Feature: The National Film Board of Canada’s history of experimental animation episode artwork

EPISODE · May 1, 2026 · 6 MIN

Feature: The National Film Board of Canada’s history of experimental animation

from FilmWeek · host LAist

In order to keep up with the changing film landscape, Canada’s Motion Picture Bureau was re-established as the National Film Board of Canada (NFB). It was helmed by filmmaker John Grierson, known for coining the term ‘documentary.’ Grierson recruited filmmaker and animator Norman McLaren to lead the NFB’s animation division, and under the two of them, the NFB supported pioneering artists pushing Canadian animation and filmmaking forward. This time on FilmWeek, Larry Mantle speaks with FilmWeek’s own Charles Solomon, animation historian and critic, about his new book “Animation for the People: An Illustrated History of the National Film Board of Canada.”  

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Feature: The National Film Board of Canada’s history of experimental animation

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In order to keep up with the changing film landscape, Canada’s Motion Picture Bureau was re-established as the National Film Board of Canada (NFB). It was helmed by filmmaker John Grierson, known for coining the term ‘documentary.’ Grierson...

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