Brian McKenna (August 8, 1945 – May 5, 2023) was a Canadian documentary film director. He directed films on Canadian history and explorations of the world at war.

Biography

Brian McKenna was born on August 8, 1945 in

Montreal, Canada Montreal is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest in Canada, and the ninth-largest in North America. It was founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", and is now named after Mount Royal, the triple-pe ...

McKenna was a founding producer of CBC's Oscar and Emmy award-winning documentary program, '' The Fifth Estate'', where he worked from 1975 to 1988. McKenna was a parliamentary correspondent for the ''

Montreal Star ''The Montreal Star'' was an English language, English-language Canada, Canadian newspaper published in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It closed in 1979 in the wake of an eight-month pressmen's strike. It was Canada's largest newspaper until the 1950 ...

.'' He was a frequent collaborator with his brother

Terence Publius Terentius Afer (; – ), better known in English as Terence (), was a playwright during the Roman Republic. He was the author of six Roman comedy, comedies based on Greek comedy, Greek originals by Menander or Apollodorus of Carystus. A ...

, also a filmmaker, in particular on the three-part series '' The Valour and the Horror''. The most controversial segment in the series concerned

strategic bombing during World War II World War II (1939–1945) involved sustained strategic bombing of railways, harbours, cities, workers' and civilian housing, and industrial districts in enemy territory. Strategic bombing as a military strategy is distinct both from close ...

. McKenna's contributions included prize-winning films about Canada's wars, including the War of 1812, the First and Second World Wars, and

Korea Korea is a peninsular region in East Asia consisting of the Korean Peninsula, Jeju Island, and smaller islands. Since the end of World War II in 1945, it has been politically Division of Korea, divided at or near the 38th parallel north, 3 ...

. Among his documentary film achievements, McKenna also co-authored the Penguin Books biography of Montreal mayor

Jean Drapeau Jean Drapeau (; 18 February 1916 – 12 August 1999) was a Canadian politician who served as mayor of Montreal for 2 non-consecutive terms from 1954 to 1957 and from 1960 to 1986. Major accomplishments of the Drapeau Administration include ...

. McKenna wrote for '' Saturday Night'', '' Weekend Magazine'', the ''

Literary Review of Canada The ''Literary Review of Canada'' is a Canadian magazine that publishes ten times a year in print and online. The magazine features essays and reviews of books on political, cultural, social, and literary topics, as well as original Canadian poet ...

'', '' Cité Libre'', the ''

Toronto Star The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and part of Torstar's Daily News Brands (Torstar), Daily News Brands division. ...

'' and ''

Maclean's ''Maclean's'' is a Canadian magazine founded in 1905 which reports on Canadian issues such as politics, pop culture, trends and current events. Its founder, publisher John Bayne Maclean, established the magazine to provide a uniquely Canadian ...

''. McKenna died on May 5, 2023, from an illness at the age of 77.

Filmography and awards

McKenna was awarded a combined nine Gemini and prix Gemeaux awards and was the winner of a lifetime achievement Gemini and the Pierre Berton Prize for Canadian History. He has received three Nellie awards for best documentary writing. His hour-long 1983 investigation on the assassination of JFK drew the largest audiences for ''The Fifth Estate'' in the show's history. "In many respects, Brian McKenna's extensive commitment to broadcasting Canada's stories laid the groundwork for future major television projects with Canadian history at their core. But what makes him so honourable to me, is his passion to telling exceptional stories of everyday Canadians – so that all of us can better see ourselves in our history," said Deborah Morrison, president and C.E.O. of Canada's National History Society, who bestows the annual Pierre Berton award. His work on the controversial documentary series, '' The Valour and the Horror'', with his brother Terence McKenna, uniquely earned prizes for Best Direction, Best Writing and Best Documentary Series in English and French (Prix Gemeaux). Denounced by England's tabloid press, the series caused an uproar when it was shown in Great Britain, winning acclaim from ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'', ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...

'' and ''

The Telegraph ''The Telegraph'', ''Daily Telegraph'', ''Sunday Telegraph'' and other variant names are often names for newspapers. Newspapers with these titles include: Australia * The Telegraph (Adelaide), ''The Telegraph'' (Adelaide), a newspaper in Adelaid ...

'': "It was a brave film to make" wrote novelist A.N. Wilson, "and a brave film to show." ''Pierre Trudeau: The Memoirs'' was broadcast in both official languages and won the prix Gemeaux for Best Doctumentary Series in 1994. In 1987 he was a producer of the television crime drama film '' And Then You Die''. ''The Hooded Men'', his film on torture, won the top prize at the American Film Festival and was employed by Amnesty International in their stop torture campaign. His film on CIA brainwashing at a Montreal psychiatric hospital, ''Secret Tests'', landed on the front page of ''The New York Times'', provoking debate in the U.S. Congress and Parliament. It won the gold medal for Investigative Journalism at the New York Television and Film Festival. ''A Journey Back'', McKenna's documentary on the Holocaust, led to a prosecution under Canada's war crime law. A finalist with the Nellie for best television program, the film won the Blue Ribbon at the American Film Festival and the Nellie for best documentary. Involving the descendants of Great War soldiers and nurses recreating the battles of

Vimy Ridge The Battle of Vimy Ridge was part of the Battle of Arras, in the Pas-de-Calais department of France, during the First World War. The main combatants were the four divisions of the Canadian Corps in the First Army, against three divisions of ...

and

Passendale Passendale () or Passchendaele ( , ; ) is a rural Belgian village in the Zonnebeke municipality of West Flanders province. It is close to the town of Ypres, situated on the hill ridge separating the historical wetlands of the Yser and Leie val ...

, McKenna's series on Canada and the Great War is called a "groundbreaking" achievement.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:McKenna, Brian 1945 births 2023 deaths Anglophone Quebec people Canadian documentary film directors Canadian people of Irish descent Canadian television reporters and correspondents Loyola College (Montreal) alumni Canadian Screen Award winning journalists Journalists from Montreal Canadian Screen Award winning writers Screenwriters from Quebec Canadian Screen Award winning directors

Biography

Filmography and awards

Other notable documentaries

References

External links