MOMA HONORS THE NATIONAL FILM BOARD OF CANADA WITH ANNIVERSARY TRIBUTE OF SHORT DOCUMENTARY AND ANIMATED FILMS
The National Film Board of Canada: 60th Anniversary Program
October 28–31, 1999
The Roy and Niuta Titus Theaters
The Museum of Modern Art celebrates the sixtieth anniversary of the National Film Board of Canada with a four-program exhibition of short documentary and animated films produced by the respected and influential organization. Running from October 28 to 31, in MoMA's Roy and Niuta Titus Theaters, The National Film Board of Canada: 60th Anniversary Program features a classic selection of some of the most acclaimed works funded by the Board. Many of the films in the series will be donated to the Museum to become part of its permanent film collection.
The Board, also known as l'Office national du film du Canada, was founded in 1939 by an act of Parliament to initiate and promote production and distribution of films in the national interest, and in particular to interpret Canada to Canadians and to other countries. The Canadian government invited pioneering documentary filmmaker John Grierson to lead the effort. Almost simultaneously with the birth of the Board, World War II broke out, and Grierson's work of disseminating information and promoting national unity became critical. The Board’s long and creative history in animation began shortly after its founding, when Grierson invited the young Scottish-born animator Norman McLaren to set up an animation unit in 1941. Since its founding, the National Film Board has developed two studios, for
French and English productions, which are renowned for their experimental work and contributions to the art form.
"The National Film Board of Canada is an institution that has enriched the idea of the documentary and expanded the expressiveness of nonfiction film, and continues to refresh, if not reinvent, animation techniques," notes Laurence Kardish, Senior Curator, Department of Film and Video, who co-organized the exhibition.
Documentary highlights in the tribute include Roman Kroiter and Wolf Koenig's Lonely Boy (1961), a cinéma vérité backstage look at teenage heartthrob Paul Anka; Koenig and Colin Low's City of Gold (1957), about the Yukon Gold Rush at its frenzied height; Bill Mason's award-winning Paddle to the Sea (1966), an adaptation of the children's classic about a toy canoe and really big bodies of water; and Shui-Bo Wang's Sunrise over Tiananmen Square (1998), the autobiography of an artist who grew up in China during the historic upheavals of the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s.
The animation programs feature Norman McLaren's Neighbours (1952), an award-winning antiwar parable about two men who come to blows over a flower; Richard Condie's The Big Snit (1985), a portrait of a couple caught up in a spat; Suzanne Gervais's The Irises (1991), a loving look at the Vincent van Gogh masterpiece, commenting on society's use of art as commerce; and Alison Snowden and David Fine's Bob's Birthday (1994), the celebrated pilot of Comedy Central's Bob and Margaret TV series.
The National Film Board of Canada: 60th Anniversary Program was organized by John Sirabella, U.S. Marketing Manager, New York, National Film Board of Canada, and Laurence Kardish. The Museum expresses its gratitude to the National Film Board of Canada for its generous gift of films from the exhibition, and to the Canadian Consulate in New York for helping make this exhibition possible.
