National Film Board of Canada - History

History

In 1938, the Government of Canada invited John Grierson, a British documentary film-maker, 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 NFB. In part, it was founded to create propaganda in support of the Second World War. In 1940, with Canada at war, the NFB launched its Canada Carries On series of morale boosting theatrical shorts. The success of Canada Carries On led to the creation of The World in Action, which was more geared to international audiences.

Early in its history, the NFB was a primarily English-speaking institution. Based in Ottawa, 90% of its staff was English and the few French Canadians in production worked with English crews. There was a French Unit which was responsible for versioning films into French but it was headed by an Anglophone. And in NFB annual reports of the time, French films were listed under "foreign languages." Screenwriter Jacques Bobet, hired in 1947, worked to strengthen the French Unit and retain French talent, and was appointed producer of French versions in 1951. During that period, commissioner Albert Trueman, sensitive to how the Quiet Revolution was beginning to transform Quebec society, brought in Pierre Juneau as the NFB's "French Advisor." Juneau recommended the creation of a French production branch to enable francophone filmmakers to work and create in their own language.

In 1956, the NFB's headquarters was relocated from Ottawa to Montreal, improving the NFB's reputation in French Canada and making the NFB more attractive to French-speaking filmmakers. In 1964, a separate French production branch was finally established, with Bobet as one of its four initial executive producers.

During the ’40s and early ’50s, the NFB employed 'travelling projectionists' who toured the country, bringing films and public discussions to rural communities. A revision of the National Film Act in 1950 removed any direct government intervention into the operation and administration of the NFB. In 1966, the French language Animation Studio was created, led by René Jodoin.

With the creation of the Canadian Film Development Corporation (now known as Telefilm Canada) in 1967, the mandate for the National Film Board was refined. The Canadian Film Development Corporation would become responsible for promoting the development of the film industry. 1967 also saw the creation of Challenge for Change, a community media project that would develop the use of film and video as a tool for initiating social change.

During the 1970s and early 1980s, the National Film Board produced a series of vignettes, some of which aired on CBC and other Canadian broadcasters during commercial breaks. The vignettes became popular because of their cultural depiction of Canada, and because they represented its changing state. Indeed, the vignette Faces was made to represent the increasing cultural and ethnic diversity of Canada. In 1996, the NFB absorbed a 32% cut to its operating budget, forcing it to lay off staff, close its film laboratory, sound stage (now privatized) as well as other departments.

In 2006, the NFB marked the 65th anniversary of NFB animation with an international retrospective of restored Norman McLaren classics and the launch of the DVD box set, Norman McLaren – The Master's Edition. The NFB has also absorbed smaller budget cuts in recent years. The six-storey John Grierson Building at its Montreal headquarters has sat empty for several years – with HQ staff now based solely in its adjacent Norman McLaren Building. In October 2009, the NFB released a free app for Apple's iPhone that would allow users to watch thousands of NFB films directly on their cell phones. In 2010, the NFB released an iPad version of their app that streams NFB films, many in high definition.

In March 2012, the NFB's funding was cut 10%, to be phased in over a three-year period, as part of the 2012 Canadian federal budget. The NFB eliminated 73 full and part-time positions.