National Film Board of Canada Celebrates 80 Years of Innovation

Founded in 1939 and developed during WWII as a propaganda documentary center, the National Film Board of Canada (NFB) now boasts over 13,000 productions, around 7,000 awards, 75 Oscar nominations, and 12 wins. It receives $60 million annually from the Canadian government, funding about one project per week. A key figure is Scottish-born Norman McLaren (1911–1987), a pioneering animator who invented techniques like pixillation and stereoscopic animation. His 1952 short 'Neighbours' won an Oscar for Best Documentary Short. Hungarian filmmaker Peter Foldès created 'Hunger' (1973), an early digital animation that won the Cannes Jury Prize for Short Films. Current technical director Eloi Champagne spoke on February 25 at OGR Torino (in collaboration with VIEW Conference, curated by Maria Elena Guiterrez), emphasizing the NFB's 'technological agnosticism'—adapting technology to storytelling needs. Examples include the SANDEE software for stereoscopy, used in Munro Ferguson's 2014 VR experience 'Minotaur VR'; André Roy's 360-degree documentary 'The 3rd Wheel' on motor disability; and Brett Gaylor's series 'Do Not Track' about algorithms and big data. The NFB is now exploring extended reality and AI, with a mixed-reality project directed by Sandra Rodriguez featuring Noam Chomsky.