85-543: Arthur Lipsett (May 13, 1936 – May 1, 1986) was a Canadian filmmaker with the National Film Board of Canada . His short, avant-garde collage films , which he described as "neither underground nor conventional”, contain elements of narrative, documentary, experimental collage, and visual essay. His first film, Very Nice, Very Nice , was nominated for an Academy Award . Lipsett was born in Montreal into
170-540: A Jewish family. His father was a chemist, his mother was an immigrant from Kiev who committed suicide in front of Arthur when he was 10. His father remarried without consulting Arthur and his daughter, Marian. Lipsett's teachers recognized him as gifted at age 8 and, after graduating from West Hill High School , he went to the School of Fine Arts in Montreal , where he was named 'best student' three times. His mentor, Group of Seven member Arthur Lismer , recommended him to
255-678: A film school leading to the creation of the Canadian Film Centre by Norman Jewison . The CFDC started investing up to 50% of its budget into films that cost less than $ 500,000. Explosion was the first film to receive financial support from the CFDC. Valérie by Denis Héroux , which was not financially supported by the CFDC, was made at cost of $ 70,000 and made over $ 1 million in Quebec. The CFDC financially supported Héroux's other films Here and Now (L'Initiation) , Love in
340-628: A 300% return on investment. Despite the success of the film Canadian Photoplays did not produce another film and went into voluntary liquidation. He signed a contract with Ralph Connor in 1919, and formed Dominion Films, based in New York, to produce films in Winnipeg. Winnipeg Productions was formed to adapt twelve of Connor's stories, but only five were filmed. Shipman created five companies across Canada in 1922, but only three produced films. He incorporated New Brunswick Films on 23 August 1922, but
425-574: A Four Letter World , Virgin Lovers , and Two Women in Gold (Deux Femmes en or) . Deux Femmes en or was financially successful, with its two million ticket sales remaining the highest in Canadian history, and became the highest grossing Canadian film. The $ 10 million budget was used by October 1971, after the CFDC invested $ 6.7 million into 64 films with an average cost of $ 250,000 per film. The CFDC
510-549: A French animation unit in 1966, which included Laurent Coderre and Bernard Longpré . Le village enchanté was the first recorded animated feature film in Canadian history and Return to Oz which was based on Tales of the Wizard of Oz , the first recorded Canadian animated television series , was the second recorded animated feature film. In the 1960s filmmakers came from universities throughout Canada. David Cronenberg , Clarke Mackey , and David Secter graduated from
595-621: A Way , If You Love This Planet , and Flamenco at 5:15 ). Starting in 1954, the Capital Cost Allowance was able to be used for a 60% tax write-off for film investment and the amount was increased to 100% in 1974. $ 1.2 billion was invested in Canadian film and television in the thirteen years following the increase. The average film budget rose from $ 527,000 to $ 2.6 million in 1979, and $ 3.5 million in 1986. From 1958 to 1967, private film investment accounted for 18% of film investments and it declined to 13.5% in 1968, while
680-481: A brief criticizing a government monopoly, with the NFB's crown corporation request being referred to as an "expansionist, monopolistic psychology", and that they were unable to compete with the NFB as it paid no taxes and was exempt from tariffs. The commission's report supported the NFB and its requests for Crown corporation status and a headquarters were accepted. A Canadian tour by Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip
765-667: A consulting producer on Remembering Arthur , published the biography Do Not Look Away: The Life of Arthur Lipsett . In 2014, the Prism Prize inaugurated the Arthur Lipsett Award "for innovative and unique approaches to music video art". All for the National Film Board of Canada Very Nice, Very Nice (1961) 21-87 (1963) Free Fall (1964) A Trip Down Memory Lane (1965) Fluxes (1968) Cinema of Canada Cinema in Canada dates back to
850-599: A film licensing system based on their recommendations. American distributors opposed the policy and lobbied the American government through the MPAA and its president, Jack Valenti . Valenti met with President Ronald Reagan at least twice and Reagan criticized the legislation of a US-Canadian economic summit. 54 members of the United States Congress signed a letter to Prime Minister Brian Mulroney opposing
935-427: A large enough market for an independent feature film industry. He supported working with American film companies and stated that "the theatre film business is an international business, dependent when it comes to distribution on an alliance or understanding with American film interests". He travelled to Hollywood in 1944, and the NFB sent scripts to American companies for consideration. Grierson lacked strong support in
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#17327796689501020-647: A monopoly. Grierson was also accused of being involved, but was proven not to be although he resigned as commissioner in 1945. McLean was ordered to assist the Royal Canadian Mounted Police screen NFB employees and the RCMP requested him to fire a list of employees. McLean, who refused to fire any employees without their disloyalty being proven, was not reappointed as commissioner and replaced by William Arthur Irwin in 1950. Irwin also refused to fire employees without proven disloyalty and reduced
1105-488: A place for the film industry due to the quality of its films, distance between major urban areas, and different electrical systems. Early films were used to as promotional material for companies, promote immigration, or displays of scenic locations including Niagara Falls . The Edison Company created some of the first films in Canada by documenting the Klondike Gold Rush , Canadian soldiers leaving to fight in
1190-558: A profound influence on director George Lucas , who said it was "the kind of movie I wanted to make — a very off the wall, abstract kind of film." Lucas used thematic approaches from 21–87 in THX 1138 , his Star Wars films and American Graffiti , stating that his use of the term "The Force" in Star Wars was "an echo of that phrase in 21-87 ". Lucas never met Lipsett, but tributes to 21–87 appear in several places in Star Wars , e.g.
1275-483: A showing conducted by Andrew M. Holland and George C. Holland, where films by Thomas A. Edison, Inc. such as The Kiss were shown, in Ottawa , from 21 July to 28 August 1896, was the first. The Saint-Laurent showing was overlooked as English researchers did not search through French sources. Léo-Ernest Ouimet stated that he attended the showing and he was used as evidence of it until Lacasse found newspaper coverage of
1360-504: A theatre owner, controlled the largest private film studio in Canada, Toronto International Film Studios, two distribution companies, International Film Distributors and Allied Artists Pictures, a television station, CJOH-DT , and multiple production companies. He entered film production with The Mask in 1961. Taylor, unlike other members of the AMPPLC, supported state involvement in feature film production. Bryant Fryer founded one of
1445-470: Is the earliest known colour film shown in Canada. The development of a Canadian film industry was hampered by the country's low population density, it had six million inhabitants and only Toronto and Montreal had more than 100,000 people in 1905, and the lack of domestic vaudeville as most of the acts came from the United States, United Kingdom, and France. Andrew Holland was critical of Canada as
1530-533: The First Red Scare . Adanac was reorganized in 1919, with Brownridge as its managing director and Denis Tansey , a member of parliament, as its president. The Great Shadow was released in 1920, after being filmed in Canada rather than New York as Brownridge wanted to create a domestic film industry, and was a critical and financial success although the CPR pulled its public support before its release. However,
1615-601: The National Film Board of Canada (NFB). Lipsett joined the NFB in 1958 as an editor in the animation department. While he is not credited, two of his earliest projects were as a cameraman on À St-Henri le cinq septembre ( Hubert Aquin , 1962) and as a post-production advisor on the 1961 film Wrestling . Lipsett's particular passion was sound. He collected pieces of sound from a variety of sources, including garbage bins, and fitted them together to create interesting auditory sensations. After playing one such creation to friends, they suggested that Lipsett combine images with
1700-565: The National Film Finance Corporation and Centre national du cinéma et de l'image animée . The Interdepartmental Committee on the Possible Development of a Feature Film Industry in Canada, under the leadership of NFB commissioner Roberge, was formed by the secretary of state. The committee submitted a report to the 19th Canadian Ministry for the creation of a loan fund to aid the development of
1785-582: The Second Boer War , and George V , the Duke of York , arriving in Canada in 1902. James Freer is believed to have been the first Canadian to produce films. He purchased an Edison camera and projector and started filming agriculture activities and Canadian Pacific Railway trains in 1897, and toured the United Kingdom with the sponsorship of the CPR in 1898, and a second less successful tour
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#17327796689501870-465: The Secretary of State reported that a content quota would not work as a 50% quote would generate less revenue than a 5% sales increase for foreign films. The study stated that new tax regulations and investments by the CFDC could make the Canadian film industry internationally competitive. The budget for the CFDC was limited to a few million and its budget from 1982 to 1983 was $ 4.5 million. However,
1955-522: The University of Toronto . John Hofsess , Ivan Reitman , and Peter Rowe graduated from McMaster University . Jack Darcus and Larry Kent graduated from the University of British Columbia . Cronenberg received financial support from the CFDC and Shivers was their most successful investment, with a budget of $ 150,000 ($ 75,000 from the CFDC) and gross of $ 5 million. 708 feature films, over twice
2040-658: The War Activities Committee of the Motion Pictures Industry , was founded in 1940. NFB productions such as The World in Action was watched by 30-40 million people per month in the United Kingdom and United States in 1943, and Canada Carries On was watched by 2.25 million people by 1944. The audience for NFB newsreels reached 40-50 million per week by 1944. Grierson opposed feature film production as he believed that Canada did not have
2125-668: The World in Action newsreel being considered too left-wing. Leo Dolan, an ally of Hepburn and the head of the Canadian Government Travel Bureau, accused Grierson of being Jewish and a Co-operative Commonwealth Federation supporter. The Gouzenko Affair implicated Freda Linton, one of Grierson's secretaries, and the organization was criticized by the Progressive Conservative Party for subversive tendencies, financial waste, and being
2210-568: The 1910s and 1920s are lost. Yves Lever stated that Larente-Homier's 1922 film Madeleine de Verchères was the first truly Québécois fictional feature film. Larente-Homier's work was later destroyed by his son due to orders from the Fire Bureau as the film reels were flammable. Ernest Shipman established multiple film companies in cities and would produce a limited number of films using local money before moving to another area. Unlike other Canadian filmmakers he sought financial support from
2295-405: The 1920s and 1930s. Shipman oversaw the production the most expensive film up to that point. Brownridge's career led to Carry on, Sergeant! and its failure caused a decline in the film industry. The Canadian Government Motion Picture Bureau was formed in 1918, and expanded to sound and 16 mm film in the 1930s before merging into the National Film Board of Canada . The NFB expanded under
2380-566: The American market. In 1919, incorporated Canadian Photoplays with a financial capital of $ 250,000 in Alberta. He started production on Wapi, the Walrus , but retitled it to Back to God's Country to capitalize God's Country and the Woman , starring his wife Nell Shipman . The film was a critical and financial success, with it grossing over $ 500,000 in its first year, and Shipman's investors saw
2465-586: The CFDC accounted for 37.5%. Following the tax write-off increase private investment rose to account for 47% of film investment between 1975 and 1978 while the CFDC declined to 15%. Silence of the North was the first film with American backing to receive CCA certification. The Film and Video Production Tax Credit replaced the Capital Cost Allowance in 1995. In 1962, Roberge proposed the creation of an organization to aid in film finance based on
2550-460: The CFDC five years to recover its first $ 1 million investment, but recovered $ 1 million in 1977 alone. From 1977 to 1978, the CFDC invested $ 1.6 million into twenty films and its investments rose to $ 10.8 million into 34 films from 1979 to 1980. Between 1968 and 1978, the organization funded 103 English-language films, but only Black Christmas , Death Weekend , Heart Farm , Shivers , and The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz were profitable to
2635-489: The CFDC. The Toronto Filmmakers' Coop, an organization with 150 filmmakers, sent a letter with the endorsement of 200 filmmakers to Gérard Pelletier asking for the creation of a content quota that required distributors to have 15% of their films be Canadian. Pelletier announced the creation of a theatre in the National Capital Region that exclusively showed Canadian films in 1972. A study published by
Arthur Lipsett - Misplaced Pages Continue
2720-501: The Canadian film industry in 1952 came from Crawley Films. France Film and other companies started creating French film productions in the 1930s. Maria Chapdelaine is commonly, although incorrectly, regarded as the first French-Canadian sound movie. Étienne Brûlé gibier de potence was the first colour feature film made in Quebec and the first Canadian colour film shot in English and French. Joseph-Alexandre DeSève monopolized
2805-638: The Canadian film industry. The proposal was approved in October 1965, and legislation, the Canadian Film Development Corporation Act of 1966–67, for its creation was introduced in June 1966, before being approved on 3 March 1967. The Canadian Film Development Corporation was established with a budget of $ 10 million in 1967. In February 1968, Spender was appointed as its director along with a five-member board. Canada lack of
2890-596: The Canadian government and some of his films received opposition from members of the government. Inside Fighting Russia was criticized for its support of the Russian Revolution and Balkan Powderkeg for criticizing the United Kingdom's policy in the Balkans. Grierson and the NFB were attacked during the onset of the Cold War . The Federal Bureau of Investigation created a file on Grierson in 1942, due to
2975-609: The NFB's first French-Canadian filmmaker in 1941, and directed La Cité de Notre-Dame , the board's first in-house French-language film, in 1942. The number of French-Canadian employees grew to seventeen by 1945, and a quarter of the board's budget was spent on French productions. The Massey Commission and Gratien Gélinas , a member of the NFB's Board of Governors, called for an improvement in French-language productions, but Premier Maurice Duplessis opposed it. In 1963, À l’heure de la décolonisation , directed by Monique Fortier,
3060-467: The National Film Act, which he drafted, was passed in 1939 causing the creation of the NFB. Grierson became the first Film Commissioner of the NFB and served until the end of World War II . Employment rose from fifty to over seven hundred from 1941 to 1945, although it was cut by 40% after the war ended. Grierson selected McLean to work as assistant commissioner and Stuart Legg to oversee
3145-625: The Quebec Minister of Agriculture , used film for education purposes and the Service de ciné-photographie was established in 1941. The War Office Cinematographic Committee, one of the first times the national government was involved in filmmaking, was formed in 1916, and was led by Max Aitken, 1st Baron Beaverbrook . The committee contracted the Topical Film Company before buying a controlling share. The committee aided in
3230-677: The United States. The company was processing twenty-two million feet of film in per year by 1929. ASN constructed a sound stage in 1936, and produced House in Order , which was its only feature film in the 1930s. Brownridge was sent to New York in 1925 by the Ontario Motion Picture Bureau to gain a distribution contract, but only negotiated one with Cranfield and Clarke after a year of high expenses. Treasurer William Herbert Price criticized Brownridge stating that his "travelling expenses are very high and I do not see there
3315-572: The amount made in the past fifty years, were made during the 1970s. Remembering Arthur Remembering Arthur is a 2006 documentary film about collage filmmaker Arthur Lipsett that debuted at the Toronto International Film Festival . It is directed by Lipsett's close friend Martin Lavut and takes a personal approach to the story of his life through interviews with family, friends and colleagues. The film
3400-577: The bureau had 2,000 films in its library, distributed 1,500 reels of film per month, and made one feature-length documentary, Cinderella of the Farms in 1931, but the bureau was dissolved after the Ontario Liberal Party won in the 1934 Ontario general election . Albert Tessier and Maurice Proulx produced large amounts of films in French at a time when it was uncommon. Joseph Morin ,
3485-406: The bureau needed to transition to sound films or else it would lose its access to theatrical releases, but the organization did not gain the equipment until 1934, and by then it had lost its theatrical distributors. Badgley was able to get a 16 mm film facility for the bureau in 1931. The organization's budget fell from $ 75,000 in 1930, to $ 65,000 in 1931, and $ 45,000 in 1932. However, its budget
Arthur Lipsett - Misplaced Pages Continue
3570-600: The company went bankrupt with Brownridge balming Harley Knoles 's wastefulness and Selznick Pictures 's distribution policy. Brownridge sold the Trenton studio to the Ontario Motion Picture Bureau in 1924, and it continued to be used, with Carry on, Sergeant! as the sole fictional work filmed there, until Mitchell Hepburn ordered its closure in 1934, and it was turned into a community centre. Motion Skreenadz, incorporated in 1920, conducted
3655-516: The cost of the budget. The production difficulties led to internal company problems and Clarke was removed as general manager although he remained vice-president. The film was released in 1928, to mixed-to-negative reviews and was only distributed in Ontario before the company went bankrupt in 1929. Brownridge attempted to recut and release the film in 1930, stating that it "would gross at least $ 200,000", but it did not happen. The Ontario government
3740-629: The creation of the British Columbia Patriotic and Educational Picture Service . It was headed by A. R. Baker and mainly distributed films produced under contract by Arthur D. Kean . The provincial legislature passed legislation requiring the display of at least one ten-minute education film or travelogue during all of the programs. The Motion Picture Branch of the Bureau of Publications was created by Saskatchewan in 1924, to produce education films. The Ontario Motion Picture Bureau
3825-565: The demand and only three of the thirty-six requested were fired. The Royal Commission on National Development in the Arts, Letters and Sciences , with Massey as its chair, was formed in 1949. The NFB submitted a brief asking to have a headquarters constructed, budget increases, and to become a Crown corporation . Robert Winters , whose ministry oversaw the NFB, stated that its brief did not represent government policy. The Association of Motion Picture Producers and Laboratories of Canada submitted
3910-533: The distribution of French-language films through France-Film. France-Film arose from the distribution of Maria Chapdelaine which sold 70,000 tickets in Canada. He also aided in the production of Notre-Dame de la Mouise in response to the papal encyclical Vigilanti Cura . DeSève purchased Renaissance Films following the success of The Music Master . DeSève produced four films through Renaissance Films Distribution. Paul L'Anglais formed Quebec Productions filmed Whispering City in English and French, under
3995-480: The earliest known display of film in Saint-Laurent, Quebec , in 1896. The film industry in Canada has been dominated by the United States, which has utilized Canada as a shooting location and to bypass British film quota laws, throughout its history. Canadian filmmakers, English and French , have been active in the development of cinema in the United States . Films by Thomas A. Edison, Inc. were some of
4080-462: The event in La Presse . R.A. Hardie and F.H. Wall also presented films in Winnipeg from 18 to 25 July 1896. Marie Tréourret de Kerstrat and her son Henry de Grandsaignes d’Hauterives were some of the first French people to display films to French Canadians and projected hundreds during their tours from 1897 to 1906. They showed 8,000 feet of hand-coloured film done by Georges Méliès , which
4165-580: The failure of Blue Water ended Shipman's career. Trenton, Ontario , despite its small size, was a major film production area and had one of the few studios to last longer than a few years. Canadian National Features, founded by George Brownridge, construction a studio in the town and raised a financial capital of $ 500,000, with $ 278,000 coming within the first week, in 1916. However, the company suspended production after spending $ 43,000 on its first two films, The Marriage Trap and Power , and declared bankruptcy with $ 79,000 in assets. The studio in Trenton
4250-583: The film industry through the Capital Cost Allowance and Telefilm Canada . The first time a film was displayed in Canada, and one of the first times in North America, was at an event organized by Louis Minier and Louis Pupier using a cinematograph in Saint-Laurent, Quebec , on 27 June 1896. Prior to the discovery of the Saint-Laurent showing by Germain Lacasse in 1984, it was believed that
4335-547: The first newsreels in Canada. Ouimet, who was a pioneer for Canadian newsreels, created Specialty Film Import in 1915, as a distributor, but his newsreel and distribution companies were sold in 1923, and he unsuccessfully worked in the United States in the 1920s. At the peak of Ouimet's career 1.5 million Canadians were watching his newsreels twice per week. Domestic newsreel companies were unsuccessful after branches of American companies, Fox Canadian News and Canadian Kinograms, were established. Most sound films from Quebec in
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#17327796689504420-500: The first French-Canadian to serve as the NFB's commissioner. Duplessis died in 1959, and Quebec Liberal Party gained control while the Liberal Party won in the 1963 Canadian federal election . The Liberals supported a policy of bilingualism and biculturalism. A French-language branch of the NFB that was independent of its English-language productions was formed in 1964, under the leadership of Pierre Juneau . Drylanders ,
4505-440: The first animation companies in Canada and made six silhouette films from 1927 to 1935. Norman McLaren was brought to Canada from Scotland by Grierson in 1941. McLaren recruited English-Canadian animators from OCAD University , including George Dunning , Evelyn Lambart , Grant Munro , and Robert Verrall . McLaren recruited French-Canadian animators from École des beaux-arts de Montréal , including René Jodoin . Jodoin created
4590-471: The first to arrive in Canada and early films made in the country were produced by Edison Studios . Canadian Pacific Railway and other railways supported early filmmaking including James Freer , whose Ten Years in Manitoba was the first known film by a Canadian. Evangeline is the earliest recorded Canadian feature film. George Brownridge and Ernest Shipman were major figures in Canadian cinema in
4675-776: The government of British Columbia and the Northern Railway Company. The Grand Trunk Railway entered the industry by hiring Butcher's Film Service in 1909. The CPR hired the Edison Company to film in Canada and they sent nine people, including J. Searle Dawley , Henry Cronjager , and Mabel Trunnelle , in 1910. They were provided a specialized train and the RMS Empress of India and produced thirteen films. Silent films used intertitles in English and French, but sound films were mostly produced in English. The first recorded feature film created in Canada
4760-652: The holding cell of Princess Leia in Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope on the Death Star is cell No. 2187. In 1965, Lipsett completed A Trip Down Memory Lane , which used newsreel footage from a fifty-year period, and was intended as a kind of cinematic time capsule . The film won the Lion of St. Mark at the Venice Film Festival . By 1970, Lipsett's mental health had deteriorated to
4845-423: The leadership of John Grierson . The Canadian Cooperation Project between the government and Motion Picture Association of America from 1948 to 1958, negatively affected Canadian filmmaking. Internal divisions between English and French Canadians within the NFB starting in the 1940s led to the creation of an independent branch for French language productions by the 1960s. The government provided financial support to
4930-408: The legislation. The legislation was not tabled and it failed. F. R. Crawley , who was involved in filmmaking for a decade, and Judith Crawley created Île d'Orléans in 1938, and its success led to a $ 3,000 loan from F. R. Crawley's father that created Crawley Films. It employment rose from 6 in 1946, 33 in 1949, and around 100 by the 1950s. One-sixth of the $ 3 million worth of films produced by
5015-532: The majority of film production in western Canada and brought colour film production to British Columbia. Leon C. Shelly gained control over Motion Skreenadz and Vancouver Motion Pictures from 1936 to 1937. He extended the company to Toronto in 1945, but relocated the company entirely to Toronto in 1946. The company was reorganized into Shelly Films, but production of non-newsreels was ended in favor of focusing on film laboratories . British Columbia's government agencies used promotional films from 1908 to 1919, before
5100-454: The movie screen and soundtrack that I have ever seen." Kubrick also asked him to create a trailer for his upcoming movie Dr. Strangelove . Lipsett declined Kubrick's offer. Kubrick went on to direct the trailer himself; however, Lipsett's influence on Kubrick is clearly visible in the released trailer. Lipsett's meticulous editing and combination of audio and visual montage was both groundbreaking and influential. His 1963 film 21-87 had
5185-592: The next two years it was screened in 1,249 Canadian theatres where it was watched by a record two million people and the film was also screened in forty other countries. The film cost $ 88,000, but the NFB gained a profit of $ 150,000 and the film's success was one of the reasons Grierson stated that Irwin "saved the Film Board". It was seen by over two million people within two months. The Canadian Government Motion Picture Bureau and Associated Screen News of Canada had no French-Canadian employees. Vincent Paquette became
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#17327796689505270-493: The only French-language feature films produced in Canada in that period. Bush Pilot was the only English-language feature film created by a Canadian company in the 1940s. Pour la suite du monde was the first Canadian film shown in competition at the Cannes Film Festival . Canadians had to import colour 35 mm film until 1967, as Canada did not produce any internally. By the 1960s Nat Taylor ,
5355-725: The organization had its role expanded to include television in 1983, and administered the Canadian Broadcast Program Development Fund. The television fund was initially given an annual budget of $ 60 million. An annual budget of $ 30 million through the Feature Film Fund was created in 1986, and an annual budget of $ 17 million through the Feature Film Distribution Fund was created in 1988. The organization's combined budget grew to $ 146 million by 1989. A report
5440-431: The organization's first English language feature-length fiction film, was released in 1963. Kathleen Shannon organized Studio D , the first publicly funded feminist film-production unit in the world, in 1974, and produced 125 films before its closure in 1996. However, there would be no French version of Studio D until the formation of Studio B in 1986. The studio produced three Oscar winning films by 1984 ( I'll Find
5525-531: The point where he was forced to resign, citing a phobia of film tape and a loss of creativity. In 1978, he briefly returned to the NFB but, by then, he was chaining up his editing equipment, wearing winter coats in summer and taping his fingers into the Buddhist mantra position for protection from phantom voices. In 1982, he was diagnosed with Schizophrenia . After numerous suicide attempts, which he called “little experiments”, he took his own life on May 1, 1986. He
5610-483: The production of distribution of D. W. Griffith 's Hearts of the World . The committee was dissolved after World War I and its shares in Topical Film Company were sold, which were donated to war charities. The Associated Screen News of Canada was founded by Bernard Norrish in 1920, and the CPR held a majority control of its stock. The company grew from two employees in 1920, to over one hundred by 1930, and focused on
5695-423: The production of newsreels, theatrical shorts, and sponsored films. It was the largest Canadian film company until the growth of Crawley Films in the 1950s. It was one of Canada's longest lasting film production companies with Crawley Films and the National Film Board of Canada being one of the few to outlast it. Before ASN constructed a film laboratory all of the film print distributed in Canada were processed in
5780-533: The productions. Lest We Forget , Canada's first feature-length war documentary with sound, was released in 1935. Grierson made efforts to increase the theatrical distribution of NFB films, primarily its war-related films, as he was coordinating wartime information for the United Kingdom in North America. Famous Players aided in distribution and the Canadian Motion Picture War Services Committee, which worked with
5865-537: The sound collage. The result was his first short film, a 7-minute film Very Nice, Very Nice which was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Short Subject, Live Action Subjects in 1962. Despite not winning the Oscar, the film brought Lipsett considerable praise from critics and directors. Stanley Kubrick was one of Lipsett's fans, writing him to say that the film was "the most imaginative and brilliant uses of
5950-438: The title La Forteresse . It was seen by over 100,000 people in Quebec over the course of six weeks. The papal encyclical Vigilanti Cura in 1936, changed the Catholic attitude towards movies and the church became a part of Quebec movie production in the 1940s. Most of the nineteen movies, fifteen in French and four in English, produced in Quebec from 1944 to 1953 were made by Renaissance Films or Quebec Productions. Those were
6035-415: The western areas. This group, the Bioscope Company of Canada, conducted filming in Quebec to Victoria from 1902 to 1903. The film, Living Canada , was premiered at the Palace Theatre in 1903, with High Commissioner Donald Smith in attendance. A total of thirty-five Living Canada films were released by 1904, and was reedited into Wonders of Canada in 1906. Urban success led to him gaining contracts with
6120-475: Was Evangeline . The Palace was the first theatre to transition to showing sound films when it presented Street Angel on 1 September 1928. There were multiple attempts to create an independent film industry in Canada in the early 20th century. Thirty-six companies meant for film production were created between 1914 and 1922, but the majority of the companies did not produce any films. In 1914, Canadian Animated Weekly by Universal Pictures became one of
6205-718: Was established in 1917, but did not produce its own films until 1923. S.C. Johnson, who worked in the Ontario Agriculture Department , was its first director. The victory of the United Farmers of Ontario in the 1919 election resulted in Peter Smith reorganized film production under the Amusement Branch with Otter Elliott heading it. He changed the focus of filmmaking from agricultural training towards quality productions. By 1925,
6290-456: Was filmed and was initially meant to be two reels, worth twenty minutes, but grew to five reels as they could not determine what to cut. Irwin met with Harvey Harnick, the NFB's Columbia theatrical distributor, and J.J. Fitzgibbons, the president of Famous Players, and Fitzgibbons told Irwin that he would screen all five reels if the film was completed for a Christmas release. Royal Journey opened in seventeen first-run theatres and over course of
6375-479: Was increased to $ 70,000 in 1933. The bureau was reorganized into the National Film Board of Canada in 1941, following John Grierson 's recommendation. Ross McLean was working as the secretary to High Commissioner Vincent Massey when he met Grierson, and asked for Grierson to come to Canada to aide in the governmental film policy. Grierson made a report on the Canadian film industry in 1938, and
6460-648: Was not financially successful as only three of those films made a profit and the organization recovered $ 600,000 of its investments. After 1970 the CFDC focused on investing in smaller budgeted films and ended its work with American theatrical distributors to them hiding profits. Another $ 10 million budget was given to the CFDC in November 1971, and a new investment strategy in which $ 600,000 per year would be invested into productions, with its creative and technical crew being Canadian, budgeted below $ 100,000, and $ 3 million per year on films with guaranteed distribution. It took
6545-507: Was released in Canada under the name Carry On! and was financially success. Clarke's film was named Carry on, Sergeant! to help raise funds. It received financial backing from influential people, including prime ministers Arthur Meighen and Bennett. The film started production, by the recently created subsidiary Canadian International Films, in 1926, and Bruce Bairnsfather was hired to direct with an expensive contract, but his inexperience with film led to production troubles that increased
6630-567: Was reorganized into the Canadian Government Motion Picture Bureau on 1 April 1923. Its films were theatrically released in the United States by Bray Productions . The organization's budget stagnated and declined during the Great Depression. The organization was led by Bernard Norrish from 1917 to 1920, Raymond Peck from 1920 to 1927, and Frank Badgley from 1927 to 1941. Badgley stated that
6715-438: Was sponsored by Clifford Sifton in 1901. His second tour was the first time that the government was directly involved with film. British and American filmmakers were selected as they could guarantee the distribution of their films unlike Canadian filmmakers. The CPR enlisted Charles Urban and his company , in order to allow the distribution of the films to the United Kingdom, to travel and film Canada to promote settlement in
6800-405: Was still interested in attempting to create a large film studio by 1932, along with Edward Wentworth Beatty and Herbert Samuel Holt , but the recent failure of Canadian International Films and Great Depression led to its not receiving investments. The Canadian film industry would not recover until after World War II . The Exhibits and Publicity Bureau was founded on 19 September 1918, and
6885-542: Was survived by his partner, artist Judith Sandiford. In 2006, a feature-length documentary about Lipsett, Remembering Arthur , was produced by Public Pictures in association with the NFB, Bravo! and TVOntario . The Arthur Lipsett Project: A Dot on the Histomap is a 2007 NFB documentary directed by Eric Gaucher. In 2010, the NFB produced the short animated documentary Lipsett Diaries , directed by Theodore Ushev and written by Chris Robinson . In 2012, Amelia Does,
6970-540: Was taken over by the Pan American Film Corporation in 1918, but only released one film before closing. Brownridge founded Adanac Producing Company and released the two Canadian National Features films in 1918. Brownridge shifted production towards corporate sponsorships by displaying products in dramatized films. Brownridge sought a sponsorship from the CPR and John Murray Gibbon saw Power and asked Brownridge to make anti-Bolshevik films during
7055-534: Was the first NFB film directed by a French Canadian woman. French-language media, including Le Devoir , criticized the NFB after it removed Roger Blais in 1957. NFB francophone directors Denys Arcand , Gilles Carle , Jacques Godbout , Gilles Groulx , and Clément Perron criticized the organization for its censorship policies, refusal to produce feature films, and its colonial treatment of Quebec. Michel Brault , Carle, Bernard Gosselin , Groulx, and Arthur Lamothe left following reprimands. Guy Roberge became
7140-631: Was very much result from anything he has done". George Patton, the bureau's head, supported the deal as Cranfield and Clarke had no Jews in its company. W.F. Clarke, who was later blamed for the company's financial failure, pushed for Canadian film production and came up with an idea of a film about "a dramatic story written by an eminent authority around the part played by the Canadians in the World War". Clarke incorporated British Empire Films of Canada in June 1927. The film adaption of The Better 'Ole
7225-451: Was written by a task force in 1985, and it stated that foreign domination of film and video distribution, chronic undercapitalization of production companies, and concentration of theatre ownership and distribution and exhibition vertical integration hurt the development of the film industry. They recommended legislation to increase the control of Canadian-owned companies over distribution and Minister of Communications Flora MacDonald proposed
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