Don Owen (September 19, 1931 – February 21, 2016) was a Canadian film director, writer and producer who spent most of his career with 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). His films '' Nobody Waved Good-bye'' and '' The Ernie Game'' are regarded as two of the most significant English Canadian films of the 1960s.

Early life

Owen was born and raised in Toronto and became interested in film at a young age, mainly, he said, because there was nothing to do on Sundays but go to the two films shown by the Toronto Film Society. He intended to become a poet but studied anthropology at the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university whose main campus is located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was founded by ...

. To earn extra money while he was working on his graduate degree, he got a job as assistant director on the Sidney J. Furie film '' A Cool Sound from Hell''. He worked as a

stagehand A stagehand is a person who works backstage or behind the scenes in theatres, film, television, or location performance. Their work includes setting up the scenery, lights, sound, props, rigging, and special effects for a production. General ...

and writer at the

CBC CBC may refer to: Media * Cadena Baja California or Grupo Cadena, a radio and television broadcaster in Mexico * Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Canada's radio and television public broadcaster ** CBC Television ** CBC Radio One ** CBC Music ** ...

and then landed the job of assistant director to NFB director Don Haldane, who was shooting a film called ''One Man in Muskoka''. Both Haldane and the film’s cinematographer Donald Wilder suggested that he apply to the NFB. This necessitated moving to

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

and Owen was keen to leave Toronto. Wilder pulled some strings and the NFB hired Owen in 1962.

Career

Owen was hired as a writer, but was put on camera work for the film '' À St-Henri le cinq septembre'' (''September Five at Saint-Henri''). He was taken under the wing of producer Tom Daly and became part of the NFB’s storied Unit B. Owen suggested that he create a film about the Olympic runner

Bruce Kidd Bruce Kidd, (born July 26, 1943) is a Canadian academic, author, and athlete. Born in Ottawa, Ontario, he attended Malvern Collegiate Institute before becoming a member of the University of Toronto track and field team. He won 18 national senior ...

; Daly approved it and the result was the critically-acclaimed ''Runner'' (with the narration written by

W. H. Auden Wystan Hugh Auden (; 21 February 1907 – 29 September 1973) was a British-American poet. Auden's poetry is noted for its stylistic and technical achievement, its engagement with politics, morals, love, and religion, and its variety in tone, ...

and voiced by

Don Francks Don Harvey Francks (February 28, 1932 – April 3, 2016), also known by his stage name Iron Buffalo, was a Canadian actor, musician and singer. Early life Don Harvey Francks was born on February 28, 1932, and was adopted shortly after his bir ...

). Runner was innovative and mesmerizing and, from then on, Owen was a full-time director. Because Owen was very vocal about what he saw was Toronto’s boring, uptight Anglicism, he was chosen to make a film that “would make Toronto look interesting”. He gathered together the most eccentric musicians he knew and made the brilliant ''Toronto Jazz''. By now, Owen had developed a reputation for being ‘’difficult’’. Bruce Kidd reported that his perfectionism was exhausting but, more importantly, the NFB was a government organization, and films were produced with a team approach. Owen did not always toe the line; he believed that it was important for filmmakers to “take chances”, “go out on a limb” and then have the courage to stand behind their work. This became most apparent when he was asked to make a half-hour documentary on juvenile delinquency and how police dealt with it. It was the summer of 1963, Owen was shooting in Toronto, and his superiors were in Montreal; many were on vacation. There was no script—Owen gave the actors short notes before each scene and they improvised. They shot all summer. The most senior executive on the project was cinematographer John Spotton who, while respecting the work that Owen was doing, could not hide the fact that they had shot 60,000 feet of film, without permission. When this was discovered in September, some NFB executives were outraged, but Daly liked what he saw and gave Owen more money to re-shoot certain scenes. The result was the 80-minute feature '' Nobody Waved Good-bye''. It was released in the summer of 1964; Canadian reviews were lukewarm, at best. But when it was screened at the

New York Film Festival The New York Film Festival (NYFF) is a film festival held every fall in New York City, presented by Film at Lincoln Center. Founded in 1963 by Richard Roud and Amos Vogel with the support of Lincoln Center president William Schuman, NYFF i ...

, it was heaped with praise and went on to become an international hit. Because it was improvised, the

British Academy of Film and Television Arts The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA, ) is an independent trade association and charity that supports, develops, and promotes the arts of film, television and video games in the United Kingdom. In addition to its annual awa ...

classified it as a documentary and it won the 1965 BAFTA Award for Best Documentary. Owen had four films released in 1965, including '' Ladies and Gentlemen... Mr. Leonard Cohen'' and '' High Steel'', a 15-minute colour documentary about the Canadian Caughnawaga

First Nations First nations are indigenous settlers or bands. First Nations, first nations, or first peoples may also refer to: Indigenous groups *List of Indigenous peoples *First Nations in Canada, Indigenous peoples of Canada who are neither Inuit nor Mé ...

peoples who worked on Manhattan skyscraper projects. On July 31, 1965, in an interview with Dusty Vineberg of 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 ...

'', Owen attributed the success of '' High Steel'' to the fact that he wrote, directed, and edited it himself, calling this "a welding of three aspects of filmmaking that many young filmmakers increasingly insist is vital to integrity." In 1966 he directed the acclaimed '' Notes for a Film About Donna and Gail'' and began work on an NFB/

co-production, a trilogy of films on mental illness. It turned out to be two films: ''A Further Glimpse of Joey'' and '' The Ernie Game'', a film about a bi-sexual transient street hustler. When it aired on the CBC, there was a public outcry, with people decrying the use of public funds to portray such a subject. In

Parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

, one member declared it was "indecent, immoral and repulsive". Owen's officially left the NFB in 1969, but spent the next 20 years moving back and forth between it and the CBC. His only commercially-produced film was the 1976 thriller '' Partners'', which was not a success. He co-produced his last two films with the NFB: 1984's '' Unfinished Business'' (a sequel to '' Nobody Waved Good-bye''), and the 1988 feature ''Turnabout''. He retired in 1988. Owen was the subject of a retrospective at the

2005 Toronto International Film Festival The 30th Toronto International Film Festival ran from September 8–17 and screened 335 films from 52 countries - 109 of these films were world premieres, and 78 were North American premieres. Awards At the Festival's closing event, the following ...

; this coincided with the release of his book, ''Poems & Paintings by Don Owen: Yab Yum Wrap Rap''.

Personal life and death

Owen was a

Buddhist Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...

and student of the

Tibetan Buddhist Tibetan Buddhism is a form of Buddhism practiced in Tibet, Bhutan and Mongolia. It also has a sizable number of adherents in the areas surrounding the Himalayas, including the Indian regions of Ladakh, Darjeeling, Sikkim, and Arunachal Prades ...

meditation master

Chögyam Trungpa Chögyam Trungpa (Wylie transliteration, Wylie: ''Chos rgyam Drung pa''; March 5, 1939 – April 4, 1987), formally named the 11th Zurmang Trungpa, Chokyi Gyatso, was a Tibetan Buddhism, Tibetan Buddhist master and holder of both Kagyu and Nyingm ...

, who had settled in

Halifax, Nova Scotia Halifax is the capital and most populous municipality of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Nova Scotia, and the most populous municipality in Atlantic Canada. As of 2024, it is estimated that the population of the H ...

. Owen spent time at Trungpa's Rocky Mountain Dharma Center, a retreat center in

Red Feather Lakes, Colorado Red Feather Lakes is an unincorporated town, a post office, and a census-designated place (CDP) located in and governed by Larimer County, Colorado, United States. The CDP is a part of the Fort Collins, CO Metropolitan Statistical Area. The Re ...

. Trungpa’s organization

Vajradhatu Vajradhatu was the name of the umbrella organization of Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche, one of the first Tibetan Buddhist lamas to visit and teach in the West. It served as the vehicle for the promulgation of his teachings, and was also the name by w ...

established meditation centers all over North America; in 1972, Owen founded the Toronto center at his small farm in Green River, Ontario. From 1976 to 1978, Owen taught film courses at

Naropa University Naropa University is a private university in Boulder, Colorado, United States. Founded in 1974 by Tibetan Buddhist teacher Chögyam Trungpa, it is named after the 11th-century Indian Buddhist sage Naropa, an abbot of Nalanda. The university ...

, which Trungpa founded in 1974. Owen returned to the seminary in 1990, after his last film, ''Turnabout''. In order to be part of Trungpa’s inner circle, one had to practice complete discretion and keep all activities secret; Owen explained his long absences by telling people that he had to take time off to look after his children while his wife traveled. In 2011, Owen suffered a stroke and he spent the rest of his life in Toronto’s Kensington Gardens Nursing Home, cared for by Tibetan nurses. Bed-ridden and unable to read or write, he dictated poems to staff and friends; through dictation, he was also working on a screenplay called ''The Postmistress'', in which he wanted

Sally Field Sally Margaret Field (born November 6, 1946) is an American actress. She has performed in movies, Broadway theater, television, and made records of popular music. Known for her extensive work on screen and stage, she has received many accola ...

to play the title role. A few months before his death, in late 2015, Owen's memoir was published. Its title, ''Captain Donald's Quest for Crazy Wisdom'' is a reference to Trungpa's 'Crazy Wisdom' theory. In early February 2016, Owen suffered a series of small strokes and stopped eating and drinking. He died on February 21 at age 84. He had been married once (to Suzanne Gobeil) and was survived by two sons. His funeral service was the Pure Realm of Shambhala Ceremony at the Shambhala Meditation Centre of Toronto.

Filmography

*'' A Cool Sound from Hell'' - feature, Caribou Productions, Sidney J. Furie 1959 - assistant director *''One Man in Muskoka'' - documentary short, NFB, Don Haldane 1961 - assistant director *'' À St-Henri le cinq septembre'' - documentary, NFB,

Hubert Aquin Hubert Aquin (24 October 1929 – 15 March 1977) was a Quebec writer, filmmaker and intellectual. He is particularly known for his novel ''Next Episode (novel), Next Episode''. He is also an important figure in the history of the Quebec Soverei ...

1962 - cinematographer *''Runner'' - documentary short, NFB, 1962 - editor, writer, director *''Toronto Jazz'' - documentary short, NFB, 1963 - editor, writer, director *'' Nobody Waved Good-bye'' - feature, NFB, 1964 - writer, director, co-producer with

Roman Kroitor Roman Kroitor (December 12, 1926 – September 17, 2012) was a Canadian filmmaker who was known as a pioneer of ''Cinéma vérité'', as the co-founder of IMAX, and as the creator of the Sandde hand-drawn stereoscopic 3D animation system. He ...

*''Two Men of Montreal'' - documentary, NFB, 1965 - co-director with Suzanne Angel and

Donald Brittain Donald Code Brittain, (June 10, 1928 – July 21, 1989) was a film director and producer with the National Film Board of Canada. Career '' Fields of Sacrifice'' (1964) is considered Brittain's first major film as director. His other notable ...

*''You Don’t Back Down'' - documentary short, NFB, 1965 - director *'' High Steel'' - documentary short, NFB, 1965 - editor, writer, director *'' Ladies and Gentlemen... Mr. Leonard Cohen'' - documentary, NFB, 1965 - co-director with

*'' Notes for a Film About Donna & Gail'' - short film, NFB, 1966 - director, co-writer with Gerald Taaffe *''A Further Glimpse of Joey'' - short film, NFB, 1966 - director *'' The Ernie Game'' - feature, NFB, 1967 - writer, director * ''Monique Leyrac in Concert'' - documentary, NFB, 1969 - director * ''Gallery: A View of Time'',

Albright-Knox Art Gallery The Buffalo AKG Art Museum, formerly known as the Albright–Knox Art Gallery, is an art museum located adjacent to Delaware Park, Buffalo, New York, United States. The museum shows modern art and contemporary art. It is directly opposite Buff ...

1969 - producer, director * ''

Telescope A telescope is a device used to observe distant objects by their emission, Absorption (electromagnetic radiation), absorption, or Reflection (physics), reflection of electromagnetic radiation. Originally, it was an optical instrument using len ...

- Mordecai Richler Living in London'' - TV series episode,

, 1971 - director * ''

- Snow in Venice'' - TV series episode,

, 1971 - director *''Cowboy and Indian'' - documentary, NFB, 1972 - editor, writer, director *'' To See Ourselves: Changes'' - TV series episode,

, 1974 - director * '' The Collaborators: Undercover'' - TV series episode,

, 1974 - director * '' The Collaborators: Dreams and Things'' - TV series episode,

, 1974 - director * '' The Collaborators: A Little Something for the Old Age'' - TV series episode,

, 1974 - director * '' Canadian Film Makers: Not Far From Home'' - TV series episode,

, 1974 - director *'' Partners'' - feature, Clearwater Films, 1976 - co-writer, co-producer, director *''Holstein'' - documentary short, NFB, 1979 - editor, director * ''Spread Your Wings: Tanya’s Puppet'' - TV series episode, 1981 - director *'' Unfinished Business'' - feature, NFB, 1984 - writer, director, co-producer with Annette Cohen * '' Danger Bay: Jan'' - TV series episode,

1988 - director *''Turnabout'' - feature, Zebra Film & NFB 1988 - writer, director, co-producer with Don Haig (Due to confusion with the wrestling promotor Don Owen, biographers have incorrectly credited Owen the filmmaker as being the cinematographer on the film ''

Wrestling Wrestling is a martial art, combat sport, and form of entertainment that involves grappling with an opponent and striving to obtain a position of advantage through different throws or techniques, within a given ruleset. Wrestling involves di ...

''. Owen did not work on that film.)

Awards

''Runner'' (1962) * Golden Gate International Film Festival, San Francisco: Honorable Mention, Film as Art, 1963 * Midwest Film Festival,

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, or UChi) is a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its main campus is in the Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood on Chicago's South Side, Chic ...

, Chicago: Donald Perry Award, 1963 '' Nobody Waved Goodbye'' (1964) * 18th British Academy Film Awards, London:

BAFTA Award for Best Documentary The BAFTA Award for Best Documentary is a film award presented annually by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) at the British Academy Film Awards. It was formerly known as the Robert Flaherty Documentary Award. In the followi ...

, 1965 * Salerno Film Festival,

Salerno Salerno (, ; ; ) is an ancient city and ''comune'' (municipality) in Campania, southwestern Italy, and is the capital of the namesake province, being the second largest city in the region by number of inhabitants, after Naples. It is located ...

, Italy: First Prize, 1968 * Mannheim-Heidelberg International Film Festival,

Mannheim Mannheim (; Palatine German language, Palatine German: or ), officially the University City of Mannheim (), is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, second-largest city in Baden-Württemberg after Stuttgart, the States of Ger ...

, Germany: CIDALC Award, 1964 * International Film Festival at Addis Ababa,

Addis Ababa Addis Ababa (; ,) is the capital city of Ethiopia, as well as the regional state of Oromia. With an estimated population of 2,739,551 inhabitants as of the 2007 census, it is the largest city in the country and the List of cities in Africa b ...

, Ethiopia: Third Prize, Feature Film, 1966 *

Toronto International Film Festival The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF, often stylized as tiff) is one of the most prestigious and largest publicly attended film festivals in the world. Founded in 1976, the festival takes place every year in early September. The organi ...

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

: 9th Place, Canada’s Ten-Best Films, 1984 '' High Steel'' (1965) * Cork International Film Festival,

Cork "Cork" or "CORK" may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Stopper (plug), or "cork", a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container *** Wine cork an item to seal or reseal wine Places Ireland * ...

, Ireland: Bronze Statuette of St. Finbarr - First Prize, Documentary, 1966 *

Locarno Film Festival The Locarno International Film Festival is a major international film festival, held annually in Locarno, Switzerland. Founded in 1946, the festival screens films in various competitive and non-competitive sections, including feature-length narr ...

Locarno Locarno (; ; Ticinese dialect, Ticinese: ; formerly in ) is a southern Switzerland, Swiss List of towns in Switzerland, town and Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the district Locarno (district), Locarno (of which it is the capita ...

, Switzerland: Diploma of Honour, 1967 *

Kraków Film Festival The Krakow Film Festival () is one of Europe's oldest events dedicated to documentary, animation and other short film forms. It is one of the only five FIAPF accredited documentary and short film festivals in the world.https://fiapf.org/festiv ...

Kraków , officially the Royal Capital City of Kraków, is the List of cities and towns in Poland, second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city has a population of 804,237 ...

, Poland: Diploma of Honour, 1967 * Melbourne Film Festival,

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

: Diploma of Merit, 1967 *International Days of Short Films,

Tours Tours ( ; ) is the largest city in the region of Centre-Val de Loire, France. It is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Indre-et-Loire. The Communes of France, commune of Tours had 136,463 inhabita ...

, France: Prize of the Cine-Clubs, 1967 *

Berlin International Film Festival The Berlin International Film Festival (), usually called the Berlinale (), is an annual film festival held in Berlin, Germany. Founded in 1951 and originally run in June, the festival has been held every February since 1978 and is one of Europ ...

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

: Special Youth Prize, 1967 * 18th Canadian Film Awards,

: Best Editing, 1966 '' Ladies and Gentlemen... Mr. Leonard Cohen'' (1965) * 18th Canadian Film Awards, Montreal: Genie Award for Best Film, TV Information, 1966 * American Film and Video Festival, New York: Blue Ribbon, Literature, 1966 * International Festival of Short Films,

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

: Award for Exceptional Merit, 1968 '' Notes for a Film About Donna and Gail'' (1966) * Montreal International Film Festival,

: First Prize, Medium Length, 1966 * 19th Canadian Film Awards, Montreal: Genie Award for Best Film, General Information, 1967 * Melbourne Film Festival,

: Diploma of Merit, 1967 '' The Ernie Game'' (1967) * 20th Canadian Film Awards,

: Genie Award for Best Feature Film, 1968 * 20th Canadian Film Awards,

: Genie Award for Best Direction to Don Owen, 1968 *

Barcelona International Film Festival Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a pop ...

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

: Honourable Mention, 1968

References

External links

Watch films by Don Owen
at the National Film Board of Canada
Don Owen at the Canadian Film Encyclopedia

''Making Movie History: Don Owen'', interview at NFB.ca
{{DEFAULTSORT:Owen, Don Canadian documentary film directors 1935 births Film directors from Toronto BAFTA winners (people) National Film Board of Canada people 2016 deaths Best Director Genie and Canadian Screen Award winners University of Toronto alumni Best Editing Genie and Canadian Screen Award winners