Making Movie History: Alanis Obomsawin

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.

This interview is part of Making Movie History: A Portrait in 61 Parts.

Director and writer Carol Geddes reflects on telling stories from an aboriginal perspective as a filmmaker in the NFBs North West studio.

This interview is part of Making Movie History: A Portrait in 61 Parts.

Morten Parker recalls the early days of documentary filmmaking at the NFB, including the making of his Oscar nominated film The Stratford Adventure.

This interview is part of Making Movie History: A Portrait in 61 Parts.

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.

This interview is part of Making Movie History: A Portrait in 61 Parts.

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.

This interview is part of Making Movie History: A Portrait in 61 Parts.

Colin Low reflects on leaving art school in Calgary to join the NFB and his early days in the NFB's animation department.

This interview is part of Making Movie History: A Portrait in 61 Parts.

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.

This interview is part of Making Movie History: A Portrait in 61 Parts.

A look at the work and legacy of Tom Daly, the legendary Unit B producer, who died in 2011.

This interview is part of Making Movie History: A Portrait in 61 Parts.

Svend-Erik Eriksen reflects on his early days working on animation projects at the NFBs Vancouver based studio.

This interview is part of Making Movie History: A Portrait in 61 Parts.

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.

This interview is part of Making Movie History: A Portrait in 61 Parts.

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.

This interview is part of Making Movie History: A Portrait in 61 Parts.