Expo' GRIERSON' S ORPH AN

It is paradoxical and strangely typical that Canada's internationally In the 1960s, Canadian experimental film rose to renowned avant garde cinema can trace its origins to, of all places, international prominence and critical acclaim in ground- the Canadian government. As with most things cinematic in Canada, breaking works of Michael Snow (Wavelength), Joyce even experimental film began at the NFB. It was unwittingly Wieland (Rat Life and Diet in North America) and Jack nurtured by the very man whose approach to filmmaking would later Chambers (Hart of London). fuel the experimentalists' rebellion—John Grierson. When Grierson hired Norman McLaren, he had no idea that this quiet animator The tradition gathered formal and philosophical momentum in the would help to inspire a movement which radically opposes the 1970s and 1980s with Bruce Elder, David Rimmer, Ellie Epp, Al empirical principles of the documentary. Working with the cinematic Razutis, Chris Gallagher, Vincent Grenier, Peter Mettler, Barbara medium in entirely new ways, playfully and profoundly Sternberg and others. In addition to the continuing work of these foregrounding the artifices of his own image-making, McLaren directors, Sheridan College in detonated the very perceptual frameworks of the institution which Oakville gave rise to the "Niagara employed him and, in the process, opened up the possibilities of Escarpment" school. Rick Hancox, Canadian cinematic expression. That pursuit of possibilities remains Richard Kerr, Philip Hoffman, the chief characteristic of this other essential Canadian filmmaking Mike Hoolboom, Gary Popovich tradition—the experimental film and Steve Sanguedolce produced highly personal, autobiographical WAVELENGTH Rooted in early work while maintaining the European avant garde structuralist, experimental movements and influ- tradition. Into the 1990s, enced by the American experimental filmmaking, always restless and incorporating new avant garde cinema of image-making media into its open-ended forms, continues to offer the 1940s and 1950s, startling, influential work. Just as the documentary tradition once experimental filmmaking dominated the structures of fiction in Canadian cinema, now the in Canada began to formal and philosophical investigations, once the exclusive preserve emerge fully in the of the experimental film, are increasingly evident in recent Canadian 1960s. Although some narrative feature filmmaking. experimental work continued to be In under four decades, the produced inside the NFB elusive, protean experi- by McLaren, Arthur mental film tradition has Lipsett and others, the yielded a vast, complex and most significant avant garde filmmaking took place beyond the vital body of work essential Board. Concentrated primarily, but not exclusively in Toronto and to our understanding of Vancouver, experimental filmmaking flourished within the Canadian cinema. Then and independent film scenes, on university campuses, and in the now, experimental film burgeoning visual arts community. contests the assumptions of CANADIAN PACIFIC narrative cinema, the empirical claims of the documentary, and the validity of its own complex HART OF LONDON processes of image-making. The experimental accusation, boldly and often breathtakingly rendered, contends that audiences must challenge their very ways of seeing. Evolving in a creative dialectic with the documentary (in spite of Grierson or because of him), the rich and vibrant Canadian experimental film tradition continues both to construct and detonate images in order to investigate what is present and, perhaps, illuminate what is absent. III Tom McSorley

T A K E 0 N E 51 176 Canada at the Toronto festival, which and Giles Walker) Gordon Sperling becomes the premier showcase for new (Sandy Wilson) Carry on Sergeant! He launched the One Magic Christmas Canadian cinema. (Phillip Borsos) Director and producer. Born, Canadian Cameo series of theatrical ■ Atom Egoyan shoots his first feature, Paradise (Ishu Patel) Toronto, 1900. Starting with the shorts at ASN in 1935 and Next of Kin, marking the beginning of Ontario's New Wave. Ontario Motion Picture Bureau in continued to direct and produce ■ La guerre des tuques/The Dog Who Stopped 1924, Sparling had a 40 year the series until 1954. During the the War, Demers's first Tales for All for Les 1986 career at the Canadian Govern- war, he was the head of the Productions la Fete, is released. ment Motion Picture Bureau and Canadian Army Film and Photo ■ wins the Best Film Events: the Associated Screen News. Unit making propaganda films for and Strange Brew the Golden Reel ■ Drabinsky sells 49 per cent of During the 1930s, he was virtually the war effort. He returned to ASN Award at the Genies. Cineplex Odeon to MCA Inc., the the only creative filmmaker in the and remained with the studios ■ Cynthia Scott's Flamenco at 5:15 wins for parent company of Universal Studios, Canadian commercial film until the production department Best Documentary Short, and Atlantis effectively putting Cineplex under industry and was the editor on was dosed down in 1957. Films of Toronto wins Best Live Action American control. Short for Don McBrearty's Boys and Girls. ■ Telefilm Canada announces a $165- million Feature Film Fund over five FILMS years to assist in the production and distribution of feature films. ■ Donald and Kiefer Sutherland The Bay Boy () The MPAA signs an agreement with The Blood of Others (Claude Chabrol) the Province of Quebec (Bill 109) by La femme de !'hotel (Lea Pool) which only Quebec distributors will be Flamenco at 5:15 (Cynthia Scott) allowed to distribute foreign films in the Donald: Actor. Born, St. John, N.B., 1934. Kiefer: Actor. province. This effectively bars English- La guerre des tuques (Andre Melancon) Born, London, U.K., 1967. Donald is indisputably one of the Canadian distributors from operating in Low Visibility (Patricia Gruben) world's most versatile actors. From bit parts to leading roles, Next of Kin (Atom Egoyan) Quebec. ■ from American potboilers to European art house cinema, from Sonatine (Micheline Lanct5t) The Ontario Film Development Corporation comes into being with Klute to M*A*S*H to Fellini's Casanova to Ordinary People to Wayne Clarkson as its first director. Bethune: The Making of a Hero, Sutherland's career spans a vast ■ The National Screeb Institute, based and open cinematic terrain. Since making his screen debut in 1985 in Edmonton, is formed and the Local 1964, Sutherland's unique screen presence has made him Heroes Film Festival begins. much in demand. He has produced a body of work which is as ■ Events: With the tragic suicide of Claude Jutra, beguilingly diverse as it is lengthy. Son Kiefer appears to have ■ Robert Lantos and Stephen Roth of Canada loses one its finest film directors. taken the same approach, assuming a broad range of roles in ■ Denys Arcand's Le declin de l'empire RSL Productions join forces with John an equally eclectic number of films. Making an impressive Kemeny and Denis Heroux of ICC to americain wins the International Film Critics' Award at Cannes. debut opposite Liv Ullmann in Daniel Petrie's coming-of-age form Alliance Entertainment Corp. story, The Bay Boy, Sutherland the younger has become one of ■ ■My American Cousin wins the Best Film and After lengthy court appeals, the his generation's most consistent performers. Ontario Board of Censors is finally Nelvana's The Care Bear Movie wins the disbanded and replaced by the Ontario Golden Reel Award at the Genies. Film Review Board. ■ The Academy of Canadian Cinema FILMS becomes the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television. The Adventure of Faustus Bidgood (Andy Jones) ■Ishu Paters Paradise wins the Silver Bear at Anne Trister (Lea Pool) the Berlin International Film Festival. Dancing in the Dark (Leon Marr) ■ The Bay Boy wins the Best Film and Le declin de l'empire americain (Denys La guerre des tuques the Golden Reel Arcand) Award at the Genies. Loyalties (Anne Wheeler) ■ Charade by John Minnis of Sheridan Pouvoir intime (Yves Simoneau) College wins an Oscar for Best Animated Short Film. FILMS 1987

Agnes of God (Norman Jewison) Events: Artie Shaw: Time is All You've Got ■ The Canada-Manitoba Cultural (Brigitte Berman) Industries Development Office (CIDO) The Big Snit (Richard Condie) and B.C. Film are established. Canada's Sweetheart: The Saga of Hal C. ■ Patricia Rozema's I've Heard the Banks (Donald Brittain) Mermaids Singing wins the Prix de la Crime Wave (John Paizs) jeunesse at Cannes. La dame en couleurs (Claude Jutra) ■ Brigitte Berman's Artie Shaw: Time is Joshua Then and Now (Ted Kotcheff) All You've Got wins an Oscar for Best The Masculine Mystique (John N. Smith Feature Documentary, Arcand's Le declin

52 SUMMER 1888

Nat Taylor Exhibitor, distributor, producer and journalist. Born, Toronto, 1906. An enigmatic, yet impor- tant figure in the development of a film culture in Canada, Taylor owned and operated the Twentieth Century theatre circuit, de l'empire americain is nominated for Best the largest of the independents, Foreign Film, and Norman Jewison receives 1989 and opened the world's first his third nomination, for Moonstruck. "twin" theatre in Ottawa in 1948. ■ Le declin de l'empire americain wins Events: With publisher Hye Bosin, he both the Best Film and Golden Reel ■ Drabinsky attempts to buy back launched the Canadian Film Award at the Genies. Cineplex Odeon from his American Weekly in 1942 and used the partners, but loses out in the much paper as a platform to lobby for publicized corporate struggle. He resigns greater federal government 11= from Cineplex and leaves the world of involvement in feature film Candy Mountain (Robert Frank and Canadian film for more successful production. He produced Julian The Mayor" opposite Clint Rudy Wurlitzer) ventures producing mega-musicals. ■ The Ontario Film Institute folds into Roffman's The Mask, which is the Eastwood in Don Siegal's Dirty Family Viewing (Atom Egoyan) Harry and the thief who is The Gate (Tibor Takacs) the Toronto Film Festival and becomes first Canadian feature to be the Cinematheque Ontario and The marketed extensively in the U.S.; viciously betrayed by Angie La guerre oubliee (Richard Boutet) Dickinson in John Boorman's L'homme qui plantait des arbres (Frederic Back) Film Reference Library. however, his lasting achievement ■ Point Blank. I've Heard the Mermaids Singing (Patricia The NFB wins an Honourary Oscar in is the introduction of multiplex Rozema) recognition of its 50th anniversary. ■ cinemas, a concept which he Life Classes (William MacGillivray) Cinema Canada ceases publication developed for 30 years until Train of Dreams (John N. Smith) after 18 years. Richard Williams ■ launching the Cineplex chain Undivided Attention (Chris Gallagher) Arcand's Jesus de Montreal wins a Jury with producer Garth Drabinsky in Animator. Born, Toronto, 1933. Un zoo, la nuit (Jean-Claude Lauzon) Prize at Cannes. ■ 1979. The animator who created the Dead Ringers wins the Best Film and popular Pink Panther cartoon La grenouille et la baleine the Golden Reel character, Williams also designed Award at the Genies. the introductory credits to the 1988 John Vernon hugely popular films starring FILMS Actor. Born Adolphus Vernon Peter Sellers. He left school in Events: Agopsowicz, Regina, 1932. In Toronto at 15 to make a failed ■ Federal Communications Minister Bye Bye Blues (Anne Wheeler) addition to his many films, both bid to join the Disney studios; Flora MacDonald tables her Film Products Cold Comfort (Vic Sarin) Jesus de Montreal (Denys Arcand) American and Canadian (remember eventually he arrived with Importation Bill which would give Speaking Parts (Atom Egoyan) his growling dispensation of George Dunning in swinging Canadian distributors some measure of access to films not produced by the The Top of His Head (Peter Mettler) worldly wisdom to Peter in London in the early 1960s. Hollywood majors by introducing a Welcome to Canada (John N. Smith) Nobody Waved Good-bye?), Vernon Williams worked as a graphic licensing system for all film distributors starred in the legendary artist, winning countless prizes operating in Canada. The Bill would Canadian TV series, Wojeck, for his animated TV commercials. eventually die on the order paper. It about a crusading coroner. This He designed title sequences for would be the last serious attempt by the 1990 distinguished stage and screen What's New Pussycat? and A feds to curtail the activities of the major Events: performer is often cast as the Funny Thing Happened on the Way American distributors. Subsequent federal ■ After many months of delay, Phillip self-assured heavy or crafty to the Forum. In 1973, he earned policy has been to increase distribution Borsos's Bethune: The Making of a Hero is villain. An underrated character an Oscar for his animated and marketing funds within the context of Telefilm Canada. finally released to almost universal actor, Vernon is undoubtedly the version of Dickens' A Christmas ■ La societe generale du cinema du condemnation. The ill-fated production, only human in history to have Carol, and in 1988 was Quebec becomes the film division of La at $20-million the most expensive appeared both in an episode of responsible for the ground- societe generale des industries Canadian film to be produced at the time, The Forest Rangers and in a film by breaking live action-animation in culturelles du Quebec (SOGIC). is the realization of a 50-year-old dream Alfred Hitchcock (Topaz). He is Robert Zemeckis's Who Framed ■ The Canadian Centre for Advanced by author Ted Allan. ■ perhaps best remembered as Roger Rabbit. Film Studies, founded by Norman Francis Mankiewicz's Love and Hate, Jewison, opens in North York. made for CBC-TV, is the first Canadian ■ Un zoo, la nuit wins the Best Film and The production to be aired in U.S. Network Gate the Golden Reel Award at the Genies. primetime. ■ ■ Frederic Back wins his second Oscar The Nova Scotia Film Development for the Radio-Canada animated short, Corporation is formed. ■ L'homme qui plantait des arbres. Arcand's masterpiece, Jesus de Montreal, sweeps 12 Genies (the most ever by any film in the history of awards) plus the Golden Reel Award. Kiefer Sutherland in The Bay Boy. Alias Will James (Jacques Godbout) The Cat Came Back (Cordell Barker) Confidential () Dead Ringers (David Cronenberg) Archangel (Guy Maddin) La grenouille et la baleine (Jean - Claude Lord) Bethune:TheMakingofaHero (PhillipEorsos) Les pones tournantes (Francis Mankiewicz) The Company of Strangers (Cynthia Scott) Tales From the Gimli Hospital (Guy Maddin) Une histoire inventee (Andre Forcier) A Winter Tan (Jackie Burroughs, Louise Le party (Pierre Falardeau) Clark, John Frizzell, John Walker and Perfectly Normal (Yves Simoneau) Aerlyn Weissman) Roadkill (Bruce McDonald)

T AKE 0 N E 53 ■ Thirty-two Short Films About Glenn Gould (Francois Gerard) wins Best Film and La Florida the Golden Reel Zero Patience (John Greyson) Award at the Genies. Tim FU 1995 Calendar (Atom Egoyan) Events: I Love a Man in Uniform (David Wellington) ■ Edgar Bronfman Jr., through his Map of the Human Heart (Vincent Ward) family's company, Seagrams, of 1991 Black Robe the Golden Reel Award at Montreal, buys MCA (owners of the Genies. 1994 Universal Studios) from Matsushita Events: Electric Industrial of Japan for a FILMS Events: reported $8-billion Canadian. ■ First Nations Filmmakers Alliance is ■ The newly elected provincial Tories founded in Edmonton. Les adventuriers de timbre perdu ■ The federal government approves the under Mike Harris cut deeply into the ■ Rock Demers is one of the founders of (Michael Rubbo) takeover of the Canadian assets of OFDC, freezing production funding and L'institute nationale de l'image et du The Boys of St. Vincent (John N. Smith) Paramount Communications Inc. slashing the amount of money available son, a Montreal film school based on Careful (Guy Maddin) (formerly Gulf+Western) by Viacom Inc. for OFIP, the Ontario tax rebate Jewison's Canadian Film Centre. Highway 61 (Bruce McDonald) of New York. These assets include the program operated by the OFDC. ■ Jesus de Montreal is nominated for Best Liao (Jean-Claude Lauzon) Famous Players theatre chain and ■ La societe generale des enterprises Foreign Film at the Academy Awards. Manufacturing Consent: Noam Chomsky Blockbuster Video. In turn, Viacom culturelles (SODEC) replaces SOGIC ■ The Genies move from March to November. and the Media (Peter Wintonick and promises to exhibit more Canadian films and L'institut quebecois du cinema, Black Robe wins the Best Film and Ding et Dong, Mark Achbar) and spend more money in the Quebec's film advisory board. le film the Golden Reel Award. Masala (Srinivas Krishna) marketing of Canadian films in Famous ■ Disney announces the opening of two Naked Lunch (David Cronenberg) Players theatres. new animation studios, one in FILMS Requiem pour un beau sans coeur ■ Nelvana goes public; IMAX is Vancouver and the other in Toronto. (Robert Morin) purchased by American interests and ■ Le confessionnal wins Best Film The Adjuster (Atom Egoyan) La sarrasine (Paul Tana) goes public in the U.S. and Johnny Mnemonic the Golden ■ Black Robe (Bruce Beresford) John Candy, the most successful of Reel Award at the Genies, in Blackfly (Christopher Hinton) the SCTV graduates and one of the most ceremonies that take place in Montreal Clearcut (Richard Bugajski) beloved Canadian actors of all time, dies in January, 1996. The Falls (Kevin McMahon) 1993 at age 43. ■ The NFB receives its 10th Oscar, ■ The Grocer's Wife (John Pozer) Events: Atom Egoyan's Exotica wins the for Bob's Birthday. The Making of "Monsters" (John Greyson) International Film Critics' Prize at Cannes, ■ Robert Lantos takes Alliance public and the first English-Canadian feature to win a FILMS creates Alliance Communications Inc. In major international award since The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz. 1992 production and distribution in both television Bob's Birthday (David Fine and ■ Exotica wins Best Film and Louis 19, le and feature films, Alliance has become the Alison Snowden) Events: roi des ondes the Golden Reel Award at largest in Canada and a major player in the Le confessionnal (Robert Lepage) ■ the Genies. Manufacturing Consent: Noam Chomsky North American marketplace. Double Happiness (Mina Shurn) ■ and the Media is released and becomes Shadow of the Wolf/Agaguk is released. At a Eldorado (Charles Biname) the most successful theatrically released reported cost of $31-million, this Canada/ FILMS Rude (Clement Virgo) Canadian documentary of all time. France co-production is the most expensive When Night is Falling (Patricia Rozema) ■ Le Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris Canadian film ever made Exotica (Atom Egoyan) organizes the largest retrospective of ■ The Feature Film Project is launched at the Louis 19, le roi des ondes (Michel Poulette) Canadian films ever held anywhere. Canadian Film Centre. Its first production is Love and Human Remains (Denys Arcand) ■ The first issue of the new Take One Holly Dale's Blood &Donuts. Mouvements du &sir (Lea Pool) appears. ■Telefilm Canada celebrates its 25th Octobre (Pierre Falardeau) TAKE ONE ■ Naked Lunch wins the Best Film and anniversary. Thirty-two Short Films About Glenn Gould

Steve Williams Fay Wray Animator. Born, Toronto, 1962. One of the best Actor. Born, Cardston, Alberta, 1907. and brightest of the new wave of computer This almond-eyed beauty raised on her animators, and a graduate of Sheridan College's father's ranch, "Wrayland," achieved famed animation school, Williams first went to world-wide fame in 1933 as the shrieking work for the Toronto-based software heroine in King Kong. However, Wray innovators, Alias Research, but quickly moved started in Hollywood almost a decade on to George Lucas's Industrial Light and Magic. earlier during the silent era's golden age There he has been responsible for creating the and was one of the few actresses from aliens in The Abyss and the shape-shifting villain that period still performing in the late in Terminator 2: Judgment Day. His realistic 1950S. One of her early successes was dinosaurs convinced Steven Spielberg to use opposite Erich von Stroheim in The computer animation rather than traditional Wedding March. Like Marlene Dietrich, puppets to create the T-Rex and raptors in Wray was often paired up with Gary Jurassic Park. Wil- Cooper in a number of his star vehicles liams was nominated from; . 1928 to 1933. Wray also acted on for an Academy award stage throughout her career and co- for his work in authored a play with Sinclair Lewis. She transforming Jim appeared in her last film, Dragstrip Riot, in CANADIAN Carrey into a cartoon 1 9 5 8: • superhero in The Mask.