soul.
For the Love of the Fight: Jean Beaudin
Tara Johns 2017 5 min
Jean Beaudin talks about his life and his love of cinema as he fights an invisible opponent in a boxing ring. In one corner, Marcel Sabourin, a loyal friend who has often acted in his films, proffers advice and reminds us of key moments in Beaudin’s career.
Grierson
Roger Blais 1973 57 min

This feature film is a portrait of John Grierson, the first Canadian Government Film Commissioner and founder of the National Film Board in 1939. Interweaving archival footage, interviews with people who knew him and footage of Grierson himself, this film is a sensitive and informative portrait of a dynamic man of vision.

Grierson believed that the filmmaker had a social responsibility, and that film could help a society realize democratic ideals. His absolute faith in the value of capturing the drama of everyday life was to influence generations of filmmakers all over the world. In fact, he coined the term "documentary film."
Goldwood
Kathleen Shannon 1975 20 min
Goldwood is a search for the early self. A woman describes the look and feel of her childhood to an artist friend. The story of her days at Goldwood unfolds through his paintings and live footage of their visit to the site. Nature has reclaimed the land. The adult attempts to reclaim the child. The woman discovers pieces of her doll's plate, lost thirty years before. "I haven't been a figment of my own imagination," she says. The film evokes the universal feelings of a child in an adult's world and the awareness of self.
Hand-Crafted Cinema Animation Workshop with Caroline Leaf
Eric Roberts 1998 35 min
This short film brings together animation workshops led by award-winning independent animator Caroline Leaf. The film, which discusses and demonstrates Leaf’s artisan's approach to narrative filmmaking, explores 3 techniques she pioneered during her 20-year tenure at the NFB: sand, paint-on-glass and scratch animation.
In My Own Time - Diary of a Cancer Patient
Joseph Viszmeg 1995 45 min
This documentary tells the story of Joseph Viszmeg, an Edmonton filmmaker who was diagnosed with a rare form of adrenal cancer in 1991. Doctors gave him a year to live, but 4 years later Viszmeg is very much alive. This is his personal account of living with this disease.
Imaginary Heroine
Sherry White 2012 4 min
This short film pays tribute to actress and comedian Mary Walsh. Layering archival photographs of downtown St. John’s and evocative imagery, it tells the remarkable story of a little girl who grew up next door to her family. Inspired by Mary Walsh’s one woman play Dancing with Rage, the film reveals the heart of the unique characters created by Newfoundland’s grand dame of comedy.

Produced by the National Film Board of Canada in co-operation with the National Arts Centre and the Governor General's Performing Arts Awards Foundation on the occasion of the 2012 Governor General's Performing Arts Awards.
In Pieces

Paule Baillargeon 2011 1 h 21 min
Paule Baillargeon is 37 years old, 11 years old, 65 years old. . . In this film composed of fragments, she tells her story: the story of a woman, a filmmaker, a mother, a feminist, an artist. Of an actress, too, who delivers a powerful narrative that is both soothing and unsettling. These potent images, her images—filmed, painted, photographed, drawn, animated—merge into the portrait of a life that has been wild, rebellious and gentle. The tableaux are not so much autobiography as an authentic tale, as unpredictable and unique as any life.
Interview

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Caroline Leaf & Veronika Soul 1979 13 min
A freewheeling cinematic experience, this film is the work of two filmmakers who relate their perceptions of each other through their respective animation techniques. Images and words are paired in startling associations. Each does a visual portrait of the other, based on characteristic gestures and impressions. A combination of techniques and materials produces a film of rich visual texture shaped by the hands and heads of two very different people.
Jutra

Marie-Josée Saint-Pierre 2014 13 min
This semi-animated documentary is a creative, colourful portrait of the great Quebec filmmaker Claude Jutra, director of Mon oncle Antoine and star and co-director, with Norman McLaren, of A Chairy Tale. The dimensions of Jutra's life and work are explored through skillfully assembled archival footage and animated sequences.
Jean Pierre Lefebvre
Simon Galiero 2013 6 min
This short film pays tribute to filmmaker Jean Pierre Lefebvre. A seminal figure in Canadian cinema, Lefebvre has received international acclaim for his innovative, thoughtful and fiercely independent films. Here, a montage consisting entirely of excerpts from his films offers a brief foray into the depths of a body of work that is ironic, critical, intuitive, sensual, and “political” in the broadest sense of the term.

Produced by the NFB in co-operation with the National Arts Centre and the Governor General's Performing Arts Awards Foundation on the occasion of the 2013 Governor General's Performing Arts Awards.
The Lost Garden: The Life and Cinema of Alice Guy-Blaché

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Marquise Lepage 1995 52 min
This feature documentary is a portrait of Alice Guy-Blaché, one of cinema's most fearless pioneers. A filmmaker before the word even existed, Guy-Blaché made her first film at the end of the last century, when cinema was still brand-new. After directing, producing and writing more than 700 films, she slipped into oblivion. This film rescues her brave and shining memory.
Lipsett Diaries
Theodore Ushev 2010 14 min
This animated short by Theodore Ushev depicts the maelstrom of anguish that tormented Arthur Lipsett, a famed Canadian experimental filmmaker who died at the age of 49. His descent into depression and madness is explored through a series of images as well as sounds taken from Lipsett's own work.
Labrecque from Film to Memory

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Michel La Veaux 2017 1 h 33 min
Michel La Veaux (Hôtel La Louisiane), a man who describes himself as being “passionate about light,” wanted to share his love of movie making with one of the pioneers of Quebec cinema: Jean-Claude Labrecque (À hauteur d’homme). At once a respectful tribute and a touching portrait, Labrecque From Film to Memory plays out like a conversation between two friends.
McLaren Brazilian Clip
1969 1 min
An interview with Norman McLaren, for use in Brazil 1969.
McLaren on McLaren

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Grant Munro 1983 7 min
An opening address, a tribute and highlights of a long and productive career--McLaren on McLaren is Norman McLaren on camera. The occasion is the opening of a prestigious festival in Arnhem, the Netherlands, in November, 1983, marking the tenth anniversary of Holland Animation. The renowned animator pays homage to those who merged their arts with his, and to the National Film Board, which gave him forty-two years of artistic freedom.
Margaret Perry—Filmmaker

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Les Krizsan 1987 24 min
Margaret Perry, now in her eighties, is the unsung heroine of the Nova Scotia film industry. For over a quarter of a century, she shot, directed, wrote and edited all the tourist films for the province. Through her camera, we view changes in the landscape, in lifestyles, and in film technology.
My Healing Journey: Seven Years with Cancer
Joseph Viszmeg 1999 46 min
This documentary is about Edmonton filmmaker Joe Viszmeg and his battle with cancer. In 1991, Viszmeg was diagnosed with adrenal cancer and told he wouldn’t live through the year. Four years later, he made In My Own Time—Diary of a Cancer Patient. In My Healing Journey: Seven Years with Cancer, he tells the story of how he survived the roller coaster of a deadly disease. He died in 1999.
Michael J. Fox
John Bolton 2017 4 min
Director John Bolton explores Michael J. Fox’s dedication to the craft of acting over the course of an illustrious career. A candid and charming interview features stories about some of his best-loved characters and the process of bringing them to life, shedding light on what drives him as a performer, writer and pop-culture icon.
Norman Jewison, Filmmaker

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Douglas Jackson 1971 49 min
Toronto-born Norman Jewison first gained prominence producing for Canadian television, then went on to greater success making Hollywood theatrical features. In this film he is seen directing a large international cast and crew in the film version of the musical hit Fiddler on the Roof. Between scenes, Jewison talks freely about many aspects of the film industry and some of his experiences in it. A candid study of a director in action.
NFB Pioneers II: Her Voice, the Studio D Story
Lucia Piccinni 2007 55 min
Part of the NFB Pioneers series with the Doc Channel, this episode deals with the Studio D, the first permanent, state-funded women's film unit in the world created in 1974. Studio D gave a number of women the unprecedented opportunity to work consistently on women-centred film projects. Features interviews with Gerry Rogers, Bonnie Sherr-Klein, Zoe Dirse, Susan Trow, Gail Singer, Dorothy Henault and Beverly Shaffer.
Making Movie History: Jeannine Hopfinger
Joanne Robertson 2014 4 min
Jeanine Hopfinger describes working in the NFBs Montrael distribution office in the 1940s and bringing films to audiences in the days before television.
Making Movie History: Jacques Bensimon
Joanne Robertson 2012 5 min
Lateformer NFB commissioner Jacques Bensimon, who headed the Film Board from 2001 to 2006, recalls coming into the NFB as a director in the early 1960s, at a time when the institution was seeking to broaden its horizons and expand its reach.
Making Movie History: William Weintraub
Joanne Robertson 2012 5 min
William Weintrub shares fascinating reflections on the role of the writer in documentary before the birth of cinema-verite.
Making Movie History: Robert Verrall
Joanne Robertson 2012 5 min
Robert Verrall recalls coming to Ottawa to join the NFB and the early days in the animation studio including his work on the Oscar winning Romance of Transportation.
Making Movie History: Anne Wheeler
Joanne Robertson 2012 6 min
Director and editor Anne Wheeler reflects on her early documentaries with the NFB, the birth of the North West and Prairie Studios and working with Donald Sutherland.
Making Movie History: Mort Ransen
Joanne Robertson 2012 6 min
Director and editor Mort Ransen reflects on documenting social change at the NFB in the heady 1960s.
Making Movie History: Anne Claire Poirier
Denys Desjardins 2013 7 min
Anne Claire Poirier blazed a trail for women filmmakers, introducing a distinctly female gaze into Quebec cinema with compelling personal films that balanced rigorous filmcraft with feminist analysis. Beginning her career in the ’60s, when few women were making films, she persevered, insisting on directing her own work. The experience of making De mère en fille (1968), Quebec’s first feminist film, would steel her resolve—to bring more women into the NFB. Tenacious and generous, she initiated and produced En tant que femmes (1972), a six-film series directed by various women. Her own work, including the unrelentingly powerful Mourir à tue-tête (1979), continues to resonate. Her final film for the NFB, perhaps her bravest and most painful, was Tu as crié LET ME GO, dealing with the tragic loss of her own daughter.
Making Movie History: Claude Fournier
Denys Desjardins 2013 7 min
A master of Quebec comedy, Claude Fournier has directed such memorable films as Deux femmes en or (1970), a hit that pulled in two million veiwers, and the more recent J'en suis! (1997). Originally a journalist, he was drawn to cinema, and documentary in particular, through an interest in cinematography, a passion he shared with friend Michel Brault. He collaborated with Brault and his contemporaries on the NFB's early forays into Direct Cinema, contributing to the groundbreaking La lutte (1961). Fournier left the NFB to work in New York, honing his craft alongside Robert Drew, Richard Leacodk, and D.A. Pennebaker--the pioneering figures behind such seminal films as Primary (1960). The multi-talented Fournier would become a leading figure in Quebec's film and TV industry. He reunited with Michel Brault in 1994, co-writing the screenplay for Mon ami Max.
Making Movie History: Claude Godbout
Denys Desjardins 2013 6 min
Claude Godbout was a young actor in experimental theatre when he caught the eye of Gilles Groulx, who cast him in Le chat dans le sac (1964). Captured on celluloid by cinematographer Jean-Claude Labrecque, Godbout became an iconic figure for young French Canadians, caught up in the throes of the Quiet Revolution. Le chat dans le sac, along with Claude Jutra's À tout prendre (1963), came to epitomize the energy of Direct Cinema: together they propelled Quebec film into modernity. Turning away from acting, Godbout tried his hand at directing before founding Productions Prisma with friends. The company produced important features like Les ordres (Brault, 1974) and Les bons débarras (Mankiewicz, 1980). Godbout's recent produciton credits include the series Cinéma québécois (2008) and the documentary Le rêve américain (Boulianne, 2014).
Making Movie History: Jacques Drouin
Denys Desjardins 2013 5 min
Jacques Drouin's artistic trajectory is closely tied to the Alexeïeff-Parker pinscreen. No other filmmaker has employed the device with such dedication since Alexeïeff himself, who created the design in 1931. Consisting of a perforated board with 240,000 adjustable pins, the pinscreen can be manipulated to create evocative moving images. Having made a series of notable pinscreen films with his wife Claire Parker, Alexeïeff gave one of his 10 prototypes to the NFB. Intrigued by its creative potential, Drouin made good use of the precious item--to the great pleasure of its elderly inventor--crafting remarkable animation like Mindscape (1976) and Imprints (2005). Now recognized as the leading master of the technique, Drouin was called upon by the French Film Archives in Paris to oversee the 2007 restoration of their own pinscreens.
Making Movie History: Monique Mercure
Denys Desjardins 2013 6 min
From Festin des morts (Dansereau, 1965) to Naked Lunch (Cronenberg, 1991), Monique Mercure has played an astonishing range of roles, both large and small, with distinctive intensity and character. Launching her career at a time when the profession of film actress was hardly recognized in Quebec, she quietly established her powerful presence. Her friend Claude Jutra cast her in À tout prendre (1963), and Deux femmes en or (Fournier, 1970) would consolidate her popularity. Winning the Best Actress Award at Cannes for her extraordinary performance in J.A. Martin photographe (Beaudin, 1976), she went on to work with the biggest names in Quebec film--Jutra again, Labrecque, Poirier, Pool, Lepage, Aubert--crossing generational and linguistic divides. In La brunante (2007), she reunited with director Fernand Dansereau, reprising the role of Madeleine 40 years after she first played the character in Ça n'est pas le temps des romans.
Making Movie History: Pierre Juneau
Denys Desjardins 2013 5 min
One of the overlooked giants of Canadian film and broadcasting, Pierre Juneau played a key role in NFB history and in ensuring the place of the francophones within the agency. He arrived in 1949, having been involved in film clubs through a Catholic youth group. By 1954, at the age of 32, he was Assistant Regional Supervisor and official French Advisor. He was instrumental in the decision to relocate NFB headquarters to Montreal in 1956, a move that played a vital role in the evolution of Quebec cinema. When a fully independent French program was established in 1964, Juneau was appointed its first director. In 1968, he was appointed President of the Bureau of Broadcast Governors, later renamed the CRTC, and in 1982 he became President of the CBC, Canada's public broadcaster. He is remembered as one of Canadian culture's great public servants.
Making Movie History: Alanis Obomsawin
Joanne Robertson 2012 5 min
Alanis Obomsawin talks about how she got her start at the NFB and the overarching importance of sound/story in her work.
Making Movie History: Edouard Davidovici
Joanne Robertson 2012 4 min
In a long and happy career at the NFB, master editor Edouard Davidovici witnessed the evolution of editing techniques. Before non-linear digital technology became the norm, Davidovici and his colleagues were adept at handling the raw material of cinema, cutting and splicing film on stand-up Moviolas or flatbed Steenbecks. As chief editor at the NFB, he oversaw the picture and sound edit of hundreds of productions in a range of genres.
Making Movie History: Bonnie Sherr-Klein
Joanne Robertson 2012 5 min
Bonnie Sherr-Klein recalls the early days of Studio D, the women's studio, and the birth of the seminal film Not a Love Story which she co-directed.
Making Movie History: André Melançon
Denys Desjardins 2013 6 min
Having fallen under the spell of Fellini in the movie theatres of his native Abitibi, André Melançon wandered into the NFB at a time when anything could happen. He nabbed a role in Clément Perron's Taureau (1973), a gig that led to another offer--to direct children's films. With no directing experience, he forged ahead, drawing upon his natural ease with kids and previous experience as a school counsellor. 1978 would be a banner year: Melançon's documentary Les vrais perdans earned widespread praise and Comme les six doigts de la main was hailed as the year's best Quebec feature film. La guerre des tuques (1984) consolidated his stature in the growing genre of children's film. He went on to direct other features, along with TV series and theatrical productions, returning to the theme of childhood with the touching documentary Printemps fragiles (2005).
Making Movie History: Pierre Patry
Denys Desjardins 2014 4 min
It was Claude Jutra, always keen to work with friends, who brought Pierre Patry to the NFB, inviting him to assist on Les mains nettes (1958). Patry would direct a dozen films of his own, including Petit discours de la méthode ( 1963). He left early, dreaming of directing features--and by the tim he was 30, he had founded Coopératio and attained his goal. His first film, Trouble-fête (1964), was a box-office hit, announcing a new dawn for Quebec's movie industry. Patry went on to produce other features, including Michel Brault's Entre la mer et l'eau douce. Joining forces with industry peers, he helped establish the federal funding agency Telefilm Canada, but did not benefit himself. Following Les colombes (Jean-Claude Lord, 1972), his final film, he quit feature-film production and turned to the world of educational TV.
Making Movie History: Jean Roy
Denys Desjardins 2013 6 min
A keen cinephile, Jean Roy arrived at the NFB with an amateur film under his arm. He was only 20 in 1949 when he went to the Arctic to shoot a series on Inuit culture. He worked with all the major NFB directors of the ’50s and ’60s—Devlin, Dansereau, Garceau, Giraldeau, Koenig, Kroitor, Palardy, Portugais and others. Michel Brault and Georges Dufaux would learn their craft as his assistants. One of eight cinematographers to collaborate on Jour de juin (1959), an early exercise in Direct Cinema, Roy later participated in Coopératio, a collective venture launched by Pierre Patry, and directed photography on Trouble-fête (1963), one of Quebec cinema’s first hits. As head of the NFB camera department, Roy established a program of institutional support for independent filmmakers—Aide au cinéma indépendant (ACIC)—which celebrated its 40th anniversary in 2013.
Making Movie History: Fernand Dansereau
Denys Desjardins 2013 6 min
History placed Fernand Dansereau in the right place at the right time. In 1960, at the age of 32, after a few years as writer and director, he was named producer at the NFB. It was the dawn of the Quiet Revolution and the agency was in creative foment. Dansereau produced seminal early work by Lamothe (Bûcherons de la Manouane, 1962); Groulx and Gosselin (Voir Miami, 1963); Arcand (Champlain, 1964); and Brault and Perrault (Pour la suite du monde, 1963). A well-rounded artist, he became a driving force in Quebec's private film and TV industry, returning to the NFB to direct Quelques raison d'espérer (2001), a profile of his cousin, ecologist Pierre Dansereau. The tireless Dansereau recently directed La brunante (2007), a feature film that reunited him with actress Monique Mercure 40 years after their collaboration on Ça n'est pas le temps des romans.
Making Movie History: Paule Baillargeon
Denys Desjardins 2013 6 min
Paule Baillargeon was among the members of the Grand Cirque Ordinaire, an adventurous theatre collective that burst onto the scene in 1969. Shifting to cinema, she had roles in Entre tu et vous (Groulx, 1969) and Le temps de l'avant (Poirier, 1975), in which her character confronts the issue of abortion. The role set the tone for her career: feminist by necessity, she would approach cinema as a form of rebellion. With La cuisine rouge (1979), she directed her first feature film, and with Vie d'Ange, she shared a writing credit with Pierre Harel. The '80s brought a string of strong roles--in films by Jutra, Pool, Rozema, Leduc--but she gravitated to directing with Sonia (1986) and Le sexe des étoiles (1993). Her most recent documentary is Trente tableaux (2011), an autobiographical work that draws upon her multiple talents.
Making Movie History: Marcel Carrière
Denys Desjardins 2013 6 min
Marcel Carrière is to sound what Michel Brault is to image. Between 1958 and 1964, art and technology were interacting in exciting new ways at the NFB, and young filmmakers like Carrière embraced the creative possibilities with energy and imagination, transforming the language of cinema. With a determined sense of invention, Carrière refined the art of sound recording, liberating soundmen from bulky and unwieldy technology. He collaborated on many of French Program's early Direct Cinema films, beginning with Les raquetteurs (1958) through the masterful Pour la suite du monde (1963). He went on to direct his own films, working in both documentary and fiction, and infusing every project with charateristic humour and good will.
Making Movie History: André Lamy
Denys Desjardins 2013 5 min
André Lamy and his brother Pierre played an active role during the 60s heyday of Quebec's private film industry. Founding Onyx Films in 1962, they began by making TV programs and commercials, moving into feature production with films like Viol d'une jeune fille douce (1968), directed by Gilles Carle. In 1970, Lamy, whose experience had primarily been in the private sector, was surprised to be offered the position of Assistant Film Commissioner at the NFB. Named NFB Commissioner in 1975, he oversaw a period of expansion, boosting distribution efforts at home and abroad, and earning new international recognition for the agency. In 1980, he became head of the Canadian Film Development Commission, precursor of Telefilm Canada, another organization that underwent major growth under his watch. The age of downsizing was still to come! André Lamy died on May 2, 2010.
Making Movie History: Pierre Hébert
Denys Desjardins 2014 5 min
Spontaneity and perseverance are intertwined in the inexhaustible art of Pierre Hébert, who has been exploring the limits of animated film for over 50 years. Arriving at the NFB in 1962, he was mentored by the great Norman McLaren. The avant-garde Hébert would push the boundaries of drawn-on-film animation, and with his anti-militarist film Memories of War (1982) he started performing alongside musicians in "live cinema" events, scratching directly onto projected film loops. These happenings inspired further film projects like La lettre d'amour (1988) and La plante humaine (1996), a masterful feature that traces his long creative path. Eternally innovative, Hébert appears around the world, collaborating in numerous projects, including Lieux et monuments.
Making Movie History: Claude Pelletier
Denys Desjardins 2013 5 min
Claude Pelletier witnessed the radical transformation of recording technology in the course of his career: from heavy, unwieldy gear that needed to be trucked to location to lightweight, portable Nagras. The new technology would spark an aesthetic revolution, liberating soundmen from old constraints and nurturing a new era of experimentation. Pelletier worked alongside Gilles Groulx and Arthur Lamothe, contributing to seminal Direct Cinema titles like Golden Gloves (1961) and Bûcherons de la Manouane (1962). He would collaborate on over 100 productions, including important Quebec films like De mère en fille (Poirier, 1968) and Où êtes-vous donc? (Groulx, 1969). Fascinated by genealogy, Pelletier found time to explore local parish archives during film shoots, compiling a list of close to 90,000 names linked to his family surname. Since they retired, he and his wife, Laura Gauthier, have become certified genealogists.
Making Movie History: Michèle Cournoyer
Denys Desjardins 2013 6 min
Michèle Cournoyer came to the NFB with a background in the fine arts. During the 1970s, she made her own independent shorts, including a striking experimental collage films. Arriving at the NFB in the early 1990s, she would make inventive use of the rotoscope, a technique that allows animators to draw over live-action footage. She turned to a new medium with The Hat (1999), a work executed in ink. Rendered in minimalist black and white, the film addressed the difficult visual metaphors. The Hat won worldwide acclaim-and Cournoyer went on to tackle similarly challenging subjects with Accordion (2004) and the chilling Robes of War (2008). Mastering the art of film without words, she has left us speechless.
Making Movie History: Colin Low
Joanne Robertson 2012 5 min
Colin Low reflects on leaving art school in Calgary to join the NFB and his early days in the NFB's animation department.
Making Movie History: Grant Munro
Joanne Robertson 2012 5 min
In this short interview, Grant Munro, the celebrated animator, actor and director recalls being recruited by Norman McLaren to join the NFB's legendary animation studio.
Making Movie History: Tom Daly
Joanne Robertson 2012 6 min
A look at the work and legacy of Tom Daly, the legendary Unit B producer, who died in 2011.
Making Movie History: Jacques Giraldeau
Denys Desjardins 2013 5 min
Art lover and cinephile Jacques Giraldeau established Quebec's first film club in 1948, the year of the Refus Global, an anti-establishment manifesto championed by his art-world peers. He got early film training at the NFB alongside comrade-in-arms Michel Brault and then cut loose for a few years to experiment with the 16mm Bolex, the new lightweight alternative to heavy 35mm cameras. He and Brault collaborated on Petites médisances (1953-1954), a series of 39 shorts that foreshadowed Direct Cinema. Returning to the NFB in 1960, he thrived in the creative atmosphere that soon gave birth to French Program. In 1963, Giraldeau co-founded the Cinémathèque québécoise. In a career spanning over 50 years, from La neige a neigé (1951) to L'ombre fragile des choses (2007), he has created an extraordinary body of work, bearing witness to the evolution of Quebec culture.
Making Movie History: Jacques Godbout
Denys Desjardins 2013 7 min
In the late '50s and early '60s, Jacques Godbout was part of a brilliant young gang who would transform the NFB's French Program. They came from diverse backgrounds and most had no previous film training. For his part, Godbout had just returned from Ethiopia, where he'd been teaching French, when he was hired in 1958. He would soon be collaborating with some of the most inventive artists of his generation: Hubert Aquin, Claude Jutra, Michel Brault, Fernand Dansereau, Gilles Carle and others. Active on many cultural fronts, Godbout launched the magazine Liberté, founded the Mouvement laïque de langue française, and served as the first president of the Union des écrivans du Québec. He would display a spirit of experimentation in both documentary and fiction, and his many credits include YUL 871, Kid Sentiment and Ixe-13, now considered a cult classic.
Making Movie History: Jean-Claude Labrecque
Denys Desjardins 2013 7 min
The NFB would be Jean-Claude Labrecque's school. Arriving in 1959, the dedicated young cinephile quickly grasped the essentials of cinematography, leaving a bold mark on early Quebec films like Le chat dans le sac (Groulx, 1964) and La vie heureuse de Léopold Z (Carle, 1965). A cinematographer of singular talent, Labrecque went on to direct his own films: 60 cycles (1965) and Jeux de la XXIe Olympiade (1977). Keenly tuned to the evolution of Quebec society, he would capture important cultural events on film in Nuits de la poésie (1970, 1980) and André Mathieu, musicien (1993), and document key historical moments like de Gaulle's "Vive le Québec libre!" and Bernard Landry's 2003 electoral campaign. Prolific and erudite, Labrecque produced a body of work that constitutes a richly detailed and deeply humane record of modern Quebec history.
Norman McLaren: Animated Musician

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Donald McWilliams 2014 26 min
Not only did Norman McLaren create his own film imagery, he also made his own music by drawing, etching and photographing patterns directly onto the sound track area of the film, becoming a pioneer of electronic music long before the invention of the synthesizer. Norman McLaren: Animated Musician celebrates this exploration and presents much never-before-seen work by this master of cinema.
Making Movie History: Monique Fortier
Denys Desjardins 2014 6 min
Monique Fortier was one of the few women to make her way in the male world of the NFB in the 1950s. But make her way she did. Beginning as a secretary, she graduated to editing and in 1963 she became the first francophone woman to direct her own film, À l'heure de la décolonisation. Her NFB colleague Anne Claire Poirier would make her first film the same year. Fortier subsequently returned to editing, quietly labouring at the Steenbeck, shaping films that helped define Direct Cinema.
Making Movie History: Jacques Leduc
Denys Desjardins 2014 5 min
Schooled in the creative freedom of Direct Cinema, Jacques Leduc would excel in documentary-inflected drama like On est loin du soleil (1970), composed entirely of long shots, as well as sensitive vérité-style projects like Chroniques de la vie quotidienne (1977–1978), an imaginative series of seven films corresponding to the days of the week. Audacious and endlessly inventive, Leduc explored the terrain between fiction and documentary in films such as Albédo (1982) and Le dernier glacier (1984). His critically acclaimed feature Trois pommes à côté du sommeil (1988) paved the way for further work in fiction film. A gifted cinematographer, he has collaborated with directors like Tahani Rached, Jean Chabot, Paule Baillargeon and Yves Dion. In 1993, he co-founded Casa Obscura, a Montreal-based, artist-run space where he hosts regular film-related events.
Making Movie History: Sylvia Hamilton
Joanne Robertson 2014 4 min
Director Sylvia Hamilton reflects on her work with the NFBs Atlantic Studio and the birth of New Initiatives in Film - A Studio D initiative for women of colour and aboriginal women.
Making Movie History: Gerald Potterton
Joanne Robertson 2014 5 min
Director and Animator Gerald Potterton recalls arriving at the NFBs celebrated Animation Studio and some of his forays into live action fiction.
Making Movie History: Robert Duncan
Joanne Robertson 2012 5 min
A series of interviews with NFB artisans (filmmakers, producers, technicians, etc.) coupled with archival footage recounting the infancy of cinema, NFB Memories is a project that seeks to track the role of the Film Board since its inception while playing homage to the art of filmmaking at large. In this excerpt, writer and director Robert Duncan reflects on the art of writing in documentary in this short profile interweaving interviews, photographs and film excerpts.
Making Movie History: Léonard Forest
Alexandre Chartrand 2014 6 min
Dreaming of a life in cinema, the young Acadian arrived at the NFB in 1953. He displayed a unique sensiblity from the start, sharing a script credit with Anne Hébert on La femme de ménage. He went on to collaborate with Roger Blais on Les aboiteaux, a film that brought him back to Acadian New Brunswick — where he would return frequently in subsequent years. At 29, with full support from colleagues, he became the NFB ’s first French-speaking producer. As head of Studio F, he oversaw the rapid expansion of French-language production. It was a period of remarkable creativity that gave birth to films like Les brûlés. Forest gave vivid cinematic expression to the movement for Acadian emancipation: Les Acadiens de la dispersion was the first installment in a landmark trilogy. His pioneering activist impulse lead to the 1974 foundation of the NFB Acadian Studio, where subsequent generations of filmmakers have advanced his vision. He retired to Moncton, continuing to write with habitual verve.
Making Movie History: Svend-Erik Eriksen
Joanne Robertson 2012 5 min
Svend-Erik Eriksen reflects on his early days working on animation projects at the NFBs Vancouver based studio.
Making Movie History: Michael Spencer
Denys Desjardins 2013 5 min
A young Englishman abroad, Michael Spencer was stranded in Canada when World War II began in 1939. He would make Canada his home--and help establish the country's film industry. He arrived at the NFB in 1941, starting as a cameraman and becoming a producer in 1945. While NFB Commissioner John Grierson favoured documentaries, viewing film as an educational tool, Spencer wanted to make dramatic features. He was intent on creating a domestic movie industry, independent from Hollywood, and in 1966, NFB management tasked him with devising a system of public film financing. Receptive to the plan, the federal government created the Canadian Film Development Corporation (CFDC)--precursor of Telefilm--and appointed Spencer as its first Executive Director. He occupied the post from 1968 to 1978, overseeing the production of such films as Les ordres (Brault, 1974) and The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz (Kotcheff, 1974).
Making Movie History: Denys Arcand
Denys Desjardins 2013 6 min
As a young man, Denys Arcand had his heart set on history. He fell into cinema by happenstance, only to become Quebec's most famous director--a winner several times over at Cannes and recipient of the 2003 Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film. His beginnings wer auspicious. While making a student film in 1961, Arcand was assigned an extraordinary crew that included Brault, Groulx, Carrière and Gosselin. His new friends found a place for him at the NFB, and the agency became his school. He honed his craft alongside cameraman Bernard Gosselin and watched as Pour la suite du monde took form in a neighbouring editing suite. Inspired by this creative foment, he went on to make a remarkable series of films. Referencing Machavielli, classical tragedy, or biblical scripture, the iconoclastic Arcand challenges and stimulates, exploring contemporary Quebec with fearlessness and humour.
Making Movie History: Michel Brault
Denys Desjardins 2013 7 min
Back in 1947, while still making amateur movies with Claude Jutra, could Brault have known that he would mark film history? His defiant experimentalism shook things up at the NFB, and films like Les raquetteurs (1958) would launch an irreversible movement. Alongside US filmmakers such as Richard Leacock, the young Québécois was at the forefront of the Direct Cinema revolution--and his "walking camera" would influence Jean Rouch. He collaborated with Pierre Perrault and the inhabitants of Île-aux-Coudres on the landmark film Pour la suite du monde (1963), a key moment in vérité cinema. Restlessly creative, Brault continued investigating both reality and fiction. His own feature, Les ordres (1974), honoured at Cannes, remains ingrained in Quebec's collective memory, as does his cinematography in legendary films like Mon oncle Antoine and Les bons débarras. It is impossible to imagine Quebec cinema without him. Michel Brault died in 2013 at the age of 85.
Making Movie History: Co Hoedeman
Denys Desjardins 2013 6 min
An undisputed master of puppet animation, Co Hoedeman would captivate TV audiences with The Sand Castle (1977), a film that went on to win an Oscar for Best Animated Short. He had emigrated from Holland in 1965, aged, 25, in the hopes of finding work at the NFB. Canada's public film producer would become his creative base. Experimenting with an astounding range of techniques--paper cut-outs, papier-mâché, sand, and an array of puppets--Hoedeman conjures up fantastic worlds, finding inspiration in Inuit legend, ecology and his own vivid imagination. Artisan animator par excellence, he crafts all elements himself and operates his own camera. A devoted father and grandfather, he excels in making films for young audiences, and his Ludovic series, featuring an adventurous and amiable teddy bear, was a hit with children of all ages.
Making Movie History: Michael Scott
Joanne Robertson 2012 5 min
Producer Michael Scott reflects on moving from the NFBs head office in Montreal to help set up the NFBs Prairie studio in the late 1970s.
Making Movie History: Morten Parker
Joanne Robertson 2014 5 min
Morten Parker recalls the early days of documentary filmmaking at the NFB, including the making of his Oscar nominated film The Stratford Adventure.
Our Dear Sisters
Kathleen Shannon 1975 14 min
Alanis Obomsawin, an Indigenous woman who earns her living by singing and making films, is the mother of an adopted child. She talks about her life, her people, and her responsibilities as a single parent. Her observations shake some of our cultural assumptions.
Remembering Arthur
Martin Lavut 2006 1 h 29 min
In this feature length documentary, filmmaker Arthur Lipsett's close friend Martin Lavut documents the influence of the eccentric Oscar-nominated film genius. The world of cinema tragically lost Lipsett in 1986 when the Montreal-born artist committed suicide 2 weeks before his 50th birthday. This feature documentary celebrates the life and legacy of one of Canada's greatest creative minds, who began his filmmaking career at the NFB.
Robert Lantos: A Meta Narrative, Abridged
Jill Sharpe 2016 4 min
In this short collage-like documentary that celebrates Robert Lantos’ career - memory, dream and story collide in a flickering state of imagination. Scenes from Lantos’ landmark films are playfully re-purposed to underscore a few of the key moments that have motivated him to be a producer.
Robert Lepage
2009 6 min
For Robert Lepage, every production begins with a sense of exploration and discovery, whether it is an intimate one-man show, or a re-staging of Wagner's epic Ring Cycle. Lepage's work marries technology with ritual, magic with cutting-edge effects to completely reinvent theatrical space. Director J. Peter Allen borrows a page from Lepage's favourite creative mediums (film and stage) to fashion a subtly shifting view of the famed director, playwright, actor and filmmaker at work.
Ryan
Chris Landreth 2004 13 min
This animated short from Chris Landreth is based on the life of Ryan Larkin, a Canadian animator who produced some of the most influential animated films of his time. Ryan is living every artist's worst nightmare - succumbing to addiction, panhandling on the streets to make ends meet. Through computer-generated characters, Landreth interviews his friend to shed light on his downward spiral. Some strong language. Viewer discretion is advised.
Stories Sarah Tells
Ann Marie Fleming 2013 4 min
This short film pays tribute to director, screenwriter and actress Sarah Polley. Her latest film, Stories We Tell, a feature length documentary about her family history, premiered at the 2012 Venice Film Festival, then screened to unanimous acclaim at the Telluride Film Festival, the Toronto International Film Festival, and the Sundance Film Festival. It was called “a brilliant film: an enthralling, exquisitely layered masterpiece” by Maclean’s film critic Brian D. Johnson. Here, a whimsical, playful film tells the story of the kinds of stories Polley tells. Using humorous, simple line animation, the film comments on the messiness of life and art.

Produced by the NFB in co-operation with the National Arts Centre and the Governor General's Performing Arts Awards Foundation on the occasion of the 2013 Governor General's Performing Arts Awards.
Sculpting Memory
Daniel Cockburn 2015 5 min
Sculpting Memory places Atom Egoyan in an audiovisual environment woven from the fabric of his own films―a conceptual move that references Egoyan’s adaptation of Beckett’s Krapp’s Last Tape while evoking Egoyan’s own work as a moving-image installation artist and his concern with the recording and displaying of images. Directed by Toronto-based writer/director Daniel Cockburn and produced by Justine Pimlott.

Produced by the NFB in co-operation with the National Arts Centre and the Governor General's Performing Arts Awards Foundation on the occasion of the 2015 Governor General's Performing Arts Awards.
Scratches of Life: The Art of Pierre Hébert
Loïc Darses 2024 1 h 17 min
Employing an arresting black-and-white palette punctuated with animated flourishes, Scratches of Life: The Art of Pierre Hébert unwinds the thread of the scratch-on-film technique, guiding us through the inspiring labyrinth of the celebrated animator’s life and work. Loïc Darses captures the imprint of an extraordinary artist who continues to create to this day, striving to share his vision of new forms of life.
Two Films by Lipsett
Donald Rennick 1968 28 min
In this short documentary, teenagers discuss experimental Arthur Lipsett films they have just watched. What do these films mean? What feelings or thoughts do they evoke? What do they suggest about the evolution of mankind and the future of life on Earth? The 2 Arthur Lipsett films being discussed, Free Fall and A Trip Down Memory Lane, are also included.
Who Is the Real Martin Short?
Aleysa Young 2017 5 min
He’s a legend, a comic genius, and a national treasure… but who is the real Martin Short? This film goes straight to the source in an attempt to get to know the person behind the persona. It looks at the inspiration for some of Short’s favourite roles and uncovers the depth of his talent for observing, absorbing and developing idiosyncratic characters.
The Wind at My Door

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Pierre Goupil & Rénald Bellemare 2014 1 h 14 min
This feature documentary offers an intimate portrait of living with bipolar disorder. Filmmaker Pierre Goupil (Celui qui voit les heures, La vérité est un mensonge) reveals his uneasy relationship with his illness and his journey as an artist in a society that struggles to accept those on the fringe. A product of the 1960s intellectual scene, Goupil continues to question the world and fight for global solidarity. The Wind at My Door celebrates life amid suffering, while reaffirming the importance of social ties and political commitment. An ode to the freedom of individuals over the powers that would enslave them, Goupil's film acknowledges both the terrible winter and the long-awaited spring of renewed creation.
Wintopia

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Mira Burt-Wintonick 2019 1 h 28 min
Wintopia is an intimate father-daughter story and poignant search for the meaning of utopia. Following the quick and tragic death of Peter Wintonick, Canada’s “documentary ambassador to the world”, his daughter Mira Burt-Wintonick dives into her father’s obsession with untangling the contradiction that is utopia. The remains of his unfinished film and several hundred hours of raw footage shot over 15 years leads Mira to surprising places and connections with her father, compelling all of us to live life with purpose.

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