Roger Blais (February 6, 1917 – November 9, 2012) was a

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

film director and producer, who played a key role in the development and expansion of the

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

division of the

National Film Board of Canada The National Film Board of Canada (NFB; ) is a Canadian public film and digital media producer and distributor. An agency of the Government of Canada, the NFB produces and distributes documentary films, animation, web documentaries, and altern ...

."NFB stalwart loved telling stories of his native Quebec to rest of country and world"
''

The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Newspapers in Canada, Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in Western Canada, western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of more than 6 million in 2024, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on week ...

'', November 26, 2012. As a filmmaker, he was most noted for the films '' Royal Journey'' and '' Grierson'', both of which won the

Canadian Film Award The Canadian Film Awards were the leading Canadian cinema awards from 1949 until 1978. These honours were conducted annually, except in 1974 when a number of Quebec directors withdrew their participation and prompted a cancellation. In the 1970s ...

for Best Feature Length Documentary in 1952 and 1973, respectively.Maria Topalovich, ''And the Genie Goes To...: Celebrating 50 Years of the Canadian Film Awards''.

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, 2000. .

Background

Born in Giffard,

, he studied painting at the École des Beaux-Arts in

Quebec City Quebec City is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Quebec. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 549,459, and the Census Metropolitan Area (including surrounding communities) had a populati ...

before enlisting as a

war artist A war artist is an artist either commissioned by a government or publication, or self-motivated, to document first-hand experience of war in any form of illustrative or depictive record.Imperial War Museum (IWM)header phrase, "war shapes lives" ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

; however, he actually spent much of the war as a non-combatant soldier in the English countryside after the general of the regiment to which he had been assigned refused to have an artist under his command on the grounds that the war would be won with guns rather than paintbrushes. When he returned to Canada, he married Louise Bellavance, and joined the National Film Board as an animator.

NFB career

With the National Film Board, he began to transition from animation to the documentary department. His first significant NFB work was ''Fridolinons'', a 1945 short film of three sketches performed by Gratien Gélinas as his comedic character Fridolin. In 1964, he was selected as head of audiovisual production for

Expo 67 The 1967 International and Universal Exposition, commonly known as Expo 67, was a general exhibition from April 28 to October 29, 1967. It was a category one world's fair held in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is considered to be one of the most s ...

, overseeing all film and television aspects of the event. He held this role until the fair ended, before returning to the National Film Board. In 1973 Blais released his most famous film, ''Grierson'', a documentary portrait of NFB founder and documentary film innovator

John Grierson John Grierson (26 April 1898 – 19 February 1972) was a Scottish documentary maker, often considered the father of British and Canadian documentary film. In 1926, Grierson coined the term "documentary" in a review of Robert J. Flaherty's '' ...

Honours

He was named an

Officer of the Order of Canada The Order of Canada () is a Canadian national order and the second-highest honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the centennial of Canadian Confederation, the ...

in 2000,"Government House honours 103". ''

Welland Tribune The ''Welland Tribune'' is a daily newspaper that services Welland, Ontario and surrounding area. The ''Tribune'' was one of several Postmedia Network newspapers purchased by Torstar in a transaction between the two companies which concluded on ...

'', July 14, 2000. and a Knight of the Order of Quebec in 2005.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Blais, Roger 1917 births 2012 deaths Canadian documentary film directors Canadian documentary film producers National Film Board of Canada people Film directors from Quebec Officers of the Order of Canada Knights of the National Order of Quebec People from Quebec City Directors of Genie Award winners for Best Theatrical Short