The National Film Board of Canada by: Sergio Espinosa Rincón

National Film Board of Canada

The National Film Board of Canada (NFB) is an agency of the government of Canada, also is a twelve-time Academy Award winning public film, producer, digital media and distributor. The National Film Board of Canada, distributes and produces documentary films, animation and alternative dramas. The NFB has produced over 13.000 productions which has won over 5.000 awards. The languages that the NFB use in their productions are French and English.

The creation of the National Film Board of Canada (NFB) is the central event in the history of Canadian cinema, in 1938, the Government of Canada invited John Grierson, a British documentary film pioneer who coined the very term documentary, to study the state of the government's film production. Up to that date, the Canadian Government Motion Picture Bureau, established in 1918, had been the major Canadian film producer. The results of Grierson's report were included in the National Film Act of 1939, which led to the establishment of the National Film Commission, which was subsequently renamed the National Film Board. It was founded to create propaganda in support of the Second World War.

Originally, the NFB was designed as advisory board, but in 1941 the NFB absorb the Canadian Government Motion Picture Bureau. By 1945 the NFB had grown into one of the largest film studios of the world.

After the post war (WWII) budgets and staffs were reduced and the NFB came under attack for allegedly harbouring left-wing subversives and as holding a monopoly that threatened the livelihoods of commercial producers. In the same decade of the post war, the first dramatic films ere made. In the area of animation, new techniques were explored and was initiated the information film and production TV.

In Quebec, the NFB was viewed as federalist agency that denied the participation of Quebec. Until 1950 the French language start to have more participation in the films, when the demand of TV and the move to Montreal provided more expansion in the film industry. By this time, many filmmakers were hired (Pierre Perrault, Gilles Carle, Michel Brault, Gilles Groulx, Claude Jutra, Denys Arcand).

Animation has always been the priority of the NFB, with the work of Normal McLaren it has been the Board's continuing commitment to encourage new talent that has maintained the vigour of this section and made it one of the most admired in the world. NFB film animators continue to win major festival prizes.

Documentary in the NFB:

-Cinéma vérité and Direct Cinema:  Les Raquetteurs (1958)

-Challenge for Change-Societé Nouvelle: The Battle of Crowfoot (1968)

-Giant-screen cinema: NFB documentaries played a key role in the development of the IMAX film format.

-Studio D: If You Love This Planet (1982).

Animation in the NFB:

Drawn-on-film animation: Begone Dull Care (1949)

Pinscreen animation: The NFB is have the only working animation pinscreen in the world.

Stop-motion animation: In 2015, the NFB's animation studios were credited as helping to lead a revival in stop-motion animation in Canada.

Computer animation: Subconscious Password (2013).

The NFB has been recognized with more than 5.000 film awards, including Academy Awards, Genie Awards, Peabody Awards, Annie Awards and more.

Academy Awards winners:

2006: Best Animated Short Film, The Danish Poet, (Torill Kove)

2004: Best Animated Short Film, Ryan, (Chris Landreth)

1994: Best Animated Short Film, Bob's Birthday, (Alison Snowden and David Fine)

1988: Academy Honorary Award – National Film Board

1983: Best Documentary Short Subject, Flamenco at 5:15, (Cynthia Scott)

1982: Best Documentary Short Subject, If You Love This Planet (Terri Nash)

1979: Best Animated Short Film, Every Child (Eugene Fedorenko)

1978: Best Animated Short Film, Special Delivery (Eunice Macaulay and John Weldon)

1977: Best Live Action Short Film, I'll Find a Way (Beverly Shaffer)

1977: Best Animated Short Film, The Sand Castle (Co Hoedeman)

1952: Best Documentary Short Subject, Neighbours (Norman McLaren)

1941: Best Documentary Short Subject, Churchill's Island (Stuart Legg)

“The NFB remains at the heart of a constantly evolving world. With a collection of 13,000 productions, it has earned 5,000 awards, including 12 Oscars© and 90 Genies. NFB documentaries have influenced major social issues, and NFB feature films and animation have influenced the works of filmmakers around the world. If the past is any indication of the future, the NFB will continue to be a leader, through innovative digital content and new distribution platforms as it tells the stories that continue to inspire us.” (National Film Board of Canada, sf)

 Sergio Espinosa Rincón

References:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Film_Board_of_Canada#Awards

https://www.nfb.ca/history/ 

http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/national-film-board-of-canada/

http://onf-nfb.gc.ca/en/home/