View source for National Film Board of Canada

{{Short description|Public film and digital media producer and distributor}}
{{redirect|National Film Board|the Argentine organization|National Film Board of Argentina}}
{{Use Canadian English|date=October 2021}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2017}}
{{Infobox organization
| name                     = National Film Board of Canada
| logo                     = National Film Board of Canada logo.svg
| logo_caption             = The "Visionary Man" logo since 2003
| image                    = Ilot Balmoral 2020-05-18 - 10.jpg
| image_border             = 
| size                     = 
| alt                      = The Ilot Balmoral in [[Downtown Montreal]] served a the new NFB headquarters since 2019, in commemoration of the 80th anniversary of the founding.
| caption                  = NFB headquarters in Montreal
| map                      = 
| msize                    = 
| malt                     = 
| mcaption                 = 
| abbreviation             = NFB
| motto                    = 
| founded                  = {{Start date|1939|05|02}} in [[Ottawa]], [[Ontario]]
| founder                  = [[Government of Canada]]
| extinction               = 
| type                     = Federal agency
| status                   = 
| purpose                  = Film and interactive media producer and distributor
| headquarters             = [[Montreal]], [[Quebec]], Canada
| region_served            = 
| membership               = 
| language                 = English, French
| leader_title             = Government Film Commissioner and NFB Chairperson
| leader_name              = [[Suzanne Guèvremont]]
| main_organ               = 
| parent_organization      = 
| affiliations             = 
| num_staff                = 
| num_volunteers           = 
| budget                   = 
| website                  = {{official URL}}
| remarks                  = 
}}

The '''National Film Board of Canada''' ('''NFB'''; {{langx|fr|Office national du film du Canada, ONF}}) is a Canadian public film and [[digital media]] producer and distributor. An agency of the [[Government of Canada]], the NFB produces and distributes [[documentary film]]s, [[animation]], [[web documentaries]], and alternative dramas. In total, the NFB has produced over 43,000 productions since its inception, which have won over 5,000 awards.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nfb.ca/channels/award-winners/|title=Award Winners|website=National Film Board of Canada|language=en|access-date=2019-12-18}}</ref> The NFB reports to the [[Parliament of Canada]] through the [[Minister of Canadian Heritage]]. It has bilingual production programs and branches in English and French, including multicultural-related documentaries.

==History==
===Canadian Government Motion Picture Bureau===

[[File:Cameramen for the Canadian Government Motion Picture Bureau in 1925.jpg|thumb|right|A group of cameramen who worked for the [[Canadian Government Motion Picture Bureau]] in 1925. Frank Badgley, the bureau's director from 1927 to 1941, is in the background.]]

The [[Canadian Government Motion Picture Bureau|Exhibits and Publicity Bureau]] was founded on 19 September 1918, and was reorganized into the Canadian Government Motion Picture Bureau in 1923.{{sfn|Brégent-Heald|2012|p=30}}{{sfn|Morris|1978|p=133}} The organization's budget stagnated and declined during the Great Depression.{{sfn|Magder|1993|p=50}}

Frank Badgley, who served as the bureau's director from 1927 to 1941, stated that 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.{{sfn|Morris|1978|p=167}}<ref>{{Cite news |title=Frank C. Badgley |work=[[Toronto International Film Festival]] |url=https://cfe.tiff.net/canadianfilmencyclopedia/content/bios/frank-c-badgley |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220707183651/https://cfe.tiff.net/canadianfilmencyclopedia/content/bios/frank-c-badgley |archive-date=July 7, 2022}}</ref> Badgley was able to get a [[16 mm film]] facility for the bureau in 1931.{{sfn|Morris|1978|p=167}} The bureau was reorganized into the National Film Board of Canada on 11 June 1941, following [[John Grierson]]'s recommendation.{{sfn|Morris|1978|p=161}}{{sfn|Magder|1993|p=53}}{{sfn|Khouri|2007|p=85}}

===Foundation and early history===

[[File:Jorge Ruiz - John Grierson 1955.jpg|thumb|left|[[John Grierson]] was the first commissioner of the National Film Board of Canada.]]

[[Ross McLean (civil servant)|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 the ''National Film Act'', which he drafted, was passed on 2 May 1939 causing the creation of the NFB.{{sfn|Clandfield|1987|p=17}}{{sfn|Clandfield|1987|p=21-22}}{{sfn|Morris|1978|p=233-234}} The position of Film Commissioner was left vacant for months, as [[Ned Corbett]] declined the appointment, until Grierson, who proposed Badgley and Walter Turnbull for the position, accepted the position for six months in October 1939, but served until 1945.{{sfn|Morris|1978|p=233-234}}{{sfn|Jones|1981|p=22-23}}<ref name="founding"/> Grierson selected McLean to work as assistant commissioner and [[Stuart Legg]] to oversee the productions.{{sfn|Magder|1993|p=53}} Grierson sent in a letter of resignation on 27 November 1940, in protest of the CGMPB and NFB not being merged, but agreed to stay on for another six months and the merger happened.<ref name="founding"/>{{sfn|Jones|1981|p=27-28}} Employment rose from 55 to 787 from 1941 to 1945, although it was cut by 40% after the war ended.{{sfn|Magder|1993|p=78}}{{sfn|Jones|1981|p=30}}

''The Case of Charlie Gordon'' was the NFB's first English-language film and ''Un du 22e'' was its first French-language film.<ref name="founding">{{Cite news |date=12 August 2009 |title=The Founding of the NFB |work=National Film Board of Canada |url=https://blog.nfb.ca/blog/2009/08/12/the-founding-of-the-nfb/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230103162948/https://blog.nfb.ca/blog/2009/08/12/the-founding-of-the-nfb/ |archive-date=3 January 2023}}</ref> In 1944, Grierson established twelve units to handle production; ''[[The World in Action]]'' and ''[[Canada Carries On]]'', Industrial Relations, Health and Rehabilitation, Newsreel and Armed Forces, Animation, Dominion-Provincial, Travel and Outdoors, Armed Services, Foreign Language Programme, French Language Programme, Agriculture, and Education. Employees were contracted for three months as Grierson believed that job security hurt organizational creativity, but most employees worked longer than three months.{{sfn|Jones|1981|p=46-47}}

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 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.{{sfn|Magder|1993|p=56-58}} In 1942, the NFB and the [[Wartime Information Board]] organized 30 film circuits that would bring NFB films to 20 rural areas once a month. By 1945, this number grew to 92 circuits with an attendance of 2,220 per circuit.{{sfn|Low|2002|p=38}}

Grierson opposed feature film production as he believed that Canada did not have 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.{{sfn|Magder|1993|p=59}}

With 800 employees in 1945, the NFB was one of the largest film studios in the world.{{sfn|Dupuis|2024|p=16}}

===Ross McLean administration===
Grierson lacked strong support in 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 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 of Canada|Progressive Conservative Party]] for subversive tendencies, financial waste, and being a monopoly. Grierson was also accused of being involved, but was proven not to be.{{sfn|Clandfield|1987|p=22}}{{sfn|Magder|1993|p=59-60}}

During McLean's tenure film production was divided into four units in 1948. Unit A dealt with agriculture, non-English, and interpretative films, Unit B dealt with sponsored, scientific, cultural, and animated films, Unit C dealt with theatrical, newsreels, tourist, and travel films, and Unit D dealt with international affairs and special projects.{{sfn|Evans|1991|p=15}}{{sfn|Evans|1991|p=34}} This system continued until its abolition on 28 February 1964 when it had seven units, five English-language and two French-language.{{sfn|Jones|1981|p=60-61}}{{sfn|Jones|1981|p=22-23}}

In 1947, [[Grant McLean (film producer)|Grant McLean]], the cousin of the NFB commissioner, shot ''The People Between'' and the [[Minister of Foreign Affairs (Canada)|Secretary of State for External Affairs]]'s department stated that some parts of the film were too favorable towards the [[Chinese Communist Party]].{{sfn|Evans|1991|p=8}} Quebec Premier [[Maurice Duplessis]] had NFB films removed from schools using accusations of communism.{{sfn|Evans|1991|p=16}}

The [[Royal Canadian Mounted Police]] discovered that an employee for the NFB's Production Division, who was a communist, took photos of top-secret military equipment. The [[Department of National Defence (Canada)|Department of National Defence]] prohibited the NFB from making films for it. Ross McLean followed the recommendations of the department and declared the NFB a vulnerable agency and the RCMP requested the firing of 36 employees.{{sfn|Evans|1991|p=9}} The RCMP requested him to fire a list of employees, McLean refused to fire any employees without their disloyalty being proven. He was not reappointed as commissioner and replaced by [[William Arthur Irwin]] in 1950. Irwin reduced the demand and only three were fired.{{sfn|Magder|1993|p=80-81}}{{sfn|Evans|1991|p=14}}{{sfn|Magder|1993|p=77}}

Vincent Paquette became 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. Seventy English films were released by the board in 1949, while four French films were released. The Massey Commission and [[Gratien Gélinas]], a member of the NFB's Board of Governors, called for an improvement in French-language productions, but Duplessis opposed it.{{sfn|Clandfield|1987|p=38-40}}

===Irwin administration===
Irwin, the editor of ''[[Maclean's]]'', was selected to replace McLean as commissioner of the NFB. The ''[[Financial Post]]'', one of the NFB's leading critics and the sister publication of ''Maclean's'', stopped its criticism following Irwin's selection and Kenneth Wilson, one of the NFB's strongest critics, died in a plane crash although [[Floyd Chalmers]], the president of [[Maclean-Hunter]], criticized Irwin for leaving ''Maclean's''.{{sfn|Evans|1991|p=12-13}}

Film production was centralized under Irwin by having one person oversee the four film units. He selected Donald Mulholland over [[James Beveridge]] and Mulholland was criticized for ignoring French-language film production.{{sfn|Evans|1991|p=15}} Unit E, dealing with sponsored work, and Unit F, dealing with French-language films, were created in 1951.{{sfn|Evans|1991|p=30}}

[[File:Office national du film montreal.jpg|thumb|The Norman McLaren Building in [[Saint-Laurent, Quebec|Saint-Laurent]], [[Montreal]], [[Quebec]], former NFB headquarters from 1956 until 2019.]]

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 corporations of Canada|Crown corporation]].{{sfn|Magder|1993|p=76-77}} [[Robert Winters]], whose ministry oversaw the NFB, stated that its brief did not represent government policy.{{sfn|Magder|1993|p=80}} The Association of Motion Picture Producers and Laboratories of Canada submitted 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.{{sfn|Magder|1993|p=79}} The commission's report supported the NFB and its requests for Crown corporation status and a headquarters were accepted.{{sfn|Magder|1993|p=81}}

In 1950, Irwin wrote to [[Robert Winters]] about a report on restructuring the NFB and Winters told Irwin to rewrite the 1939 ''Film Act'' as it was outdated by then. The ''National Film Act'' was passed in June, and took effect on 14 October.{{sfn|Evans|1991|p=15-17}}

A Canadian tour by Princess [[Elizabeth II|Elizabeth]] and [[Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh|Prince Philip]] was filmed using 35&nbsp;mm [[Kodak|Eastman]] colour-film stock, which was not available to the public yet. The film 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 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".{{sfn|Evans|1991|p=22-23}}

The NFB created its first television series, ''Window on Canada'' and ''[[On the Spot (Canadian TV series)|On the Spot]]'', with the CBC in 1953.{{sfn|Evans|1991|p=26-27}} However, the CBC opposed increasing the amount of NFB productions as they believed it was hurting CBC's growth. The majority of the filmmakers in the NFB opposed moving into television. [[Sydney Newman]] and Gordon Burwash, who supported moving into television, were sent to the United States in 1948 to learn about TV production and [[NBC]] was given the right to air NBC{{Dubious|date=October 2025|reason=NBC productions or NFB productions?}} productions in exchange. When Newman and Burwash returned, they joined the CBC as the NFB was unable to move into television. Half of all productions by the NFB were made to air on television by 1955.{{sfn|Evans|1991|p=39-40}} In 1956, the CBC's exclusion grew to them making ''[[Hawkeye and the Last of the Mohicans]]'' with the expressed prohibition of NFB involvement and rejecting a show by the NFB based on ''[[Jake and the Kid]]''.{{sfn|Evans|1991|p=42-43}}

===Trueman administration===
[[File:Albert William Trueman 1947.jpg|thumb|[[Albert Trueman]] was NFB commissioner from 1953 to 1957]]

Irwin resigned as commissioner in May 1953, and later stated that he wanted to be more involved in film production, but his time was being taken up by administrative purposes. [[Albert Trueman]], president of the [[University of New Brunswick]] and a member of the board of governors of the NFB and CBC, was selected by Winters to replace Irwin. A reshuffling of the cabinet had [[Walter Edward Harris]] become the new minister responsible for the NFB.{{sfn|Evans|1991|p=28-29}}

Since the foundation of the NFB its offices were divided across multiple locations in Ottawa and plans created during World War II to construct a single headquarters were not acted upon. Montreal was selected during Irwin's administration due to its bilingualism and two [[Canadian Broadcasting Corporation]] television stations being created there. Prime Minister [[Louis St. Laurent]] reached an agreement with Duplessis to allow the move.{{sfn|Evans|1991|p=17-19}} Donald Mulholland, the director of production, ended his support for the relocation to Montreal after Irwin's resignation and argued against it. Trueman did not take a position and instead sent the information to Harris. St. Laurent was angered by this and asked Winters if Trueman was attempting to sabotage the relocation and Trueman told Winters that he was just giving Harris information about the situation. The Conservatives criticized the rising cost of the headquarters' construction and attempted to block it, but failed.{{sfn|Evans|1991|p=29-30}} The building was constructed from 1953 to 1956, at a cost of $5.25 million and served as the NFB's headquarters until 2019.{{sfn|Evans|1991|p=17-19}}<ref>{{Cite news |date=4 September 2019 |title=This September, the NFB moves to the Quartier des Spectacles in downtown Montreal. Official inauguration and opening event for the public to follow in 2020 |work=National Film Board of Canada |url=https://www.canada.ca/en/national-film-board/news/2019/09/this-september-the-nfb-moves-to-the-quartier-des-spectacles-in-downtown-montreal-official-inauguration-and-opening-event-for-the-public-to-follow-i.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221021223638/https://www.canada.ca/en/national-film-board/news/2019/09/this-september-the-nfb-moves-to-the-quartier-des-spectacles-in-downtown-montreal-official-inauguration-and-opening-event-for-the-public-to-follow-i.html |archive-date=21 October 2022}}</ref> Most of the NFB's operations and 400 employees were moved to [[Saint-Laurent, Quebec]], from 1955 to 1956.{{sfn|Payne|2013|p=33}}

In September 1954, Quebec censors demanded that the NFB pay a censorship fee of $20,500 per year and Trueman wanted to accept it in order to avoid controversy. However, a compromise was reached where the Quebec censors were given one print of each film and if they censored it then all versions would be also censored while the NFB would pay an annual fee between $2,500-3,000.{{sfn|Evans|1991|p=35-36}}

[[Pierre Juneau]], who was sent to the United Kingdom by Irwin, was brought by Trueman to the NFB as an adviser and secretary in 1953. The creation of two assistant commissioners, one English and one French, with Juneau as the French assistant commissioner was proposed in November 1954, but was rejected by [[Jack Pickersgill]], who replaced Harris, over the course of the next three years. [[André Laurendeau]] criticized the NFB for not creating a French-language side. In February 1957, Pickersgill allowed for Juneau to become the executive director and be in charge of financial administration and distribution.{{sfn|Evans|1991|p=16}}{{sfn|Evans|1991|p=34-36}} This was criticized by ''[[Montréal-Matin]]'', ''[[Le Devoir]]'', ''[[:fr:L'Action catholique|L'Action catholique]]'', and other French-language media and Juneau was criticized for demoting [[Roger Blais (filmmaker)|Roger Blais]], who claimed it was for him criticizing the salary inequality between French and English speakers.{{sfn|Evans|1991|p=44}}

===Roberge administration===

Trueman accepted the position of commissioner with the promise that he would later be given a more prestigious position. He resigned during the French media criticism to become head of the [[Canada Council]] in 1957. He suggested [[Gérard Pelletier]] as his successor, but [[Guy Roberge]], a former [[Quebec Liberal Party|Liberal]] member of the [[Legislative Assembly of Quebec]] who had written sections of the Massey report, was selected instead as the first French-Canadian commissioner. ''Le Devoir'' supported his selection and the French media ended its criticism of the NFB.{{sfn|Evans|1991|p=46}}{{sfn|Clandfield|1987|p=41}}

[[Ellen Fairclough]], who became the minister responsible for the NFB in May 1958, was not interested with the organization and never saw a film created by the NFB.{{sfn|Evans|1991|p=58}} She declined to interfere in NFB matters despite criticism from Pickersgill, who believed that the minister was responsible for whatever went on at the NFB.{{sfn|Evans|1991|p=89}}

Upon his arrival at the NFB in 1953, Juneau saw the difficulties of communication between French and English speakers and supported creating separate English and French production units.{{sfn|Evans|1991|p=35}} Additional units for French-language film production were created in 1958.{{sfn|Evans|1991|p=53}} A French-language branch of the NFB that was independent of its English-language productions was formed on 1 January 1964, under the leadership of [[Pierre Juneau]]. One-third of the NFB's budget was given to French-language productions.{{sfn|Clandfield|1987|p=41}}{{sfn|Evans|1991|p=96}}{{sfn|Jones|1981|p=109}}

''[[Drylanders]]'', the organization's first English language feature-length fiction film, was released in 1963.{{sfn|Evans|1991|p=87-88}} In February 1964, the English-language production units were replaced by a talent pool system where producers had less power and directors had more power. The French-language production units were replaced in September 1968.{{sfn|Evans|1991|p=92}} The pool system lasted until its replacement by the studio system in 1971.{{sfn|Jones|1981|p=138}}

In 1962, Roberge proposed the creation of an organization to aid in film finance based on the [[National Film Finance Corporation]] and [[Centre national du cinéma et de l'image animée]].{{sfn|Evans|1991|p=67}} The Interdepartmental Committee on the Possible Development of a Feature Film Industry in Canada, under Roberge's leadership, 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 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, establishing the [[Canadian Film Development Corporation]].{{sfn|Pendakur|1990|p=146-148}}

[[Denys Arcand]], [[Gilles Carle]], [[Jacques Godbout]], [[Gilles Groulx]], and [[Clément Perron]] criticized the NFB and its productions in articles written for the ''[[Cité Libre]]''. Juneau stated that the articles were a watershed moment in the NFB's history. The men were reprimanded by Roberge.{{sfn|Evans|1991|p=99-101}} Many employees left the NFB following the reprimands including [[Michel Brault]], Carle, [[Bernard Gosselin]], Groulx, and [[Arthur Lamothe]].{{sfn|Clandfield|1987|p=41-42}}

Juneau left the NFB in March 1966, and worked at the [[Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission]] before becoming president of the CBC. Roberge created the positions of Assistant Government Film Commissioner, held by Grant McLean and Roland Ladouceur, Director of Production for English, held by [[Julian Biggs]], and French, held by Marcel Martin, productions.{{sfn|Evans|1991|p=113}}

===Grant McLean administration===
Roberge resigned as commissioner on 1 April 1966, and declined to be involved with the selection of his successor. Grant was appointed as the acting commissioner by [[Judy LaMarsh]].{{sfn|Evans|1991|p=113-115}} LaMarsh was slow on the selection of a permanent commissioner. Grierson supported Grant's selection, but also put forward Newman.{{sfn|Evans|1991|p=120}} [[Hugo McPherson]] was selected to become commissioner in April 1967.{{sfn|Evans|1991|p=129}}

[[Maurice Lamontagne]] selected Gordon Sheppard, a film producer, to review Canada's cultural policy and his report, Sheppard's Special Report on the Cultural Policy and Activities of the Government of Canada, was critical of the NFB. It criticized the NFB's preference for aesthetics and cultural films instead of informational films. The report called for a reduction in NFB productions and that it should eventually be entirely replaced by private production. The External Affairs Ministry criticized Sheppard stating that he was serving his own interests.{{sfn|Evans|1991|p=116-117}}

Prior budgets were created by having the commissioner meet with the secretary of state and representatives of the Treasury before being voted on in parliament, but it was changed to having members of the Standing Committee on Broadcasting, Films and Assistance to the Arts question the commissioner and Grant was the first commissioner to go through it.{{sfn|Evans|1991|p=136}}

There had been multiple attempts by the NFB to create a film school and the idea received support from the External Affairs Ministry and the Sheppard Report. However, the [[Treasury Board of Canada]] had rejected efforts to fund its creation. Grierson was invited by Grant to report on the possibility of creating a film school. Grierson supported creating a school, if the External Affairs Ministry recommended that production be reduced to free up creative teachers.{{sfn|Evans|1991|p=117-119}}

The CBC terminated its contracts with the NFB in 1966. The CBC and NFB's relations soured due to the NFB's demand that no commercials be played during their films and the NFB charging $10,000–$15,000 for 30 minute films while a commercial network had received it for $800. The CBC and NFB also co-produced ''[[The Ernie Game]]'' and ''[[Waiting for Caroline]]'' which went overbudget by $50,000 and $200,000 respectively.{{sfn|Evans|1991|p=121-122}}

===McPherson administration===
[[File:Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau 1975 (UPI press photo) (cropped).jpg|thumb|The NFB suffered from budgetary problems during [[Pierre Trudeau]]'s tenure as prime minister]]

In 1967, the Treasury Board limited the NFB's expenditures to $10 million and over the course of two years it was forced to pay for built-in higher salary costs and another salary increase due to an agreement with the {{tooltip|SGCT|French: Syndicat Général du Cinéma et de la Télévision; "Film and Television General Union"}} union using existing funds. McPherson asked Pelletier to allow the NFB to spend over $500,000 more than its budget in order to avoiding firing 10% of the NFB's employees, and later asked the [[20th Canadian Ministry|Cabinet]] and Treasury for more funding, but was unsuccessful. McPherson later stated that after his failure with the Treasury he waited for the perfect time to resign.{{sfn|Evans|1991|p=135-138}}

In 1969, an agreement was reached between the CBC and NFB in which the CBC would be allowed to air commercials during NFB programs.{{sfn|Evans|1991|p=138}} Revenue from sponsored films declined from $2.2 million to $1.6 million by August 1969.{{sfn|Evans|1991|p=144}}

McPherson announced that 10% of the employees would be laid off by 1 January 1970. The employees formed a Crisis Committee under John Howe's leadership and film production was stopped although a strike was not officially called. The committee suggested allowing government sponsors to choose between using the NFB or private companies, allowing outsiders to pay for NFB technical services, creating a unit system where 5-15 people would work together, and creating fees for distribution. McPherson supported the idea of distribution fees and thought that it was the only viable option for the NFB.{{sfn|Evans|1991|p=140-141}} Pelletier approved the NFB charging $3–12 per day for its films, but they were later removed as being in violation of anti-inflation guidelines.{{sfn|Evans|1991|p=143}}{{sfn|Evans|1991|p=146}} Fees would be instituted in 1988.{{sfn|Evans|1991|p=278}}

The Treasury had granted $1 million, $250,000 less than what was requested, in August to cover NFB's salary increases, but McPherson was not informed as ministers hoped he would institute larger budget cuts.{{sfn|Evans|1991|p=143}} An additional $500,000 was free due to lowered production following the Crisis Committee's formation. 63 layoffs were proposed and it was reduced by 17 due to union opposition.{{sfn|Evans|1991|p=145-146}}

The first usage of [[videotape]] by the NFB occurred in 1967, when [[Claude Jutra]] and Robert Forget used it for research with children.{{sfn|Evans|1991|p=167}}

===Newman and Lamy administrations===
[[File:Sydney Newman (Canadian Media Delegation to China).jpg|thumb|[[Sydney Newman]] was NFB commissioner from 1970 to 1975]]

Newman, a former NFB director who spent the previous twelve years working on television shows in the United Kingdom, was selected to replaced McPherson as commissioner in 1970, and he selected [[André Lamy]] as his assistant commissioner.{{sfn|Evans|1991|p=177}} Faulkner opposed Newman and worked to have Newman not reappointed in July 1975, and he was replaced by Lamy.{{sfn|Evans|1991|p=218}}{{sfn|Evans|1991|p=220}}

Lamy criticized multiple French productions, such as ''[[Cotton Mill, Treadmill]]'', ''[[24 heures ou plus]]'', and ''[[:fr:Un pays sans bon sens!|Un pays sans bon sens!]]'', as being too biased or [[Quebec sovereignty movement|separatist]] and were ordered to not be released in 1970.{{sfn|Evans|1991|p=179-180}} [[Robin Spry]] was initially denied the ability to film the events of the [[October Crisis]] by the English side of the NFB, but was given permission by the French side and the footage was turned into ''[[Reaction: A Portrait of a Society in Crisis]]'' and ''[[Action: The October Crisis of 1970]]'' with some elements censored by Newman.{{sfn|Evans|1991|p=189-190}} French films banned under Newman's tenure were later released during Lamy's tenure.{{sfn|Evans|1991|p=224}}

[[Kathleen Shannon]] attempted to have a division created to focus on films made by and about women due to the coming [[International Women's Year]]. Newman and [[Robert Verrall]] supported Shannon's attempt to get a $1.3 million budget for a women's department, but it was rejected by the Treasury. Verrall gave Shannon permission to organize [[Studio D]], the first publicly funded feminist film-production unit in the world, in 1974. However, there would be no French version of Studio D until the formation of Studio B in 1986. Studio D produced 125 films before its closure in 1996.{{sfn|Evans|1991|p=211}}<ref>{{Cite news |title=Studio D: The Women's Film Studio |work=National Film Board of Canada |url=https://www.nfb.ca/channels/studio-d-films-women-women/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221112184852/https://www.nfb.ca/channels/studio-d-films-women-women/ |archive-date=November 12, 2022}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |title=Studio D |work=[[Toronto International Film Festival]] |url=https://cfe.tiff.net/canadianfilmencyclopedia/Browse/bysubject/studio-d |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221112185358/https://cfe.tiff.net/canadianfilmencyclopedia/Browse/bysubject/studio-d |archive-date=November 12, 2022}}</ref>

In 1970, Pelletier called for the creation of a Canadian Film Commission, made up of private and governmental interests, but it was opposed by the NFB, CBC, CFDC, and [[Library and Archives Canada]]. However, they did agree to form the Advisory Committee on Film as an ad hoc committee. Pelletier later proposed the Global Film Policy in which the NFB would regionalize and share sponsored productions with the private sector. Pelletier's successor, [[Hugh Faulkner (politician)|Hugh Faulkner]], replaced the Global Film Policy with the [[Capital Cost Allowance]] in which investors could get a 100% tax deduction.{{sfn|Evans|1991|p=200-204}}

Faulkner proposed to shift the responsibility of sponsored films to the Department of Supply and Services and only give the NFB 30% of the work. However, he was replaced by [[John Roberts (Canadian politician)|John Roberts]] during a shuffling of the cabinet in September 1976. Roberts believed that the CCA resolved the funding problems for the private industry, accepted Lamy's recommendations for interactions with private companies, and declined to have the Department of Supply and Services manage sponsored films.{{sfn|Evans|1991|p=224-225}} However, 70% of the sponsored work were given to private companies by the end of Lamy's tenure.{{sfn|Evans|1991|p=251}}

A $500,000 budget cut and 2.5% decrease in salaries over two years were implemented in 1975, after initially being threatened with a $1 million cut, as part of a government attempt to save $1 billion.{{sfn|Evans|1991|p=218}} The Public Service Staff Relations Board ruled in 1977 that 99% of the freelance workers at the NFB were employees and the board of governors later recommended the firing of sixty-five people. Federal budget cuts caused Roberts to plan for the NFB's budget to decrease by 10% between 1979 and 1981.{{sfn|Evans|1991|p=243}}{{sfn|Evans|1991|p=253}}

===Domville administration===
Lamy left the NFB and the board of Governors selected [[James de Beaujeu Domville]], who served as deputy film commissioner for seven years, after four months. Domville selected [[François N. Macerola]], the director of French production, as his deputy commissioner.{{sfn|Evans|1991|p=254}} Domville offered to continue on as commissioner for another term after 1984, and his demands were accepted by the board of governors, but chose to leave after [[Francis Fox]] declined to accept or deny his renewal.{{sfn|Evans|1991|p=296}}

After the [[1979 Canadian federal election|1979 election]] Prime Minister [[Joe Clark]] changed the ministry responsible for the NFB from the Secretary of State, which managed it since 1963, to the [[Minister of Communications (Canada)|Minister of Communications]], then led by [[David MacDonald (Canadian politician)|David MacDonald]]. MacDonald supported giving 80% of the sponsored work to private companies and that the NFB only make films that the private companies could not.{{sfn|Evans|1991|p=256}} Domville offered a three-year phase out of NFB doing sponsored work during a meeting with representatives of the Canadian Film and Television Association and Association des Producteurrs de Films du Quebec in 1979. He stated that "sponsored film had become a monkey on the back of English production".{{sfn|Evans|1991|p=271}}

[[Encyclopædia Britannica]] reportedly offered to buy the NFB for $100 million ({{Inflation|CA|100,000,000|1979|fmt=eq}}) in 1979.{{sfn|Evans|1991|p=257}}<ref>{{Cite news |date=16 June 1980 |title=No guarantees, no culture |work=[[Maclean's]] |url=https://archive.macleans.ca/article/1980/06/16/no-guarantees-no-culture |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221119041655/https://archive.macleans.ca/article/1980/06/16/no-guarantees-no-culture |archive-date=19 November 2022}}</ref>

Fox organized the Applebaum-Hébert Committee under the leadership of [[Louis Applebaum]] and [[Jacques Hébert (French politician)|Jacques Hébert]] in 1981.{{sfn|Evans|1991|p=266}} It was the first review of cultural institutions and policies since the Massey Commission.<ref>{{Cite news |date=15 December 2013 |title=Applebaum-Hébert Report |work=[[The Canadian Encyclopedia]] |url=https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/applebaum-hebert-report-emc |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221119235000/https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/applebaum-hebert-report-emc |archive-date=19 November 2022}}</ref> The committee released its report on 15 November 1980, in which it called for the elimination of the government's role in producing and distributing cultural products and to instead give it to the private industry. They believed that the private industry could create an export market to compete with the United States.{{sfn|Evans|1991|p=274}} Fox later decided to allow the NFB continue producing content, but ended their involvement in sponsored content, along with their executive production of sponsored work given to private companies.{{sfn|Evans|1991|p=288}}

===Macerola administration===
Domville suggested [[Patrick Watson (producer)|Patrick Watson]] as his successor and the board of governors accepted him, but Fox declined as he wanted his Film and Video Policy to be considered by the cabinet first. Macerola became the acting commissioner of the NFB. Watson was instead appointed to the board of governors and became president of the CBC in 1989.{{sfn|Evans|1991|p=286-287}} Macerola left the NFB six months before the expiration of his term in order to join [[Lavalin]] in December 1988, and [[Joan Pennefather]] became the acting commissioner.{{sfn|Evans|1991|p=313}}

Macerola oversaw a reorganization of the NFB which decreased its distribution offices from twenty-six to twelve and international offices to three.{{sfn|Evans|1991|p=291}} The NFB attempted to create a television channel in the 1980s. [[Marcel Masse]] gave them permission to attempt to create Young Canada Television (Tèlè-Jeunesse Canada), but the channel failed in June 1987, as the Department of Communications withdrew its financial support leading to the banks to also withdraw their support.{{sfn|Evans|1991|p=294}} Macerola's Five-Year Operational Plan saw the permanent staff of the NFB fall from 1,085 in 1982, to 728 in 1989, and the amount of work given to freelancers by 1986 was 67% for English productions and 57% for French productions.{{sfn|Evans|1991|p=310-311}}

The NFB was given an honorary Oscar at the [[61st Academy Awards]] in honour of its fiftieth anniversary.{{sfn|Evans|1991|p=313}}

===Pennefather administration===
In 1990, Wil Champbell and Roger Trottier asked Graydon McCrea about holding a meeting about the participation of [[First Nations in Canada|First Nations]] people in the film industry. The NFB aided in the organization of the Aboriginal Film and Video Symposium in April 1991. The Aboriginal Film and Video Art Alliance (AFVAA) was formed as a result of this meeting. Studio One, meant for First Nations filmmakers, was formed on 9 June 1991, with a $250,000 budget and under McCrea's supervision. The studio's first film, ''Tlaxwes Wa: Strength of the River'', was released in 1995.{{sfn|Beard|White|2002|p=328; 331-332; 334}} However, funding for the studio was ended on 31 March 1996.<ref>{{Cite news |date=1996 |title=National Film Board Studio One cancelled |page=12 |work=[[Aboriginal Multi-Media Society]] |url=https://ammsa.com/publications/windspeaker/national-film-board-studio-one-cancelled |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230829001746/https://ammsa.com/publications/windspeaker/national-film-board-studio-one-cancelled |archive-date=August 29, 2023}}</ref>

===Modern===
As of 2025, the NFB has made 14,000 productions. It has received 78 Oscar nominations, with its 38 nominations for animated shorts placing it behind Disney and MGM in that category.{{sfn|Lang|2025}}

==Productions==
===Animation===
[[File:Norman McLaren drawing on film - 1944.jpg|thumb|upright|McLaren drawing on film, 1944]]

[[Norman McLaren]] founded the NFB's animation unit in 1942, and had [[George Dunning]], [[René Jodoin]], [[Wolf Koenig]], [[:fr:Jean-Paul Ladouceur|Jean-Paul Ladouceur]], [[Evelyn Lambart]], [[Colin Low (filmmaker)|Colin Low]], [[Grant Munro (filmmaker)|Grant Munro]], and [[Robert Verrall]] working there within a decade of its creation.{{sfn|Evans|1991|p=23}} Jodoin organised the NFB's French animated studio in 1966.{{sfn|Evans|1991|p=137}}

During [[Derek Lamb]]'s leadership of the English animation studio produced multiple critical acclaimed works, including the Academy Award-winning ''[[Every Child (film)|Every Child]]''. Lamb resigned in 1982, and was replaced by Doug McDonald, whose tenure was criticized by animators such as [[David Fine (filmmaker)|David Fine]]'s statement that "Norman McLaren would be turning in his grave if he knew how the place was being run".{{sfn|Beard|White|2002|p=43; 61}}

The NFB's [[computer animation]] program was suspended due to budget cuts although the NFB's French animated studio created [[Peter Foldes]]'s ''Metadata'' in 1971, and the ''[[Hunger (1973 film)|Hunger]]'' in 1973.{{sfn|Evans|1991|p=137}} The NFB returned to computer animation in the 1980s.{{sfn|Evans|1991|p=279}} The NFB licensed the [[SANDDE]], a system that allows for hand-drawn animation in 3D spaces, from the [[IMAX Corporation]]; ''[[Subconscious Password]]'' (2013) was produced using this system.{{sfn|Giardina|2013}}

As of 2012, the NFB is the only studio with an [[pinscreen animation]] screen.{{sfn|Blair|2012}}

McLaren used the stop motion technique of [[pixilation]] for ''Neighbours''.{{sfn|Doherty|2015}} The NFB released StopMo Studio, an app that allowed people to create their own stop motion films, in 2012.{{sfn|Doherty|2015}} The [[3D printing]] of sets and puppets for stop motion was first used by a NFB film in ''Bone Mother''.{{sfn|Doherty|2015}} ''The Girl Who Cried Pearls'' (2025) used hand-made puppets in contrast to the standard usage of 3D printing.{{sfn|Robinson|2025}}

===Children===
Children were rarely featured in NFB films in the early 1940s due to a focus on documentaries related to military efforts.{{sfn|Low|2002|p=28}} In 1943, Grierson increased film production aimed at children for the purpose of education.{{sfn|Low|2002|p=30}} The ''Ti-Jeans'' series, first produced in the 1950s, was the most booked non-theatrical NFB film up until the 1990s. and ''Ti-Jean Goes Lumbering'' (1953) was the second most popular NFB title according to a 1960 survey.{{sfn|Low|2002|pp=77-78}}

Films about the socialization of children were produced by the NFB in the 1950s.{{sfn|Low|2002|pp=141-142}} Generational gaps and the [[sexual revolution]] were depicted in 1966 productions ''The Merry-Go-Round'', ''The Game'', and ''The Shattered Silence''.{{sfn|Low|2002|pp=111-116}} NFB productions aimed at children mainly focused on the adults until the 1970s.{{sfn|Low|2002|p=160}} ''Sexual Abuse of Children: A Time for Caring'' (1979) was the first NFB film to cover [[child sexual abuse]] and the amount of films covering child abuse grew in the 1980s.{{sfn|Low|2002|pp=182-184}}

===Documentary===
====Cinéma vérité and Direct Cinema====
In the post-war era, the NFB became a pioneer in new developments in [[documentary film]]. The NFB played a key role in both the [[cinéma vérité]] and [[Direct Cinema|direct cinema]] movements, working on technical innovations to make its 16&nbsp;mm [[synchronized sound]] equipment more light-weight and portable—most notably the "Sprocketape" portable sound recorder invented for the film board by Ches Beachell in 1955. Influenced by the work of [[Henri Cartier-Bresson]], the NFB's Studio B production unit experimented with cinema verite in its 1958 ''[[Candid Eye]]'' series. ''Candid Eye'' along with such NFB French-language films as ''[[The Snowshoers]] (Les Raquetteurs)'' (1958) have been credited as helping to inspire the cinéma vérité documentary movement. Other key cinéma vérité films during this period included ''[[Lonely Boy (film)|Lonely Boy]]'' (1961) and ''[[Ladies and Gentlemen... Mr. Leonard Cohen]]'' (1965).<ref name="Aitken">{{cite book|last=Aitken|first=Ian|title=Encyclopedia of the Documentary Film|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JdSNAQAAQBAJ&q=NFB+cinema+verite&pg=PA168|date=October 27, 2005|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1579584450|page=168}}</ref>

====''Challenge for Change''/''Societé Nouvelle''====
{{main|Challenge for Change}}
Running from 1967 to 1980, ''Challenge for Change'' and its French-language equivalent ''Societé Nouvelle'' became a global model for the use of film and portable video technology to create community-based participatory documentary films to promote dialogue on local issues and promote social change. Over two hundred such films were produced, including 27 films about Fogo Island, Newfoundland, directed by [[Colin Low (filmmaker)|Colin Low]] and early NFB efforts in Indigenous filmmaking, such as [[Willie Dunn]]'s ''The Battle of Crowfoot'' (1968).<ref name="Aitken"/><ref name=Waugh>''[https://books.google.com/books?id=w2KVxcA2pcwC&q=%22Challenge+for+Change%22 Challenge for Change: Activist Documentary at the National Film Board of Canada]'' (2010). Thomas Waugh, Michael Brendan Baker, Ezra Winton (eds). Montreal-Kingston: McGill-Queens University Press., pp. 5-6</ref>

=====Indian Film Crew=====
{{main|Challenge for Change}}

The Indian Film Crew was an early effort in First Nations filmmaking at the NFB, through its [[Challenge for Change]] program, initially proposed by the associate director of the CYC, Jerry Gambill, according to Noel Starblanket.  George Stoney was brought in as the first executive producer of Challenge for Change. It was jointly sponsored by the [[Company of Young Canadians]] and the [[Department of Indian Affairs]]. Barbara Wilson, Tom O’Connor, [[Noel Starblanket]], Roy Daniels, Morris Isaac, Willie Dunn, and Mike Kanentakeron Mitchell were on Canada's first all-Indigenous production unit, making groundbreaking work that helped galvanize Indigenous movements across the continent.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2019-08-13|title=A Fine Day in Masset: Christopher Auchter Revisits Crucial Moment in Haida Renaissance|url=https://blog.nfb.ca/blog/2019/08/13/christopher-auchter-illuminates-seminal-moment-in-haida-cultural-resurgence/|access-date=2019-08-19|website=NFB Blog|language=en-CA}}</ref>

====Giant-screen cinema====
NFB documentarians played a key role in the development of the [[IMAX]] film format, following the NFB multi-screen experience ''[[In the Labyrinth (film)|In the Labyrinth]]'', created for [[Expo 67]] in Montreal. The film was the centrepiece of a $4.5 million pavilion, which attracted over 1.3 million visitors in 1967, and was co-directed by [[Roman Kroitor]], [[Colin Low (filmmaker)|Colin Low]] and [[Hugh O'Connor (filmmaker)|Hugh O'Connor]], and produced by [[Tom Daly (filmmaker)|Tom Daly]] and Kroitor. After Expo, Kroitor left the NFB to co-found what would become known as [[IMAX Corporation]], with [[Graeme Ferguson (filmmaker)|Graeme Ferguson]] and Robert Kerr. The NFB continued to be involved with IMAX breakthroughs at subsequent world's fairs, with NFB director [[Donald Brittain]] directing the first-ever IMAX film ''[[Tiger Child]]'' for [[Expo 70]] in Osaka, and with the NFB producing the first full-colour IMAX-3D film ''[[Transitions (film)|Transitions]]'' for [[Expo 86]] in Vancouver and the first 48 fps IMAX HD film ''[[Momentum (IMAX film)|Momentum]]'' for [[Seville Expo '92]].<ref>Aitken 2005, pp. 168-169</ref>

====Alternative drama====
In the 1980s, the National Film Board also produced a number of "alternative drama" films, which combined documentary and narrative fiction filmmaking techniques.<ref name=docufiction>{{cite book | chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CJr5BJkGQoQC&q=Giles+Walker+NFB&pg=PA239 | title=Canada's Best Features: Critical Essays on 15 Canadian Films | publisher=Rodopi | author=Stukator, Angela | date=May 30, 2013 | pages=239 | isbn=978-9042015982 | editor=Eugene P. Walz | chapter=Pictures of age and ageing in Cynthia Scott's The Company of Strangers}}</ref> Generally starring non-professional actors, these films used a documentary format to present a fictionalized story and were generally scripted by the filmmakers and the cast through a process of [[improvisation]], and are thus classified as [[docufiction]].<ref name=docufiction/>

The alternative drama films were ''[[The Masculine Mystique]]'' (1984), ''[[90 Days (film)|90 Days]]'' (1985), ''[[Sitting in Limbo (1986 film)|Sitting in Limbo]]'' (1986), ''[[The Last Straw (1987 film)|The Last Straw]]'' (1987), ''[[Train of Dreams]]'' (1987), ''[[Welcome to Canada]]'' (1989) and ''[[The Company of Strangers]]'' (1990).<ref name=docufiction/>

===Interactive===
====Works====
As of March 2013, the NFB devotes one quarter of its production budget to [[interactive media]], including [[web documentaries]].<ref name="Deglise">{{cite news|url=https://www.ledevoir.com/culture/actualites-culturelles/375392/l-insomnie-par-procuration|title=L'insomnie par procuration|last=Deglise|first=Fabien|date=April 11, 2013|work=[[Le Devoir]]|language=fr|access-date=April 15, 2013|location=Montreal}}</ref><ref name="Kristy Hutter">{{cite news|last=Hutter|first=Kristy|title=A documentary like no other documentary|url=http://www.macleans.ca/2012/01/18/a-documentary-like-no-other-documentary/|access-date=January 19, 2012|newspaper=[[Maclean's]]|date=January 18, 2012}}</ref> The NFB is a pioneer in interactive web documentaries, helping to position Canada as a major player in digital storytelling, according to [[transmedia]] creator Anita Ondine Smith,<ref name=Vlessing>{{cite news|last=Vlessing|first=Etan|title=Expert: Canada Primed to Become Major Transmedia Player|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/expert-canada-primed-become-major-282926|access-date=January 19, 2012|newspaper=[[The Hollywood Reporter]]|date=January 18, 2012}}</ref> as well as Shari Frilot, programmer for [[Sundance Film Festival]]'s New Frontier program for digital media.<ref name="Monk2015">{{cite news|url=http://www.canada.com/entertainment/Canada+king+Frontier+Sundance+Film+Festival/10774426/story.html|title=Canada is king of the New Frontier at Sundance Film Festival|last=Monk|first=Katherine|date=January 30, 2015|work=[[Canada.com]]|publisher=[[Postmedia News]]|access-date=January 31, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150203022102/http://www.canada.com/entertainment/Canada+king+Frontier+Sundance+Film+Festival/10774426/story.html|archive-date=February 3, 2015|url-status=dead|df=mdy-all}}</ref>

''[[Welcome to Pine Point]]'' received two [[Webby Awards]] while ''[[Out My Window]]'', an interactive project from the NFB's ''Highrise'' project, won the [[International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam#IDFA DocLab Award for Digital Storytelling|IDFA DocLab Award for Digital Storytelling]] and an [[International Academy of Television Arts and Sciences|International Digital Emmy Award]].<ref name=cbcemmy>{{cite news|title=NFB's Highrise web project wins Digital Emmy|url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/entertainment/nfb-s-highrise-web-project-wins-digital-emmy-1.1019717|access-date=April 4, 2011|newspaper=[[CBC News]]|date=April 4, 2011}}</ref>

[[Rob McLaughlin]] is the executive producer responsible for NFB English-language digital content and strategy, based in the [[Woodward's Building]] in [[Vancouver]]. Jeremy Mendes is an interactive artist producing English-language interactive works for the NFB, whose projects include a collaboration with Leanne Allison (''[[Being Caribou]]'', ''[[Finding Farley]]'') on the webdoc ''[[Bear 71]]''.<ref name="Paul Moakley">{{cite news|last=Moakley|first=Paul|title=Multimedia Heartbreaker: The National Film Board of Canada|url=http://lightbox.time.com/2011/06/22/multimedia-heartbreaker-the-national-film-board-of-canada/#1|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110625014940/http://lightbox.time.com/2011/06/22/multimedia-heartbreaker-the-national-film-board-of-canada/#1|url-status=dead|archive-date=June 25, 2011|access-date=June 22, 2011|newspaper=[[Time (magazine)|Time]]|date=June 22, 2011}}</ref>

=====Virtual reality=====
The NFB is also recognized as a leader in [[virtual reality]],<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/virtual-augmented-reality-1.3805719|title=New realities: Computers are adapting to humans|last=Pringle|first=Ramona|date=October 17, 2016|newspaper=CBC News|access-date=November 14, 2016}}</ref> with works such as the Webby Award-winning ''[[The Unknown Photographer]]'', ''[[Way to Go (interactive)|Way to Go]]'' and ''Cardboard Crash''.<ref name="Wong">{{cite news|url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/entertainment/webby-wins-2016-1.3553650|title=Webby Awards 2016 winners include The Weeknd, the NFB|last=Wong|first=Jessica|date=April 26, 2016|work=CBC News|access-date=May 10, 2016}}</ref>

====Platforms====
In January 2009, the NFB launched its online Screening Room, NFB.ca, offering Canadian and international web users the ability to stream hundreds of NFB films for free as well as embed links in blogs and social sites.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/entertainment/nfb-makes-films-free-online-1.828665|title=NFB makes films free online|date=January 21, 2009|work=CBC News|access-date=July 10, 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://krisabel.ctv.ca/blog/_archives/2009/1/21/4065366.html|title=National Film Board Of Canada Launches New Movie Site, 700 Free Films For Streaming, Linking, And Embedding|last=Abel|first=Kris|date=January 21, 2009|work=Kris Abel's Tech Life|publisher=CTV News|access-date=February 5, 2009|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110706175012/http://krisabel.ctv.ca/blog/_archives/2009/1/21/4065366.html|archive-date=July 6, 2011|df=mdy-all}}</ref> By mid-2013, the NFB's digital platforms had received approximately 41 million views.<ref name="Taylor">{{cite news|url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/film/how-tom-perlmutter-turned-the-nfb-into-a-global-new-media-player/article11992885/|title=How Tom Perlmutter turned the NFB into a global new-media player|last=Taylor|first=Kate|date=May 18, 2013|work=[[The Globe and Mail]]|access-date=May 22, 2013}}</ref>

In October 2009, the NFB launched an [[iPhone]] application that was downloaded more than 170,000 times and led to more than 500,000 film views in the first four months.<ref name="Geist">{{cite news|url=https://vancouversun.com/technology/National+Film+Board+online+success+open/2511659/story.html|title=The National Film Board's online success out in the open|last=Geist|first=Michael|date=February 2, 2010|work=Ottawa Citizen|access-date=March 2, 2010|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100214051453/http://www.vancouversun.com/technology/National+Film+Board+online+success+open/2511659/story.html|archive-date=February 14, 2010|df=mdy-all}}</ref> In January 2010, the NFB added [[high-definition video|high-definition]] and [[3-D film|3D]] films to the over 1400 productions available for viewing online.<ref name="CBC">{{cite news|url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/entertainment/nfb-puts-3-d-hd-content-online-1.959450|title=NFB puts 3-D, HD content online|work=CBC News|publisher=Canadian Broadcasting Corporation|access-date=July 10, 2024| date=January 21, 2010}}</ref> The NFB introduced a free [[iPad]] application in July 2010,<ref name=Broida>{{cite news|last=Broida|first=Rick|title=Free movies on your iPad from the National Film Board|url=http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-31747_7-20009848-243.html|access-date=January 26, 2011|newspaper=[[CNET.com]]|date=July 7, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101129153655/http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-31747_7-20009848-243.html|archive-date=November 29, 2010|url-status=dead}}</ref> followed by its first app for the [[Android (operating system)|Android]] platform in March 2011.<ref name=Takeuchi>{{cite news|last=Takeuchi|first=Craig|title=National Film Board of Canada releases Android application|url=https://www.straight.com/article-381465/vancouver/national-film-board-canada-releases-android-application|access-date=March 29, 2011|date=March 14, 2011}}</ref> When the [[BlackBerry PlayBook]] launched on April 19, 2011, it included a pre-loaded app offering access to 1,500 NFB titles.<ref name=Lau>{{cite news|last=Lau|first=Kathleen|title=PlayBook hits market with National Film Board app|url=http://www.itworldcanada.com/news/playbook-hits-market-with-national-film-board-app/142958|access-date=April 20, 2011|newspaper=[[Computerworld]]|date=April 18, 2011}}</ref><ref name="Ora Morison">{{cite news|last=Morison|first=Ora|title=Long way from Log Rider's Waltz|url=http://business.financialpost.com/2011/04/20/long-way-from-log-riders-waltz/|access-date=April 20, 2011|newspaper=[[National Post]]|date=April 20, 2011}}</ref> In January 2013, it was announced that the NFB film app would be available for the [[BlackBerry 10]], via the [[BlackBerry World]] app store.<ref name="Summers">{{cite news|url=https://thenextweb.com/insider/2013/01/28/rim-details-the-tv-broadcasters-film-studios-and-music-labels-that-are-onboard-for-blackberry-10/|title=RIM reveals every TV broadcaster, film studio and music label that is on board for BlackBerry 10|last=Summers|first=Nick|date=January 28, 2013|work=The Next Web|access-date=January 29, 2013}}</ref>

In September 2011, the NFB and the Montreal French-language daily ''[[Le Devoir]]'' announced that they would jointly host three interactive essays on their websites, ONF.ca and ledevoir.com.<ref name=devoir>{{cite news|title=L'ONF et Le Devoir s'associent pour diffuser des essais interactifs|url=http://www.cyberpresse.ca/arts/medias/201109/13/01-4447261-lonf-et-le-devoir-sassocient-pour-diffuser-des-essais-interactifs.php|access-date=September 15, 2011|newspaper=[[Cyberpresse]]|date=September 13, 2011|location=Montreal|language=fr}}</ref> The NFB is a partner with China's [[ifeng.com]] on NFB Zone, the first Canadian-branded [[web television|web channel]] in China, with 130 NFB animated shorts and documentary films available on the company's digital platforms.<ref name="Variety China">{{cite news | url=https://variety.com/2012/tv/news/canucks-find-first-tv-niche-in-china-1118055357/ | title=Canucks find first TV niche in China | work=Variety | date=June 12, 2012 | access-date=June 13, 2012 | author=Kushigemachi, Todd}}</ref> NFB documentaries are also available on [[Netflix]] Canada.<ref name="Spangler">{{cite news|url=https://variety.com/2013/digital/news/netflix-expands-pact-with-national-film-board-of-canada-adding-20-plus-documentaries-1200822882/|title=Netflix Expands Pact with National Film Board of Canada, Adding 20-Plus Documentaries|last=Spangler|first=Todd|date=November 12, 2013|work=Variety|publisher=Penske Business Media|access-date=November 13, 2013}}</ref>

In April 2013, the NFB announced that it was "seeking commercial partners to establish a subscription service for Internet television and mobile platforms next year. The service would be available internationally and would feature documentaries from around the world as well as the NFB’s own catalogue."<ref name="Taylornetflix">{{cite news|url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/film/nfb-to-launch-the-netflix-of-the-documentary-world/article11630491/#dashboard/follows/|title=NFB to launch the Netflix of the documentary world|last=Taylor|first=Kate|date=April 30, 2013|work=[[The Globe and Mail]]|access-date=April 30, 2013}}</ref> As of April 2015, NFB.ca offered VOD films from partners [[Excentris]] and First Weekend Club along with NFB productions, with over 450 English and French VOD titles scheduled to be added in 2015.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.thestar.com/entertainment/movies/2015/04/16/all-canadian-movie-streaming-service-curated-by-movie-stars.html|title=All-Canadian movie streaming service curated by movie stars|last=Barnard|first=Linda|date=April 16, 2015|work=Toronto Star|access-date=April 17, 2015}}</ref>

===Indigenous===
On June 20, 2017, the NFB announced a three-year plan entitled "Redefining the NFB's Relationship with Indigenous Peoples" that commits the organization to hiring more Indigenous staff, designating 15% of its production spending for Indigenous works and offering cross-cultural training to all employees. The plan also sees the NFB building on its relationships with Canadian schools and organizations to create more educational materials about Indigenous peoples in Canada.<ref>{{cite news|title=NFB launches plan to 'redefine' its relationship with Indigenous Peoples|url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/indigenous/nfb-new-relationship-indigenous-peoples-1.4167947|access-date=20 June 2017|work=CBC News|date=20 June 2017|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last1=Taylor|first1=Kate|title=National Film Board aims to bolster Indigenous staff numbers|url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/film/national-film-board-aims-to-bolster-indigenous-staff-numbers/article35387705/|access-date=20 June 2017|work=The Globe and Mail|date=20 June 2017|language=en-ca}}</ref>

One of the most notable filmmakers in the history of the NFB is [[Alanis Obomsawin]], an [[Abenaki people|Abenaki]] director who will be completing her 50th film with the NFB in 2017.<ref name="Brownstein">{{cite news|last1=Brownstein|first1=Bill|title=There's no stopping legendary documentarian Alanis Obomsawin|url=https://montrealgazette.com/entertainment/movies/theres-no-stopping-legendary-documentarian-alanis-obomsawin|access-date=15 November 2016|work=Montreal Gazette|publisher=Postmedia|date=10 November 2016}}</ref>

==== Inuit film and animation ====
In November 2011, the NFB and partners including the Inuit Relations Secretariat and the [[Government of Nunavut]] introduced a DVD and online collection entitled ''[[Unikkausivut: Sharing Our Stories]]'', makes over 100 NFB films by and about [[Inuit]] available in [[Inuktitut]] and other Inuit languages, as well as English and French.<ref name="Unikkausivut">{{cite news|title=Inuit films move online and into northern communities|url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/entertainment/inuit-films-move-online-and-into-northern-communities-1.1044506|access-date=November 5, 2011|newspaper=[[CBC News]]|date=November 2, 2011}}</ref><ref name="Nunatsiaq">{{cite news|title=New NFB collection includes 24 films on or by Inuit|url=http://www.nunatsiaqonline.ca/stories/article/65674new_nfb_collection_includes_24_films_on_or_by_inuit/|access-date=July 10, 2024|newspaper=[[Nunatsiaq News]]|date=November 4, 2011|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120310004136/http://www.nunatsiaqonline.ca/stories/article/65674new_nfb_collection_includes_24_films_on_or_by_inuit/|archivedate=March 10, 2012}}</ref>

In November 2006, the National Film Board of Canada and the [[Inuit Broadcasting Corporation]] announced the start of the Nunavut Animation Lab, offering animation training to Nunavut artists.<ref name="George">{{cite news|url=http://www.nunatsiaqonline.ca/archives/61103/news/nunavut/61103_06.html|title=Nunavut's getting animated|last=George|first=Jane|date=November 3, 2006|access-date=July 10, 2024|newspaper=[[Nunatsiaq News]]|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120310003128/http://www.nunatsiaqonline.ca/archives/61103/news/nunavut/61103_06.html|archivedate=March 10, 2012}}</ref> Films from the Nunavut Animation Lab include [[Alethea Arnaquq-Baril]]'s 2010 digital animation short ''Lumaajuuq'', winner of the Best Aboriginal Award at the [[Golden Sheaf Awards]] and named Best Canadian Short Drama at the [[imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival]].<ref name="nfb coll">{{cite web|url=http://www.onf-nfb.gc.ca/eng/collection/film/?id=57615|title=Nunavut Animation Lab: Lumaajuuq|publisher=National Film Board of Canada|work=Collection|access-date=November 8, 2011}}</ref>

==== First Stories and Second Stories ====
In 2005, the NFB introduced its "First Stories" program for emerging Indigenous directors from Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba. Twelve five-minute films were produced through the program, with four from each province. First Stories was followed by "Second Stories," in which three filmmakers from the previous program—[[Gerald Auger]], Tessa Desnomie and Lorne Olson—were invited back to create 20 minute films.<ref name="Knopf">{{cite book|last1=Knopf|first1=Kerstin|title=Decolonizing the Lens of Power: Indigenous Films in North America|date=2008|publisher=Rodopi|isbn=978-9042025431|page=64|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dNwFL-5b_9YC&q=NFB+%22First+Stories%22&pg=PA64|access-date=4 May 2017|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://onf-nfb.gc.ca/en/our-collection/?idfilm=57577|title=Second Stories - DVD|date=October 11, 2012|website=National Film Board of Canada|language=en|access-date=2017-05-16}}</ref>

==== Wapikoni Mobile ====
The NFB was a founding partner in [[Wapikoni Mobile]], a mobile film and media production unit for emerging First Nations filmmakers in Quebec.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.newswire.ca/news-releases/wapikoni-mobile-10-years-of-mediation-and-intervention-through-audiovisual-creation-514301541.html|title=Wapikoni Mobile: 10 years of mediation and intervention through audiovisual creation|website=Canada News Wire|language=en|access-date=2017-05-16}}</ref>

===Photography===
The Still Photography Division of the Canadian Government Motion Picture Bureau was transferred to the NFB on 8 August 1941; this occurred two months after the rest of the organization was absorbed into the NFB.{{sfn|Payne|2013|p=20}} The Still Photography Division of the Wartime Information Board was acquired by the NFB in 1943.{{sfn|Payne|2013|p=23}} [[Nicholas Morant]], [[George Hunter (photographer)|George Hunter]], and [[Ronny Jaques]] were employed by the Still Photography Division during World War II.{{sfn|Payne|2013|p=25}}

In 1944, the Still Photography Division started charging a below-standard fee for reproductions. The Commercial and Press Photographers' Association of Canada accused the division of unfair competition due to this. In 1946, the NFB changed its policies to match the standard rate of $2.50 for newspapers and $5 for magazines.{{sfn|Payne|2013|p=30}}

The 1950 National Film Act included photography under the NFB's purview.{{sfn|Payne|2013|p=32}} Employment in the division fell by 20% from 1945 to 1946,{{sfn|Payne|2013|p=31}} and declined from 70 employees in 1945, to 22 by 1952. The division had to rely on [[freelancer]]s.{{sfn|Payne|2013|p=32}} The division was placed under Technical Services in 1951. The photography division did not participate in the move to Saint-Laurent due to objections from the External Affairs, Trade and Commerce, the Travel Bureau, and other federal agencies that relied on it for promotional services.{{sfn|Payne|2013|p=33}}

''Photography/Photographie: Canada 1967'', featuring 149 photographs from 52 photographers was the first annual photography exhibition organized by the division.{{sfn|Payne|2013|p=71}} The $554,500 budget for ''Canada: A Year of the Land'', a 260 image photobook produced by 76 photographers for the [[Canadian Centennial]], was greater than the budget for the overall division.{{sfn|Payne|2013|pp=124-125; 155}} For [[Expo 67]], the division produced the ''People Tree'', a six-storey spherical structure, at the [[Canadian Pavilion]].{{sfn|Payne|2013|pp=135; 150}} The $158,500 budget for the ''Call Them Canadians'' photobook was almost equal to the division's $172,876 budget for 1966.{{sfn|Payne|2013|p=155}}

In 1971, two-thirds of the photography division's employees were moved to Information Canada and its photographic archive was diverted into the Library and Archives Canada and Photothèque, the commercial image bank of Information Canada. However, Information Canada was eliminated in 1975, and the images in Photothèque were returned to the NFB in 1976.{{sfn|Payne|2013|p=52}} In 1985, the division was turned into the [[Canadian Museum of Contemporary Photography]].{{sfn|Photo Collections}} 250,000 photos were created by the division during its existence,{{sfn|Payne|2013|p=56}} with 25,000 being taken during World War II.{{sfn|Payne|2013|p=80}}

===Women===
The NFB has been a leader in films by women, with the world's first publicly funded women's film's studio, Studio D, followed subsequently by its French-language equivalent, Studio des femmes.<ref>{{Cite web |last=National Film Board |title=A History of Women's Filmmaking at the National film board of Canada |url=https://www.canada.ca/content/dam/nfb-onf/documents/pdfs/gender-parity/en/0715_COM_Journ%C3%A9e-de-la-femme_EN_V1.pdf |access-date=6 June 2024}}</ref> Beginning on March 8, 2016, [[International Women's Day]], the NFB began introducing a series of gender parity initiatives.

====Studio D====
{{main|Studio D}}
In 1974, in conjunction with [[International Women's Year]], the NFB created Studio D on the recommendation of long-time employee [[Kathleen Shannon]]. Shannon was designated as executive director of the new studio—the first government-funded film studio dedicated to women filmmakers in the world—which became one of the NFB's most celebrated filmmaking units, winning awards and breaking distribution records.<ref name="Aitken"/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.collectionscanada.ca/women/002026-714-e.html|title=Canadian Women in Film|date=April 12, 2005|work=Library and Archives Canada|access-date=February 2, 2009|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070518224627/http://www.collectionscanada.ca/women/002026-714-e.html|archive-date=May 18, 2007|df=mdy-all}}</ref><ref name="Screen legend">{{cite news|url=http://www.montrealmirror.com/ARCHIVES/1997/082197/film4.html|title=Screen legend|last=Hays|first=Matthew|date=August 21, 1997|work=Montreal Mirror|access-date=August 10, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20021231170032/http://www.montrealmirror.com/ARCHIVES/1997/082197/film4.html|archive-date=December 31, 2002|url-status=dead|df=mdy-all}}</ref>

Notable films produced by the studio include three Academy Award-winning documentaries ''[[I'll Find a Way]]'' (1977), ''[[If You Love This Planet]]'' (1982) and ''[[Flamenco at 5:15]]'' (1983), as well as ''[[Not a Love Story]]'' (1982) and ''[[Forbidden Love: The Unashamed Stories of Lesbian Lives]]'' (1992). Studio D was shut down in 1996, amidst a sweeping set of federal government budget cuts, which impacted the NFB as a whole.<ref name="Aitken"/>

As of March 8, 2016, researchers and librarians at the [[University of Calgary]] announced an archival project to preserve records of Studio D.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://ucalgary.ca/utoday/issue/2017-03-08/researchers-build-archival-record-feminist-filmmaking-canada|title=Researchers build archival record of feminist filmmaking in Canada|last=Sowa|first=Jennifer|website=UToday|date=March 2017 |publisher=University of Calgary|language=en|access-date=July 10, 2024|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20170309074055/http://ucalgary.ca/utoday/issue/2017-03-08/researchers-build-archival-record-feminist-filmmaking-canada|archivedate=March 9, 2017}}</ref>

==Gender parity initiatives==
On March 8, 2016, NFB head [[Claude Joli-Coeur]] announced a new gender-parity initiative, with the NFB committing that half of all its production spending will be earmarked for films directed by women.<ref name="Taylor March 8">{{cite news|url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/film/nfb-pledge-for-gender-parity-could-spur-change-in-canadian-film-industry/article29083931/|title=NFB pledge for gender parity could spur change in Canadian film industry|last=Taylor|first=Kate|author-link=Kate Taylor (novelist)|work=[[The Globe and Mail]]|date=March 9, 2016|access-date=March 9, 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/canada-bankrolling-more-female-directors-873546|title=Canada Bankrolling More Female Directors to Close Gender Gap|last=Vlessing|first=Etan|date=March 8, 2016|work=[[The Hollywood Reporter]]|access-date=March 9, 2016}}</ref> The following year, the NFB announced that it also plans to achieve gender balance by 2020 in such creative positions as editing, scriptwriting, musical composition, cinematography and artistic direction. As of 2017, 53% of its producers and executive producers are women, as well as half of its administrative council.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://montrealgazette.com/news/nfb-aiming-for-parity-in-many-creative-roles-by-2020|title=NFB aiming for parity in many creative roles by 2020|last=Dunleavy|first=T'cha|date=March 7, 2017|work=Montreal Gazette|access-date=March 8, 2017|language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last1=Dumais|first1=Manon|title=Place aux femmes et à la diversité à l'ONF|url=https://www.ledevoir.com/culture/cinema/493382/onf|access-date=March 8, 2017|work=Le Devoir|date=March 8, 2017|language=fr}}</ref>

While it is claiming success, directing credits and budget shares have barely changed. In 2016–2017, 44 per cent of NFB productions were directed by women (compared to 51 per cent directed by men and five per cent by mixed teams). Budget-wise, 43 per cent of production funds were given to projects led by women (vs. 40 per cent to projects directed by men and 15 per cent to ones overseen by mixed teams).<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=https://montrealgazette.com/news/nfb-aiming-for-parity-in-many-creative-roles-by-2020|title=NFB aiming for parity in many creative roles by 2020 |website=Montreal Gazette|last=Dunleavy|first=T'Cha|date=2017-03-07|language=en|access-date=2020-01-29}}</ref> In 2018–2019, 48% of NFB works were directed by women (38% by men and 14% by mixed teams), and 44% of the NFB production budget was allocated to works created by women (41% for works by men and 15% for works by mixed teams).<ref>{{Cite web| title=The NFB's commitment to parity: mission accomplished for a third consecutive year | url=http://onf-nfb.gc.ca/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/PressRelease_NFBParity2019_-_KDB.pdf | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190405022132/http://onf-nfb.gc.ca/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/PressRelease_NFBParity2019_-_KDB.pdf | archive-date=2019-04-05}}</ref> Production personnel are between 10 and 25%.<ref name=":0" />

==Training==
NFB training programs include:

===Animation===
Hothouse,  a program for emerging animators that marked its tenth anniversary in 2015.<ref name="McLean">{{cite news|url=http://www.animationmagazine.net/events/10th-edition-of-nfbs-hothouse-yields-8-shorts/|title=10th Edition of NFB's 'Hothouse' Yields 8 Shorts|last=McLean|first=Tom|date=March 1, 2015|work=[[Animation (magazine)|Animation]]|access-date=May 24, 2015}}</ref> Notable Hothouse alumni include Academy Award nominee [[Patrick Doyon]], part of its 2006 edition.<ref name=Wyatt>{{cite news|last=Wyatt|first=Nelson|title=Oscar nomination sets bar high for Montrealer's second film|url=http://www.ctvnews.ca/oscar-nomination-sets-bar-high-for-montrealer-s-second-film-1.769274|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121001162513/http://www.ctvnews.ca/oscar-nomination-sets-bar-high-for-montrealer-s-second-film-1.769274|url-status=dead|archive-date=October 1, 2012|access-date=May 24, 2015|newspaper=[[CTV News]]|date=February 16, 2012|agency=[[Canadian Press]]}}</ref> Cinéaste recherché(e) is a similar program for French-language emerging animators. Past graduates include [[Michèle Cournoyer]], who took part in the program's 9th edition in 1989.<ref name="Morin">{{cite news|last1=Morin|first1=Jean-Philippe|title=Une cinéaste de Saint-Joseph-de-Sorel lauréate d'un prix prestigieux|url=http://www.les2rives.com/culture/2017/2/15/une-cineaste-de-saint-joseph-de-sorel-laureate-dun-prix-prestigi.html|access-date=March 8, 2017|work=Les 2 Rives|date=February 15, 2017|language=fr}}</ref>

===Theatrical documentaries===
A collaboration with the [[Canadian Film Centre]] on a theatrical documentary development program. First launched in January 2009, the program has led to the production of [[Sarah Polley]]’s ''[[Stories We Tell]]'', [[Yung Chang]]‘s ''[[The Fruit Hunters]]'' and Su Rynard's ''The Messenger''. In May 2015, the CFC and NFB announced a new version of the program entitled the NFB/CFC Creative Doc Lab.<ref name="Ravindran">{{cite news|url=http://realscreen.com/2015/05/21/nfb-cfc-team-up-for-creative-doc-lab/#ixzz3b6MAxiQi|title=NFB, CFC team up for Creative Doc Lab|last=Ravindran|first=Manori|work=Realscreen|access-date=May 24, 2015}}</ref>

==Structure==

===Branches and studios===
As of 2015, the NFB is organized along the following branches:<ref>{{cite web|url=http://onf-nfb.gc.ca/en/about-the-nfb/organization/management-team/|title=Management Team|work=National Film Board of Canada|access-date=June 12, 2015|date=July 21, 2012|archive-date=April 3, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150403143542/http://onf-nfb.gc.ca/en/about-the-nfb/organization/management-team/|url-status=dead}}</ref>
*Director General, Creation and Innovation: René Bourdages.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://realscreen.com/2016/07/05/rene-bourdages-to-join-canadas-national-film-board/|title=Rene Bourdages to join Canada's National Film Board|last=Pinto|first=Jordan|date=July 5, 2016|work=Realscreen|publisher=Brunico Communications|access-date=July 25, 2016}}</ref> The heads of the NFB's English and French production branches are Michelle van Beusekom and Michèle Bélanger, respectively.
*Finance, Operations and Technology: Director General: Luisa Frate
*Marketing and Communications: Director General: Jérôme Dufour
*Human Resources: Director General: François Tremblay

With six regional studios in English Program:
*Digital Studio in Vancouver, headed by Executive Producer [[Rob McLaughlin]]
*Animation Studio based in Montreal, headed by Executive Producer Michael Fukushima<ref name="Fukushima">{{cite news|url=https://variety.com/2013/film/news/michael-fukushima-tapped-as-executive-producer-of-nfbs-english-animation-studio-1200795486/|title=Michael Fukushima Tapped as Executive Producer of NFB's English Animation Studio|last=Punter|first=Jennie|date=November 4, 2013|work=Variety|publisher=Penske Business Media|access-date=November 13, 2013}}</ref> and Producers Maral Mohammadian and Jelena Popović<ref name="new producers">{{cite press release | url=http://news.gc.ca/web/article-en.do?nid=844249 | title=Julie Roy becomes Executive Producer at the NFB's French Animation Studio - Maral Mohammadian and Jelena Popović named as producers at the English Animation Studio | publisher=National Film Board of Canada | date=April 29, 2014 | access-date=July 10, 2024 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140501142921/http://news.gc.ca/web/article-en.do?nid=844249|archivedate=May 1, 2014}}</ref>
*Atlantic Centre based in Halifax, headed by Executive Producer John Christou and Producer Paul McNeill
*Quebec Centre based in Montreal, also headed by Executive Producer John Christou
*Ontario Centre based in Toronto, headed by Executive Producer Anita Lee<ref name="lee">{{cite news | url=https://www.thestar.com/entertainment/movies/2014/05/21/anita_lee_named_nfb_ontario_executive_producer.html | title=Anita Lee named NFB Ontario executive producer | work=Toronto Star | date=May 21, 2014 | access-date=June 2, 2014 | author=Barnard, Linda}}</ref> and Producer Lea Marin
*North West Centre based in Edmonton, headed by Executive Producer [[David Christensen]] and Producer Bonnie Thompson
*BC & Yukon Studio based in Vancouver, headed by Executive Producer Shirley Vercruysse.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://realscreen.com/2014/02/03/nfb-hires-ep-for-pacific-and-yukon-centre/#ixzz2swYzY5Dz|title=NFB hires EP for Pacific and Yukon Centre|last=Ravindran|first=Manori|date=February 3, 2014|work=Playback|access-date=February 10, 2014}}</ref>
*With small satellite offices in Winnipeg and St. John's.<ref name="Cory">{{cite news | url=http://playbackonline.ca/2011/06/03/nfb-names-generoux-to-saskatchewan-post/ | title=NFB names Generoux to Saskatchewan post | work=Playback | date=June 3, 2011 | access-date=June 13, 2012 | author=Alan, Emily Claire}}</ref>

And four regional studios in French Program:
*Interactive Studio in Montreal, headed by Executive Producer [[Hugues Sweeney]]
*Ontario and West Studio based in Toronto, headed by Executive Producer: Jacques Turgeon
*Quebec Studio based in Montreal, also headed by Executive Producer: Jacques Turgeon
*French Animation and Youth Studio based in Montreal, headed by Executive Producer: [[Julie Roy]] and Producer: Marc Bertrand<ref name="new producers"/>
*Studio Acadie/Acadia Studio based in Moncton, headed by Executive Producer: Jacques Turgeon and Producer: Maryse Chapdelaine
*René Chénier, formerly head of French Animation, is Executive Producer of Special Projects<ref name="new producers"/>

===Former studios and departments===
As part of the 2012 budget cuts, the NFB announced that it was forced to close its Toronto Mediatheque and Montreal CineRobotheque public facilities.<ref name=cbccuts>{{cite news|title=NFB to cut 61 jobs across Canada|url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/entertainment/nfb-to-cut-61-jobs-across-canada-1.1180985|access-date=April 4, 2012|newspaper=[[CBC News]]|date=April 4, 2012}}</ref> They ceased to operate as of September 1, 2012.<ref name=nfbcutresponse>{{cite news|title=Press release: The NFB announces the measures that will be implemented under the deficit reduction action plan|url=http://www.noodls.com/viewNoodl/13812255/nfb---national-film-board-of-canada/the-nfb-announces-the-measures-that-will-be-implemented-unde|access-date=July 10, 2024|date=April 4, 2012|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20130927014826/http://www.noodls.com/viewNoodl/13812255/nfb---national-film-board-of-canada/the-nfb-announces-the-measures-that-will-be-implemented-unde|archivedate=September 27, 2013}}</ref> In September 2013, the [[Université du Québec à Montréal|University of Quebec in Montreal]] (Université du Québec à Montréal) announced that it had acquired the CineRobotheque for its communications faculty.<ref name="Lévesque">{{cite news|url=https://www.ledevoir.com/culture/actualites-culturelles/386899/l-uqam-etablit-ses-quartiers-a-la-cinerobotheque|title=L'UQAM établit ses quartiers à la CinéRobothèque|last=Lévesque|first=François|date=September 9, 2013|work=Le Devoir|language=fr|access-date=September 9, 2013|location=Montreal}}</ref>

==People==
{{Further|:Category:National Film Board of Canada people}}

===Government Film Commissioners===
As stipulated in the ''National Film Act'' of 1950, the person who holds the position of Government Film Commissioner is the head of the NFB. As of 2022, the 17th commissioner of the NFB is Suzanne Guèvremont, who will also be the chairperson for a five-year term.<ref name="Ahearn">{{cite news|url= https://playbackonline.ca/2022/11/25/suzanne-guevremont-appointed-new-head-of-nfb/|title= Suzanne Guèvremont appointed new head of NFB|last=Ahearn|first=Victoria|date=November 25, 2022|access-date=February 2, 2025}}</ref> Before Guèvremont, the 16th commissioner of the NFB was [[Claude Joli-Coeur]], who led the NFB for nearly nine years and was the agency's longest serving commissioner joining first in 2003 under [[Jacques Bensimon]]. Jolie-Coeur also served as interim commissioner from 2006 to 2007 under [[Tom Perlmutter]].<ref name="Houpt">{{cite news|url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/film/national-film-board-of-canada-appoints-11-year-veteran-claude-joli-coeur-as-new-chair/article21891191/|title=National Film Board of Canada appoints 11-year veteran Claude Joli-Coeur as new chair|last=Houpt|first=Simon|date=December 2, 2014|access-date=December 3, 2014}}</ref>

====Past NFB Commissioners====
{{colbegin|colwidth=20em}}
* [[John Grierson]], 1939–1945
* [[Ross McLean (civil servant)|Ross McLean]], 1945–1947 (interim), 1947–1950
* [[William Arthur Irwin|W. Arthur Irwin]], 1950–1953
* [[Albert Trueman|Albert W. Trueman]], 1953–1957
* [[Guy Roberge]], 1957–1966
* [[Grant McLean (film producer)|Grant McLean]], 1966–1967 (interim)
* [[Hugo McPherson]], 1967–1970
* [[Sydney Newman]], 1970–1975
* [[André Lamy]], 1975–1979
* [[James de Beaujeu Domville]], 1979–1984
* [[François N. Macerola]], 1984–1988
* [[Joan Pennefather]], 1988–1994
* [[Sandra M. Macdonald]], 1995–2001
* [[Jacques Bensimon]], 2001–2006
* [[Tom Perlmutter]], 2007 to 2013<ref name="Punter">{{cite news|url=https://variety.com/2013/film/news/national-film-board-of-canada-topper-exits-with-time-left-on-term-1200941804/|title=National Film Board of Canada Topper Exits With Time Left on Term|last=Punter|first=Jennie|date=December 10, 2013|work=Variety|access-date=December 11, 2013}}</ref><ref name="CBC2ndterm">{{cite web | url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/entertainment/nfb-head-tom-perlmutter-appointed-for-new-term-1.1262735 | title=NFB head Tom Perlmutter appointed for new term | publisher=[[CBC News]] | work=[[Canadian Press]] | date=May 8, 2012 | access-date=May 9, 2012}}</ref>
* [[Claude Joli-Coeur]], 2014 - 2019 (first term), 2019 - 2022 (second term)
* [[Suzanne Guèvremont]], 2022–present<ref>{{cite web|url= https://www.canada.ca/en/national-film-board/corporate/archives-and-history/history/commissioner.html|title=Government Film Commissioner and Chairperson of the NFB|work=National Film Board of Canada Web site|date=February 11, 2021 |access-date=February 2, 2025}}</ref>
{{colend}}

====Notable NFB filmmakers, artisans and staff====
{{colbegin|colwidth=20em}}
* [[Michel Brault]]
* [[Donald Brittain]]
* [[Richard Condie]]
* [[John Grierson]], NFB founder
* [[Guy Glover]], producer
* [[Co Hoedeman]]
* [[René Jodoin]], French animation founder
* [[Kalle Lasn]]
* [[Arthur Lipsett]]
* [[Colin Low (filmmaker)|Colin Low]]
* [[Bill Mason]]
* [[Norman McLaren]], animation founder
* [[Grant Munro (filmmaker)|Grant Munro]]
* [[Alanis Obomsawin]]
* [[Gudrun Parker]]
* [[Ishu Patel]]
* [[Eldon Rathburn]], composer
* [[Terence Macartney-Filgate]]
* [[Marcel Carrière]]
* [[Tom Daly (filmmaker)|Tom Daly]]
* [[Roman Kroitor]]
* [[Wolf Koenig]]
* [[Ryan Larkin]]
* [[Tanya Ballantyne]]
* [[Anne Claire Poirier]]
* [[William Greaves]]
* [[Stanley Jackson (filmmaker)|Stanley Jackson]]
* [[Boyce Richardson]]
* [[Michael Spencer (producer)|Michael Spencer]]
{{colend}}

==Awards==
Over the years, the NFB has been internationally recognized with more than 5000 film awards.<ref name=awards>{{cite web|url=http://collections.ic.gc.ca/heirloom_series/volume5/60-63.htm|title=The National Film Board Of Canada:Eyes of Canada|work=Canadian Tributes|author=Patricia Stone, Susan Tolusso|publisher=Government of Canada Digital Collections|access-date=August 30, 2006|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110606142249/http://collections.ic.gc.ca/heirloom_series/volume5/60-63.htm|archive-date=June 6, 2011|df=mdy-all}}</ref><ref name=awards2>{{cite web |url=http://mag.awn.com/index.php?article_no=3464 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130102002247/http://mag.awn.com/index.php?article_no=3464 |url-status=dead |archive-date=January 2, 2013 |title=The National Film Board of Canada: Auteur Animation |publisher=Animation World Network |date=November 28, 2008 |access-date=January 10, 2009 }}</ref> In 2009, Norman McLaren's ''[[Neighbours (1952 film)|Neighbours]]'' was added to [[UNESCO]]'s [[Memory of the World Programme]], listing the most significant documentary heritage collections in the world.<ref name="unesco">{{cite web|title=Neighbours, animated, directed and produced by Norman McLaren in 1952|url=http://portal.unesco.org/ci/en/ev.php-URL_ID=26905&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090805041431/http://portal.unesco.org/ci/en/ev.php-URL_ID%3D26905%26URL_DO%3DDO_TOPIC%26URL_SECTION%3D201.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=August 5, 2009|work=Memory of the World|publisher=UNESCO|access-date=October 16, 2010|df=mdy-all}}</ref>

==Controversy==
In addition to ''[[Neighbours (1952 film)|Neighbours]]'', other NFB productions have been the source of controversy, including two NFB productions broadcast on CBC Television that criticized the role of Canadians in wartime led to questions in the [[Senate of Canada]].

In the early 1970s, two Quebec political documentaries, Arcand's ''[[Cotton Mill, Treadmill|On est au coton]]'' and [[Gilles Groulx]]'s ''[[24 heures ou plus]]'', were initially withheld from release by the NFB due to controversial content.<ref name=Hebert>{{cite book|editor-first1=Pierre|editor-last1=Hébert|editor-first2=Kenneth|editor-last2=Landry|editor-first3=Yves|editor-last3=Lever|title=Dictionnaire de la censure au Québec : littérature et cinéma|date=2006|publisher=Éd. Fides|location=[Montréal (Québec)]|isbn=2762126363|page=298|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kpPCydTC8IwC&q=24+heures+ou+plus&pg=PA298|access-date=24 April 2017|language=fr}}</ref>
 
''[[The Kid Who Couldn't Miss]]'' (1982) cast doubt on the accomplishments of Canadian World War I flying ace [[Billy Bishop]], sparking widespread outrage, including complaints in the Senate subcommittee on Veterans' Affairs.<ref name=cowan>{{cite news|url=http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0JSF/is_37_11/ai_87019610 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040924083230/http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0JSF/is_37_11/ai_87019610 |url-status=dead |archive-date=September 24, 2004 |title=Paul Cowan's inquisitive eye: war games porn stars and the Ghosts of Westray |last=Alioff |first=Maurie |publisher=TAKE ONE |year=2002 |access-date=August 30, 2006 }}</ref>

A decade later, ''[[The Valour and the Horror]]'' outraged some when it suggested that there was incompetence on the part of Canadian military command, and that Canadian soldiers had committed unprosecuted [[war crime]]s against German soldiers. The series became the subject of an inquiry by the Senate.

Other controversial productions included the 1981 film ''[[Not a Love Story: A Film About Pornography]]'', a 1981 Studio D documentary critiquing pornography that was itself banned in the province of [[Ontario]] on the basis of pornographic content.<ref>[https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/bonnie-sherr-klein "Bonnie Sherr Klein"]. ''The Canadian Encyclopedia''</ref> Released the following year,  ''[[If You Love This Planet]]'', winner of the [[Academy Awards|Academy Award]] for best documentary short subject, was labelled foreign propaganda under the [[Foreign Agents Registration Act|Foreign Agents Registration Act of 1938]] in the United States.<ref>The politicized Oscar. (political aspects of Academy Awards, 1983).Richard Grenier. Commentary 75.(June 1983): pp68(7).</ref>

==NFB on TV==
The NFB is a minority owner of the Canadian digital television channel [[Documentary Channel (Canadian TV channel)|Documentary Channel]]. The NFB-branded series ''Retrovision'' aired on [[VisionTV]] along with the French-language ''Carnets ONF'' series on [[Aboriginal Peoples Television Network|APTN]]. Moreover, in 1997, the American cable channel [[Cartoon Network]] created a weekly 30-minute show called ''O Canada'', which specifically showcased a compilation of NFB-produced works; the segment was later discontinued in favour of [[Adult Swim]].<ref name=compilation>{{cite news|url=http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0JSF/is_16_6/ai_30214833 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041127115831/http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0JSF/is_16_6/ai_30214833 |url-status=dead |archive-date=November 27, 2004 |title=O Canada: Canadian animators |last=Simensky |first=Linda |author-link=Linda Simensky |publisher=TAKE ONE |year=1997 |access-date=August 30, 2006 }}</ref>

==Logo==
[[File:Old National Film Board of Canada logo.png|thumb|98px|1995–2003 logo]]
The Board's logo consists of a standing stylized figure (originally green) with its arms wide upward (designed similarly to the [[CBS]] logo). The arms are met by an arch that mirrors them. The round head in between then resembles a pupil, making the entire symbol appear to be an [[Human eye|eye]] with legs. Launched in 1968, the logo symbolized a vision of humanity and was called "Man Seeing / L'homme qui voit". It was designed by Georges Beaupré. It was updated in 2003 by the firm of Paprika Communications.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://nor.design/|title=Nor – a living and open commons of Canadian design|date=August 11, 2023|website=Nor – a living and open commons of Canadian design}}</ref>

==See also==
*[[Cinema of Canada]]
*[[Cinema of Quebec]]
*''[[From NFB to Box-Office]]''
*[[Documentary Organization of Canada]]

==References==
{{Reflist|3}}

==Works cited==
===Books===
* {{cite book|editor-last1=Beard |editor-first1=William |editor-last2=White |editor-first2=Jerry |title=North of Everything: English-Canadian Cinema Since 1980 |publisher=[[The University of Alberta Press]] |date=2002 |url=https://archive.org/details/northofeverythin00bear |isbn=0-88864-398-5}}
* {{cite book|last=Clandfield |first=David |title=Canadian Film |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |date=1987 |url=https://archive.org/details/canadianfilm0000clan |isbn=0195405811}}
* {{cite book |last=Dupuis |first=Chris |editor-first1=John |editor-last1=Greyson |title=Winter Kept Us Warm |publisher=[[McGill–Queen's University Press]] |date=2024 |doi=10.1515/9780228020349 |url=https://www.degruyterbrill.com/document/doi/10.1515/9780228020349/html |isbn=9780228020349}}
* {{cite book|last=Evans |first=Gary |title=In the National Interest: A Chronicle of the National Film Board of Canada from 1949 to 1989 |publisher=[[University of Toronto Press]] |date=1991 |url=https://archive.org/details/innationalintere0000evan |isbn=0802027849}}
* {{cite book|last=Jones |first=David |title=Movies and Memoranda: An Interpretative History of the National Film Board of Canada |publisher=[[Canadian Film Institute]] |date=1981 |url=https://archive.org/details/moviesmemorandai0000jone |isbn=0919096212}}
* {{cite book|last=Khouri |first=Malek |title=Filming Politics: Communism and the Portrayal of the Working Class at the National Film Board of Canada, 1939-46 |publisher=[[University of Calgary Press]] |date=2007 |url=https://archive.org/details/filmingpoliticsc0000khou |isbn=9781552381991}}
* {{cite book|last=Low |first=Brian |title=NFB Kids: Portrayals of Children by the National Film Board of Canada, 1939-1989 |publisher=[[Wilfrid Laurier University Press]] |date=2002 |doi=10.51644/9780889207202 |url=https://www.degruyterbrill.com/document/doi/10.51644/9780889207202/html |isbn=9780889207202}}
* {{cite book|last=Magder |first=Ted |title=Canada's Hollywood: The Canadian State and Feature Films |publisher=[[University of Toronto Press]] |date=1993 |url=https://archive.org/details/canadashollywood0000magd}}
* {{cite book|editor-last=Morris |editor-first=Peter |title=Embattled Shadows: A History of Canadian Cinema 1895-1939 |publisher=[[McGill–Queen's University Press]] |date=1978 |url=https://archive.org/details/embattledshadows0000morr |isbn=9780773560727}}
* {{cite book|last=Payne |first=Carol |title=The Official Picture: The National Film Board of Canada's Still Photography Division and the Image of Canada, 1941-1971 |publisher=[[McGill–Queen's University Press]] |date=2013 |doi=10.1515/9780773588943 |url=https://www.degruyterbrill.com/document/doi/10.1515/9780773588943 |isbn=9780773588943}}
* {{cite book|last=Pendakur |first=Manjunath |title=Canadian Dreams & American Control: The Political Economy of the Canadian Film Industry |publisher=Garamond Press |date=1990 |url=https://archive.org/details/canadiandreamsam0000pend |isbn=0920059937}}

===Journals===
* {{cite journal|last=Brégent-Heald |first=Dominique |title=Vacationland: Film, Tourism, and Selling Canada, 1934-1948 |journal=Canadian Journal of Film Studies |publisher=[[University of Toronto Press]] |date=2012 |volume=21 |issue=2 |pages=27–48 |doi=10.3138/cjfs.21.2.27 |jstor=24411793 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/24411793|url-access=subscription }}

===News===
* {{Cite news |last=Blair |first=Iain |date=4 June 2012 |title=NFB pushes Canadian artists in edgy direction |work=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]] |url=https://variety.com/2012/digital/news/nfb-pushes-canadian-artists-in-edgy-direction-1118054435/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250614074834/https://variety.com/2012/digital/news/nfb-pushes-canadian-artists-in-edgy-direction-1118054435/ |archive-date=14 June 2025}}
* {{Cite news |last=Doherty |first=Mike |date=8 August 2015 |title=Shaun the Sheep leads the stop-motion animation revival |work=[[Canadian Broadcasting Company]] |url=https://www.cbc.ca/arts/shaun-the-sheep-leads-the-stop-motion-animation-revival-1.3184267 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250614075354/https://www.cbc.ca/arts/shaun-the-sheep-leads-the-stop-motion-animation-revival-1.3184267 |archive-date=14 June 2025}}
* {{Cite news |last=Giardina |first=Carolyn |date=23 July 2013 |title=Siggraph: Oscar Winner Chris Landreth Shows His New Short 'Subconscious Password' |work=[[The Hollywood Reporter]] |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/siggraph-oscar-winner-chris-landreth-590998/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250614075948/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/siggraph-oscar-winner-chris-landreth-590998/ |archive-date=14 June 2025}}
* {{Cite news |last=Lang |first=Jamie |date=8 June 2025 |title=Preserving the Past and Powering the Future of Canadian Animation: Inside the NFB and Telefilm's Industry-Leading Support Strategies |work=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]] |url=https://variety.com/2025/film/global/nfb-telefilm-support-strategies-annecy-1236422288/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250614072140/https://variety.com/2025/film/global/nfb-telefilm-support-strategies-annecy-1236422288/ |archive-date=14 June 2025}}
* {{Cite news |last=Robinson |first=Chris |date=19 June 2025 |title=The Offbeat Production Methods Of The NFB's Stop-Motion Film 'The Girl Who Cried Pearls' |work=[[Cartoon Brew]] |url=https://www.cartoonbrew.com/shorts/the-offbeat-production-methods-of-the-nfbs-stop-motion-film-the-girl-who-cried-pearls-247646.html |archive-url= |archive-date=}}

===Web===
* {{Cite web |title=Photo Collections |url=http://www.collectionscanada.ca/inuit/054304-e.html |work=[[Library and Archives Canada]] |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070128131729/http://www.collectionscanada.ca/inuit/054304-e.html |archive-date=28 January 2007 |ref={{harvid|Photo Collections}}}}

==Further reading==
*{{cite book|last=Druick|first=Zoë|title=Projecting Canada: Government Policy and Documentary Film at the National Film Board of Canada|publisher=[[McGill-Queen's University Press]]|year=2007|isbn=978-0-7735-3259-5}}
*{{cite book|title=Donald Brittain:Never the Ordinary Way|editor=Terry Kolomeychuk|publisher=National Film Board of Canada|location=Winnipeg|year=1991|isbn=0-7722-0188-9}}
*{{cite book|last1=McInnes|first1=Graham|editor1-last=Walz|editor1-first=Gene|title=One Man's Documentary: A Memoir of the Early Years of the National Film Board|date=November 2004|publisher=[[University of Manitoba Press]]|location=Winnipeg, Man.|isbn=9780887556791}}
*''Challenge for Change: Activist Documentary at the National Film Board of Canada'' (2010). Thomas Waugh, Michael Brendan Baker, Ezra Winton (eds). Montreal-Kingston: McGill-Queens University Press.

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
* {{Official website}}
* [https://archive.today/20130117192609/http://www.bcdb.com/cartoons/Other_Studios/N/National_Film_Board_of_Canada/index.html National Film Board of Canada] at the [[Big Cartoon DataBase]]

{{CinemaofCanada}}
{{Department of Canadian Heritage}}
{{NFBwebdocs}}
{{Animation industry in Canada}}
{{Academy Honorary Award}}
{{Inkpot Award 1980s}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:National Film Board Of Canada}}
[[Category:National Film Board of Canada| ]]
[[Category:Organizations awarded an Academy Honorary Award]]
[[Category:Canadian animation studios]]
[[Category:Federal departments and agencies of Canada]]
[[Category:Department of Canadian Heritage]]
[[Category:Film archives in Canada]]
[[Category:Film distributors of Canada]]
[[Category:Film production companies of Canada]]
[[Category:Producers who won the Best Documentary Short Subject Academy Award]]
[[Category:Organizations based in Montreal]]
[[Category:Government agencies established in 1939]]
[[Category:Organizations established in 1939]]
[[Category:Film organizations in Canada]]
[[Category:Documentary film organizations]]
[[Category:Peabody Award winners]]
[[Category:State-owned film companies]]
[[Category:Digital media organizations]]
[[Category:Virtual reality organizations]]
[[Category:1939 establishments in Quebec]]
[[Category:Inkpot Award winners]]
[[Category:Academy Award for Technical Achievement winners]]