Michael M. Koerner

Throughout his imposing career in the energy and financial sectors, Michael Koerner has dedicated himself to philanthropic work of similarly epic proportions. In his personal life, long-standing passions still burn as bright and steady as the North Star. Driven by generosity and an unadulterated curiosity, he seems heroically intent on evading the limelight.

Produced by the NFB in co-operation with the National Arts Centre and the Governor General's Performing Arts Awards Foundation on the occasion of the 2015 Governor General's Performing Arts Awards.

In this short documentary about The Tragically Hip, director David Battistella uses a split-screen and acid-etched colours to distil the iconic Canadian band’s essence. After decades together, through hotels, highways, gigs and recording sessions, The Hip’s members have forged a powerful brotherhood. "These guys are my life partners, musically" says bass guitarist Gord Sinclair. The Hip's brand of straight-ahead rock and roll has catapulted the band to international stardom, and ensured them a place in Canadian musical history, but at heart, they remain a bunch of guys from Kingston, Ontario, making music together just for fun.

This film was produced for the 2008 Governor General's Performing Arts Award.

When William Shatner gets a Lifetime Achievement Award from Canada's Governor General, he shows appreciation as only Shatner can. In this short film, the most famous space cadet in showbiz takes helm of our heritage and treats us to a memorable rendition of Canada's national anthem.

Produced by the National Film Board of Canada in co-operation with the National Arts Centre and the Governor General's Performing Arts Awards Foundation on the occasion of the 2011 Governor General's Performing Arts Awards.

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This short follows grand dame of the theatre Diana Leblanc as she prepares for a role in The Dybbuk (Soulpepper Theatre Company) and gets ready to direct an opera (Madame Butterfly). The film weaves together archival footage, photographs, and animation depicting Leblanc as a young ballerina, offering an intimate reflection on her life’s passions, challenges, and lessons.

Produced by the NFB in co-operation with the National Arts Centre and the Governor General's Performing Arts Awards Foundation on the occasion of the 2015 Governor General's Performing Arts Awards.

An award-winning actor, writer, producer and director, Paul Gross has struggled to find the right balance between the heart and the head, between intellect and emotions. But sometimes a story comes along, captivates a filmmaker and simply won't leave. For Gross, this story was Passchendaele, a film based on his grandfather's experiences in a WWI battle that became synonymous with Canada's courage and resolution in the face of epic tragedy. This film was produced for the 2009 Governor General's Performing Arts Award.

"A soundscape is any collection of sounds, almost like a painting is a collection of visual attractions," says composer R. Murray Schafer. "When you listen carefully to the soundscape it becomes quite miraculous." David New's portrait of the renowned composer becomes a lesson unto itself, gracing viewers (and listeners) with a singular moment of interactive subjectivity. This film was produced for the 2009 Governor General's Performing Arts Award.

This short film pays tribute to Toronto philanthropist Earlaine Collins, recipient of the 2012 Ramon John Hnatyshyn Award for Voluntarism in the Performing Arts. Generous and thoughtful, Collins speaks of her bond with performers, the importance of giving, and how much has music meant to her and her late husband from their very first days together.

Produced by the National Film Board of Canada in co-operation with the National Arts Centre and the Governor General's Performing Arts Awards Foundation on the occasion of the 2012 Governor General's Performing Arts Awards.

George F. Walker's career has spanned almost four decades, but Rolly and Stevie (from Walker's play Criminal Genius) have succeeded in tying the notoriously elusive dramatist down. To a chair. With lots of rope. Director Scott Smith's wicked reversal of theatrical order puts Walker in the centre of one of his own creations. This film was produced for the 2009 Governor General's Performing Arts Award.

This micro-epic short film is an inspired tribute to visionary avant-garde composer Walter Boudreau: his life, work, mischief, and boundless artistic curiosity. Both a documentary biopic and a wildly abstract hallucination, the film conceives of Walter Boudreau as a radical explorer, struggling against the inert mass of the cosmos, charting bold new paths of artistic freedom and audaciously expanding the frontiers of our known musical universe.

Produced by the NFB in co-operation with the National Arts Centre and the Governor General's Performing Arts Awards Foundation on the occasion of the 2015 Governor General's Performing Arts Awards.

A general look at the Québec art scene--what painters and sculptors say about their work, about the place of art in society, and what has fired Québec's particular interest in art. The views of well-known artists are heard, as well as those of several museum directors, art critics, and some members of the lay public who confess to be not entirely in accord with the more modern art forms.

Bryan Adams is one of world’s most enduringly popular singer/songwriters. He is most at home in his Vancouver studio, surrounded by his collection of vintage microphones and guitars. Adams calls it “a very analog space in a very digital world.” In this short documentary, we witness an intimate rendition of his song “One World, One Flame” and hear him speak of his audience-centred approach to performance: “I want it to be fun, I want it to be real.”