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Donald Everett Shebib (27 January 1938 – 5 November 2023) was a Canadian film and television director. Shebib was a central figure in the development of English Canadian cinema who made several short documentaries for 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 ...
and
CBC Television CBC Television (also known as CBC TV, or simply CBC) is a Television in Canada, Canadian English-language terrestrial television, broadcast television network owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the national public broadcasting, p ...
in the 1960s before turning to feature films, beginning with the influential '' Goin' Down the Road'' (1970) and what many call his masterpiece, '' Between Friends'' (1973). He soon became frustrated by the bureaucratic process of film funding in Canada and chronic problems with distribution as well as a string of box office disappointments. After '' Heartaches'' (1981), he made fewer films for theatrical release and worked more in television. Shebib was Noah "40" Shebib's father.


Early life

Shebib was born in
Toronto, Ontario 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 ...
, the son of Mary Alice Long, a Newfoundlander of Irish descent, and Moses "Morris" Shebib, born in
Sydney, Nova Scotia Sydney is a former city and urban community on the east coast of Cape Breton Island in Nova Scotia, Canada within the Cape Breton Regional Municipality. Sydney was founded in 1785 by the British, was incorporated as a city in 1904, and dissolv ...
, in 1910, himself the son of Lebanese immigrants. Shebib grew up in an economically precarious household, and in a neighbourhood where he felt he was an outsider, "growing up with a name like Shebib, very working class, being raised a Catholic in Orange Ontario", conceding he "probably took it more sensitively" than he had to, adding that he was always shy in high school: "I didn't know where I fit in. I grew up feeling pretty inferior." In a 2011 interview with Andrea Nemetz in the '' Halifax Chronicle Herald'', Shebib said: "I was aware of migratory experiences – like the Okies in California in the dust bowl. I had a cousin who came to stay with us in Toronto in the late 1950s and he tried to make a go of it and couldn't and went back to the Maritimes." The young Shebib grew up loving sports,
comic books A comic book, comic-magazine, or simply comic is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panel (comics), panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are often accompanied by descriptive prose and wri ...
, and
Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood ...
"chestnuts" or vintage films, the family acquired their first television set in 1952; for a certain time, Shebib refused to watch any film made after 1940.


Education

Shebib played semi-pro
football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...
as a young man, and studied sociology and history 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 ...
. While very interested in sociological patterns from history, he did not enjoy reading enough to pursue this interest further academically, but was still looking for something to do that would appeal to his "jock and artist impulses". In 1961, Shebib enrolled in the
UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television The UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television (UCLA TFT), is one of the 12 schools within the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) located in Los Angeles, California. Its creation was groundbreaking in that it was the first time a leadi ...
, where he gained early experience working on
Roger Corman Roger William Corman (April 5, 1926 – May 9, 2024) was an American film director, producer, and actor. Known under various monikers such as "The Pope of Pop Cinema", "The Spiritual Godfather of the New Hollywood", and "The King of Cult", he w ...
productions, notably as a cinematographer and assistant editor on ''
Dementia 13 ''Dementia 13'' (released in the United Kingdom as ''The Haunted and the Hunted'') is a 1963 Horror film, horror Thriller (genre), thriller film written and directed by Francis Ford Coppola in his feature film directorial debut, and starring Wi ...
'' (1962), his classmate
Francis Ford Coppola Francis Ford Coppola ( ; born April 7, 1939) is an American filmmaker. He is considered one of the leading figures of the New Hollywood and one of the greatest filmmakers of all time. List of awards and nominations received by Francis Ford Coppo ...
's first film, and ''
The Terror The Reign of Terror (French: ''La Terreur'', literally "The Terror") was a period of the French Revolution when, following the creation of the First Republic, a series of massacres and numerous public executions took place in response to ...
'' (1963). He also made his earliest
short film A short film is a film with a low running time. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of not more than 40 minutes including all credits". Other film o ...
s. In 1965, he graduated with a
Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Those admitted to the degree have ...
, but decided to return home rather than pursue a career in
Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood ...
.


Career

Over the next five years, Shebib found his way into the Canadian film industry and quickly established himself, reflecting on his decision to return in 1970:
There's more of a chance here... and it's much easier to get started. There isn't really all that much filmmaking to be done in the States. Educational TV has opened up some opportunities for the documentary, but other than that there is nothing at all. Period. Flat. Nothing exists. Nothing at all.


Short documentaries

Shebib directed, shot, and edited several award-winning, "lucid" documentaries for 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 ...
,
CTV Television Network The CTV Television Network, commonly known as CTV, is a Television in Canada, Canadian English-language terrestrial television network. Launched in 1961 and acquired by BCE Inc. in 2000, CTV is Canada's largest privately owned List of Canadian ...
, and the
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (), branded as CBC/Radio-Canada, is the Canadian Public broadcasting, public broadcaster for both radio and television. It is a Crown corporation that serves as the national public broadcaster, with its E ...
in the 1960s, notably his thesis film, ''The Duel'' (1962), ''Surfin (1964), ''Satan's Choice'' (1965), an inside view of the
motorcycle club A motorcycle club is a group of individuals whose primary interest and activities involve motorcycles. A motorcycle group can range as clubbed groups of different bikes or bikers who own same model of vehicle like the Harley Owners Group. There ...
, and '' Good Times, Bad Times'' (1969), before turning to feature filmmaking.


Feature films


Debut

Shebib gained prominence and critical acclaim in Canadian cinema for his seminal 1970 feature '' Goin' Down the Road'', which combined narrative storytelling with Canadian documentary tradition influenced by the British. The low-budget film crew travelled around
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 ...
in a station wagon, supported by funding from the newly formed Canadian Film Development Corporation. The movie was screened in New York and hailed by
Pauline Kael Pauline Kael (; June 19, 1919 – September 3, 2001) was an American film critic who wrote for ''The New Yorker'' from 1968 to 1991. Known for her "witty, biting, highly opinionated and sharply focused" reviews, Kael often defied the conse ...
and
Roger Ebert Roger Joseph Ebert ( ; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American Film criticism, film critic, film historian, journalist, essayist, screenwriter and author. He wrote for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. Eber ...
. Kael wrote that the movie showed up the ostensibly forced sincerity and perceived honesty of the films of
John Cassavetes John Nicholas Cassavetes (December 9, 1929 – February 3, 1989) was an American filmmaker and actor. He began as an actor in film and television before helping to pioneer modern American independent cinema as a writer and director, often self- ...
. It has consistently remained near the top of the list of top 10 films made in Canada in three separate surveys of academics, critics, and film programmers, and was designated a "masterwork" by the
Audio-Visual Preservation Trust of Canada The Audio-Visual Preservation Trust of Canada (or the AV Trust). originally the Alliance for the Preservation of Canada's Audio-Visual Heritage,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 ...
in conjunction with
Telefilm Canada Telefilm Canada is a Canadian Crown corporation that supports Canada's audiovisual industry. Headquartered in Montreal, Telefilm Canada provides services to the Canadian audiovisual industry with four regional offices in Vancouver, British Colu ...
. The film was digitally remastered as one of the key films in the Canadian film canon and was honoured with a screening at the
Art Gallery of Ontario The Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO; ) is an art museum in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Located on Dundas Street, Dundas Street West in the Grange Park (neighbourhood), Grange Park neighbourhood of downtown Toronto, the museum complex takes up of phys ...
.


Later features and sequel

Following the success of ''Goin' Down the Road,'' Shebib expressed a preference for making dramatic rather than documentary films going forward, and directed a mix of commercially unsuccessful genre films beginning with the teen comedy '' Rip-Off'' (1971) and the critically acclaimed '' Between Friends'' (1973), a somber story of a pair of aspiring surfers who plan a mining robbery in Northern Ontario that goes wrong. Shebib was one of four directors, and many critics, who felt the wrong film had won the Best Feature Film at the 25th Canadian Film Awards, which was already under pressure from a boycott of the awards by Quebec filmmakers. In its December 1973 year in review ''
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 ...
'' singled out the Canadian Film Award jury for a special "Grand Prix for General All-Around Stupidity" for the Awards' choice over four much stronger nominees. Worse still, the ceremony itself was cancelled and all the promotional planning along with it:
In unison, the long promise of the Canadian industry and Don Shebib seemed to be coming to fruition this year: Shebib had made the film which was the confirmation of all his earlier work; there were six strong feature entries in the Canadian Film Awards; the Awards were to be carried on network television; the films were booked to open across the country with full publicity—all firsts. But instead both had their heads bitten off. Today, Don Shebib says he will never again enter a film in the Canadian Film Awards, that he needs a job and would take one in the U.S. in a minute. This is not sour grapes from someone who's inadequate. This is English Canada's best feature filmmaker reacting to the treatment of the best feature film he's ever made.
The awards scheduled for the following year were cancelled and did not return until 1975. Shebib did enter his next film, '' Second Wind'' (1976) and won the award for Best Editing. Neither it nor '' Fish Hawk'' (1979) were commercial successes. He found success once more with '' Heartaches'' (1981), described by Wyndham Wise as a variation of ''Goin' Down the Road'' with a pair of working-class women. Beginning in the 1980s, Shebib worked primarily in television, but occasionally returned to feature films with '' Running Brave'' (1983), '' Change of Heart'' (1993), '' The Ascent'' (1994), and '' Down the Road Again'' (2011), a sequel to ''Goin' down the Road'', featuring some of the original cast members as well as a new generation of characters. In between ''The Ascent'' and ''Down the Road Again'', Shebib said there had been little work, though he had written a few scripts. There was some talk of Shebib directing Rob Stefaniuk in a film called ''Bart Fargo'', an homage to '' La Petomane'', in 2004 and 2005, but it is unclear as to whether it was made, completed, and released. In 2008, he was quoted as saying that Canada was a great place to make a first film, but "a hard place to keep things going."


''Nightalk''

Shebib's son Noah "40" Shebib is the executive producer of his father's last film, '' Nightalk'', which stars Ashley Bryant and Al Mukadam. The film premiered on September 16, 2022, at the
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 ...
.


Television

Shebib earned critical acclaim and a
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 '' Good Times, Bad Times'', made for the CBC in 1969. Another television film, '' The Fighting Men'' (1977), was later given a theatrical release. The director's later television work included '' By Reason of Insanity'' (1982), '' Slim Obsession'' (1984) both made for the CBC series '' For the Record'' and sold to overseas markets, and the television movies '' The Climb'' (1986), '' The Little Kidnappers'' (1990) and '' The Pathfinder'' (1996). In the 21st century, the
Gilbert and Sullivan Gilbert and Sullivan refers to the Victorian-era theatrical partnership of the dramatist W. S. Gilbert (1836–1911) and the composer Arthur Sullivan (1842–1900) and to the works they jointly created. The two men collaborated on fourteen com ...
documentary ''A Song to Sing-O'' (2007) was well received. Drama series work included '' The Edison Twins'', ''
Night Heat ''Night Heat'' is a Canadian police crime drama series that aired on both CTV in Canada and CBS in the United States. Original episodes were broadcast from 1985 to 1989. ''Night Heat'' was the first Canadian original drama series that was sim ...
'', '' Counterstrike'' and '' The Zack Files.''


Philosophy and aesthetics

In 1970, Shebib said that his personal philosophy was influenced by television and the Canadian media theorist
Marshall McLuhan Herbert Marshall McLuhan (, ; July 21, 1911 – December 31, 1980) was a Canadian philosopher whose work is among the cornerstones of the study of media studies, media theory. Raised in Winnipeg, McLuhan studied at the University of Manitoba a ...
. Shebib watched
Turner Classic Movies Turner Classic Movies (TCM) is an American movie channel, movie-oriented pay television, pay-TV television network, network owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. Launched in 1994, Turner Classic Movies is headquartered at Turner's Techwood broadcas ...
"religiously", and after
John Ford John Martin Feeney (February 1, 1894 – August 31, 1973), better known as John Ford, was an American film director and producer. He is regarded as one of the most important and influential filmmakers during the Golden Age of Hollywood, and w ...
, his favourite directors were
Frank Capra Frank Russell Capra (born Francesco Rosario Capra; May 18, 1897 – September 3, 1991) was an Italian-American film director, producer, and screenwriter who was the creative force behind Frank Capra filmography#Films that won Academy Award ...
,
William Wellman William Augustus Wellman (February 29, 1896 – December 9, 1975) was an American film director, producer, screenwriter, actor and military pilot. He was known for his work in Crime film, crime, Adventure film, adventure, and Action film, a ...
,
Howard Hawks Howard Winchester Hawks (May 30, 1896December 26, 1977) was an American film director, Film producer, producer, and screenwriter of the Classical Hollywood cinema, classic Hollywood era. Critic Leonard Maltin called him "the greatest American ...
,
Marcel Carné Marcel Albert Carné (; 18 August 1906 – 31 October 1996) was a French film director. A key figure in the poetic realism movement, Carné's best known films include ''Port of Shadows'' (1938), ''Le Jour Se Lève'' (1939), ''Les Visiteurs du Soi ...
,
David Lean Sir David Lean (25 March 190816 April 1991) was an English film director, producer, screenwriter, and editor, widely considered one of the most important figures of Cinema of the United Kingdom, British cinema. He directed the large-scale epi ...
("especially his early stuff") and F.W. Murnau ("''
Sunrise Sunrise (or sunup) is the moment when the upper rim of the Sun appears on the horizon in the morning, at the start of the Sun path. The term can also refer to the entire process of the solar disk crossing the horizon. Terminology Although the S ...
'' is one of my favorite films"):
These films made from 1930 to 1934, the
Pre-Code Pre-Code Hollywood was an era in the Cinema of the United States, American film industry that occurred between the widespread adoption of sound in film in the late 1920s and the enforcement of the Motion Picture Production Code censorship gui ...
films, are among the best Hollywood films ever made. People always think 1939 was the sort of glory year of American film. Actually I'd say it was 1933. The films made before the code were infinitely superior.
He said he approved of a few contemporary Canadian feature filmmakers, but found CBC film dramas "just dreadful" and "boring", dismissing them as "silly stories of girls growing up in the prairies", while at the same time he found the broadcaster's "tape dramas" were still "wonderful, they still have that expertise". In 2011, Shebib told Geoff Pevere he had expanded his range of Hollywood cinematic viewing from watching only films up to 1950 to films made as late as and even later than 1950, but contended that movies mainly "went in the toilet" after 1950 (with some notable exceptions like
Stanley Kramer Stanley Earl Kramer (September 29, 1913February 19, 2001) was an American film director and producer, responsible for making many of Hollywood's most famous " message films" (he called his movies ''heavy dramas'') and a liberal movie icon.
's ''
The Defiant Ones ''The Defiant Ones'' is a 1958 American drama film produced and directed by Stanley Kramer. The film was adapted by Harold Jacob Smith from the story by Nedrick Young, originally credited as Nathan E. Douglas. It stars Tony Curtis and Sidney ...
'', a "perfect movie" made in 1958). His dislike for the styles (and subjects) employed by contemporary films was matched by his "seething disdain of critics" and a "testy" ambivalence with respect to the quality of his own work (he called himself "lazy and sloppy" in the execution of his work): Pevere's assessment: "Shebib is an old-fashioned traditionalist adrift in a modernist cultural movement, and therefore as much an outsider as anybody he'd make movies about." His feelings of ambivalence extend to a "reluctance to accept being the designated representative of Canadian anything": "I don't like the idea of suddenly being used as a model for Canada or something. Why take me – whatever my feelings are – and blame that on the Canadian people?"


Style and technique

In 1973, Shebib said that an
independent film An independent film, independent movie, indie film, or indie movie is a feature film or short film that is film production, produced outside the Major film studios, major film studio system in addition to being produced and distributed by independ ...
maker must become involved in all aspects of the filmmaking process. Restating this in a 1982 interview, he noted that few filmmakers were capable of directing, writing, and editing the same film, and that, as a Canadian commercial filmmaker, he believed his own taste was more in tune with that of the general public than other "intellectual" filmmakers who were making "pretentious" and "dull" films. Shebib believed in the
John Ford John Martin Feeney (February 1, 1894 – August 31, 1973), better known as John Ford, was an American film director and producer. He is regarded as one of the most important and influential filmmakers during the Golden Age of Hollywood, and w ...
style of cinematic storytelling. In 1993, he said that conflict is essential to a film and should be inherent to the basic structure, and should be present in every scene, every change of scene, of a film: "Conflict is one of the basic essences of humanity."


Recurring themes and socio-political views

The director's own youth as an "outsider" is particularly reflected in the early short films: "every one of Shebib's two dozen films has studied the shades of yet another caste of society's disbarred... who never quite make it to their place in the sun." Geoff Pevere remarked that almost without exception, the documentary shorts dealt with "isolated individuals or groups existing on the periphery of mainstream society", sometimes as a lifestyle choice as in ''Surfin and ''Satan's Choice'' (1966), but also as "a forced condition dictated by an unfeeling, ungrateful society", referencing ''Good Times, Bad Times'' and the later ''We've Come Along Way Together'', "a poignant, compassionate exploration of old age in a world busting its ass to stay young and beautiful." In the mid 1970s, Peter Harcourt remarked on the frequent moments of silence denoting
introspection Introspection is the examination of one's own conscious thoughts and feelings. In psychology, the process of introspection relies on the observation of one's mental state, while in a spiritual context it may refer to the examination of one's s ...
in Shebib's films, both in the early documentaries and in the feature films, a "feeling of emptiness, of restlessness, often of irrelevance". Shebib places great value on "male comradeship" and "the need of real challenges to give individuals a sense of their dignity". Piers Handling noted that Shebib was so preoccupied with
male bonding In ethology and social science, male bonding or male friendship is the formation of close personal relationships, and patterns of friendship or cooperation between males. Male bonding is a form of homosociality, or social connection between indiv ...
that women were absent from his work prior to the start of his feature film career, and likewise identified a tension between the desire to transcend boundaries and existential limits. Sam Weisberg asserts that "all of his films share a common interest in, and empathy with, the extraordinary aspirations of ordinary people," whether "goofy teenagers" trying to make it as a rock band (''Rip-Off''), a "bored businessman" who takes up jogging (''Second Wind''), or an Italian prisoner of war "itching to climb Mount Kenya" (''The Ascent''). Shebib still considered himself a sociologist at heart, and suggested his films had a strong sociological basis, incorporating social commentary, human relationships being a frequent theme. However, he never considered himself an intellectual: he "didn't talk like one"; not that he was
anti-intellectual Anti-intellectualism is hostility to and mistrust of intellect, intellectuals, and intellectualism, commonly expressed as deprecation of education and philosophy and the dismissal of art, literature, history, and science as impractical, politica ...
, just "anti-bullshit": politically "liberal" but not
laissez-faire ''Laissez-faire'' ( , from , ) is a type of economic system in which transactions between private groups of people are free from any form of economic interventionism (such as subsidies or regulations). As a system of thought, ''laissez-faire'' ...
or "bleeding heart", and with "socialist leftist leanings", but believing that
Marxism Marxism is a political philosophy and method of socioeconomic analysis. It uses a dialectical and materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to analyse class relations, social conflict, ...
is "just another form of bullshit", not that capitalists were "any better".


Critical assessment and influence

John Hofsess remarked in 1971 that Shebib's documentary style, developed over five years, is "suffused with a wry, ironic humanism", a "superb style for needling the sacred cows of the establishment and the sanctimonious bull of counter-culture groups" a style often maintained even in Shebib's second dramatic feature, '' Rip-Off.'' Sandra Gathercole found it impossible to overstate his significance as "one of the few English Canadian filmmakers whose work illustrates what is meant by indigenous, rather than derivative, Canadian films – films with a character, integrity and identity that are the backbone of any hope we have for an autonomous Canadian industry." As late as 1993, ''Goin' Down the Road'' still had "legendary status" and as of the
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 ...
's most recent poll of greatest Canadian films, is ranked 6th. It had done more than any other work to advance the Canadian film industry at the time of its release. Within a few years, Shebib's body of work had made him a "unique and recognizable film presence" in Canada and beyond, "verging on international stature." Scholar Katherine A. Roberts remarks how, since the release of Shebib's film, "numerous Canadian filmmakers have sought to explore the mobility/masculinity nexus as it relates to landscape and the national narrative." Sam Weisberg opines that, with the exception of ''Between Friends'' (1973), none of Shebib's feature films made after ''Goin' Down the Road'' have quite the same resonance. Despite his artistic vision and technical skills, a perception grew that Shebib was "his own worst publicity agent", complaining regularly that his scripts were weak or else that he had difficulties with actors. By 1993, after having directed eight feature length dramatic films, around thirty documentaries, and "scores of TV dramas and series" over twenty-five years, Shebib was finding it hard to find work, even in television: "People have given me the reputation of being terrible-tempered on the set, of being hard to work with. But I don't know where that comes from, I'm really the softest guy in the world." When Geoff Pevere interviewed him in 2011, then aged 73, he found Shebib "generous, courteous, and thoughtful", but he had certainly not mellowed: "He can't help himself, even if it has cost him dearly in professional terms." In 2017, Shebib was presented with a
Directors Guild of Canada The Directors Guild of Canada (DGC; ) is a Canadian labour union representing more than 5,500 professionals from 48 different occupations in the Canadian film and television industry. Founded in 1962, the DGC represents directors, editors, assist ...
Lifetime Achievement Award.


Legacy


Don Shebib Collection

In 1999, the TIFF Reference Library in Toronto received "records created by Shebib and his collaborators," consisting of "script drafts and occasional production records" ranging in production date from "circa 1969 to 1994."


Personal life


Pastimes

Shebib surfed while he lived in
Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
, and continued to play football until 1981 when he had to stop due to shoulder injuries, nevertheless remaining active: he played golf and
rock climb Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...
ed, still able to train enough in 1993 to make the
mountain climbing Mountaineering, mountain climbing, or alpinism is a set of outdoor activities that involves ascending mountains. Mountaineering-related activities include traditional outdoor climbing, skiing, and traversing via ferratas that have become mounta ...
film, ''The Ascent'', for which he climbed up to 15,000 feet. In 2011, Shebib said of his hobbies and sporting life that he was "a very serious, obsessive person. If it isn't golf it's football or it's stamp collecting. And I was a serious airplane model maker."


Marriage and children

Shebib married Canadian actress Tedde Moore, whom he met through a mutual friend. Tedde Moore is known for her role as Miss Shields in ''
A Christmas Story ''A Christmas Story'' is a 1983 Christmas comedy film directed by Bob Clark and based on the 1966 book '' In God We Trust: All Others Pay Cash'' by Jean Shepherd, with some elements from his 1971 book ''Wanda Hickey's Night of Golden Memories ...
'' and she was pregnant with their son Noah during filming. They no longer lived together, though Moore called him her "life partner." Their two children Noah and Suzanna are both involved in the performing arts: Suzanna began her career an actress, while Noah, better known as
OVO Sound OVO Sound (short for October's Very Own) is a Canadian independent record label, founded in 2012 by rapper Drake, producer 40, and manager Oliver El-Khatib. The label operated as a subsidiary of Warner Music Group until 2022, after which it ...
's " 40", an actor and music producer (the siblings have an older half-sister, Zoe). Suzanna is now a chemistry teacher at Toronto's Central Technical School.


Friendships and connections

Shebib met his lifelong friend
Carroll Ballard Carroll Ballard (born October 14, 1937) is an American filmmaker. Originally a Documentary film, documentarian, he became known for directing sweeping, visually striking films with Nature, natural and ecological themes. His body of work include ...
, with whom he often collaborated, while attending classes at UCLA. In a 1982 interview, he said that Ballard was one of the few contemporary filmmakers he admired. Shebib attended classes at UCLA with
Francis Ford Coppola Francis Ford Coppola ( ; born April 7, 1939) is an American filmmaker. He is considered one of the leading figures of the New Hollywood and one of the greatest filmmakers of all time. List of awards and nominations received by Francis Ford Coppo ...
and worked with him on ''
Dementia 13 ''Dementia 13'' (released in the United Kingdom as ''The Haunted and the Hunted'') is a 1963 Horror film, horror Thriller (genre), thriller film written and directed by Francis Ford Coppola in his feature film directorial debut, and starring Wi ...
''. He also "hung out" with
Jim Morrison James Douglas Morrison (December 8, 1943 – July 3, 1971) was an American singer, songwriter, and poet who was the lead vocalist and primary lyricist of the rock band the Doors. Due to his charismatic persona, poetic lyrics, distinctive vo ...
during this period, and one summer
Beach Boys The Beach Boys are an American rock band formed in Hawthorne, California, in 1961. The group's original lineup consisted of brothers Brian, Dennis, and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and their friend Al Jardine. Distinguished by thei ...
guitarist
Al Jardine Alan Charles Jardine (born September 3, 1942) is an American musician who co-founded the Beach Boys. He is best known as the band's rhythm guitarist, background vocalist, and for occasionally singing lead vocals on singles such as number-one hit ...
stayed with him and his roommates, sharing a love of
Gilbert and Sullivan Gilbert and Sullivan refers to the Victorian-era theatrical partnership of the dramatist W. S. Gilbert (1836–1911) and the composer Arthur Sullivan (1842–1900) and to the works they jointly created. The two men collaborated on fourteen com ...
musical numbers. On his return to Toronto, Shebib met and befriended writer and editor
William Fruet William Fruet (born January 1, 1933) is a Canadian film and television director, playwright and screenwriter. He made his directorial debut with the drama '' Wedding in White'' (1972), based on a play he had also written. The film won Best Pictur ...
when he began working for the CBC on '' The Way It Is''. He was close friends and dated dancer and columnist Zella Wolofsky who provided guidance on the beginning and ending of Nightalk. She and his son
Noah Noah (; , also Noach) appears as the last of the Antediluvian Patriarchs (Bible), patriarchs in the traditions of Abrahamic religions. His story appears in the Hebrew Bible (Book of Genesis, chapters 5–9), the Quran and Baháʼí literature, ...
shared Don's primary caregiving during his final weeks alive.


Death

Donald Shebib died on 5 November 2023, at the age of 85.


Selected accolades

* Canadian Film Awards ** Best Feature Length Documentary, '' Good Times, Bad Times'' (1969) ** Best Feature Film, '' Goin' Down the Road'' (1970) ** Best Editing, '' Second Wind'' (1976) * Columbus International Film Festival **Chris Bronze Plaque, '' Slim Obsession'' (1984) *
Directors Guild of Canada The Directors Guild of Canada (DGC; ) is a Canadian labour union representing more than 5,500 professionals from 48 different occupations in the Canadian film and television industry. Founded in 1962, the DGC represents directors, editors, assist ...
**Lifetime Achievement Award (2017)


Filmography


Films


Early short films and documentaries

;• Student films (UCLA) * 1961 ''The Train'' (13 min.,
16mm 16 mm film is a historically popular and economical gauge of film. 16 mm refers to the width of the film (about inch); other common film gauges include 8 mm and 35 mm. It is generally used for non-theatrical (e.g., industrial, ...
) * 1962 ''Joey'' (10 min., 16mm) ** ''The Duel'' (27 min., 16mm) (thesis) * 1963 ''Revival'' (10 min., 16mm) ** ''Reparations'' (unfinished, 16mm) * 1964 ''Surfin (25 min., 16mm) ** ''Eddie'' (40 min., 16mm) ** ''Autumnpan'' (60 min., 16mm) ;• National Film Board * 1965 ''Satan's Choice'' (28 min., 16mm) * 1966 ''A Search for Learning'' (13 min., 16mm)


Feature films

* 1970 — '' Goin' Down the Road'' (87 min., 16mm; also writer) * 1971 — '' Rip-Off'' (89 min.; co-editor) * 1973 — '' Between Friends'' (91 min.; co-editor) * 1976 — '' Second Wind'' (93 min.; also editor) * 1979 — '' Fish Hawk'' (97 min.) * 1981 — '' Heartaches'' (105 min.; video release 90 min.) * 1983 — '' Running Brave'' (106 min.; as "D.S. Everett") * 1993 — '' Change of Heart'' (96 min.) * 1994 — '' The Ascent'' (96 min.) * 2011 — '' Down the Road Again'' (84 min.) * 2022 — '' Nightalk''


Television


Films

;• Documentaries * 1966 ''Allan'' (
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 ** ...
, 22 min., 16mm) * 1966-67 CTV, ''This Land Is People'' **1966 ''David Secter'' (14 min., 16mm); ''June Marks'' (15 min., 16mm); ''Christalot Hanson'' (15 min., 16mm) **1967 ''Everdale Place'' (22 min., 16mm) *1967 CBC, ''TBA'': ''Basketball'' (24 min., 16mm) *1967-69 CBC,'' The Way It Is'' **1967 ''Satan's Choice'' (short version, 8 min., 16mm); ''
Haight-Ashbury Haight-Ashbury () is a district of San Francisco, California, named for the intersection of Haight and Ashbury streets. It is also called the Haight and the Upper Haight. The neighborhood is known as one of the main centers of the countercultu ...
''; **1968 '' San Francisco Summer 1967'' (59 min., 16mm); ''Unknown Soldier'' (7 min., 16mm); ''Stanfield'' (20 min., 16mm); ''Graduation Day'' (7 min., 16mm) **1969 '' Good Times, Bad Times'' (40 min.;; rebroadcast 1974: ''Such Is Life'') * 1972 CBC, ''
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 ...
'': ''Born Hustler'' (25 min., 16mm) * 1974 CBC, '' Gallery'': ''Winning is the Only Thing!'' (24 min., 16mm) ** CBC, '' Of All People'': ''Mrs. Gray'' (22 min., 16mm) ** CTV, ''We've Come a Long Way Together'' (29 min., 16mm) *1990
CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...
, '' Top Cops'': ''Larry Mullane/John Benedict'' *2007 Bravo!: ''A Song to Sing-O'' ;• Dramas and docudramas * 1975 ''The Canary'' (48 min., 16mm; CBC, ''Performance'') * 1977 ''Old Man Reever'' (40 min., 16mm; CBC, ''This Monday'') ** '' The Fighting Men'' (75 min., 16mm; CBC, '' Saturday Night Movies''; 1988 theatrical release: ''Men of Steel'', 91 min., 35mm) * 1982 '' By Reason of Insanity'' (60 min., 16mm; CBC, '' For the Record'') * 1984 '' Slim Obsession'' (60 min., 16mm; CBC, ''For the Record'') * 1986 '' The Climb'' (90 min.;
BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
/CTV, ''Mountain Men''; edited version in ''Summits of Glory'' anthology) ** '' The Little Kidnappers'' (CBC/
Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Di ...
) * 1996 '' The Pathfinder'' (
Hallmark A hallmark is an official Mark (sign), mark or series of marks struck on items made of metal, mostly to certify the content of noble metals—such as platinum, gold, silver and in some nations, palladium. In a more general sense, the term ''Wikti ...
) * 1997 ''Highwayman'' ( Showtime, '' Dead Man's Gun'')


Dramatic series episodes

Shebib directed at least one episode of the following series. * 1974 '' The Collaborators'' (CBC): "Deedee", "Once Upon a Time in Genarro" * 1978 ''
Sidestreet ''Sidestreet'' is a Canadian television drama, which aired Sundays on CBC from 1975 to 1978. It stars Sean McCann and Donnelly Rhodes as police working in Toronto. Background ''Sidestreet'' succeeded '' The Collaborators'' as the CBC's main seri ...
'' (CBC): "Holiday for Homicide" * 1985–1986 '' The Edison Twins'' (CBC): 4 episodes * 1987 '' Danger Bay'' (CBC): "All the King's Horses", "S.S. Friendship" ** ''
Diamonds Diamond is a solid form of the element carbon with its atoms arranged in a crystal structure called diamond cubic. Diamond is tasteless, odourless, strong, brittle solid, colourless in pure form, a poor conductor of electricity, and insol ...
'' ** ''
Night Heat ''Night Heat'' is a Canadian police crime drama series that aired on both CTV in Canada and CBS in the United States. Original episodes were broadcast from 1985 to 1989. ''Night Heat'' was the first Canadian original drama series that was sim ...
'': "Bad Timing" "Vantage Point", "The Mercenary" ** ''
Sea Hunt ''Sea Hunt'' is an American action adventure television series that aired in syndication from 1958 to 1961 and was popular for decades afterwards. The series originally aired for four seasons, with 155 episodes produced. It stars Lloyd Bridges ...
'': 5 episodes ** '' T. and T.'' * 1987–1988: '' Katts and Dog'' * 1988–1990: '' The Campbells'': "Ancient Wounds", "The Miller's Son", "The Reluctant Candidate", "Fortunes of War", "The Sky Is the Limit" ** '' My Secret Identity'': "The Lost Weekend", "Look Before You Leap", "When the Sun Goes Down", "White Lies", "Seems Like Only Yesterday" * 1990–1992 ''
E.N.G. ''E.N.G.'' is a Canadian television drama, following the staff of a fictional Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capi ...
'': "All Things Betray Thee", "Lest You Be Judged", "Harvest" * 1991 '' Street Justice'' (CBC): "Shadows" ** 1990–1993: '' Counterstrike'': "Verathion", "Masks", "Clearcut" * 1994–1995 '' Lonesome Dove: The Series'': "Law and Order", "Blood Money", "Rebellion" * 1997–1999 ''
Wind at My Back ''Wind at My Back'' is a television series which aired in Canada on CBC Television between 1996 and 2001. It was created and produced by Kevin Sullivan (producer), Kevin Sullivan, best known for his adaptation of ''Anne of Green Gables (1985 film ...
'': "Triple Trouble", "New Directions", "Grace of Hollywood" * 1998 '' Police Academy: The Series'': "Mr. I.Q.", "The Truth Ain't What It Used to Be", "Luke...Warm" * 1998 '' The New Addams Family'': "Cousin Itt Visits the Addams Family", "Thing Is Missing" * 2000 '' Code Name: Eternity'': "Dark of Night" * 2001–2002 '' Caitlin's Way'': "Duh Truth, Uh-Huh" * 2000–2002 '' The Zack Files'': "Captain Sonic", "Things to Do at Horace Hyde White When You're Dead", "Zack Greenburg's Day Off" * 2003 ''
Radio Free Roscoe ''Radio Free Roscoe'' is a teen drama, teen comedy-drama television series. The series was filmed in Toronto, Ontario, and produced by DHX Media, Decode Entertainment. It first aired on August 1, 2003, on Family Channel (Canadian TV network), F ...
''


Further reading

;Monographs * Handling, Piers. ''The Films of Don Shebib.'' Canadian Film Institute, 1978 (Canadian film series ; 2). * Pevere, Geoff. ''Donald Shebib's 'Goin' Down the Road. University of Toronto Press, 2012 (Canadian cinema ; 8). ;Essay *Harcourt, Peter. "Men of vision: Donald Shebib." ''
Cinema Canada ''Cinema Canada'' (1972–1989) is a defunct Canadian film magazine, which served as the trade journal of record for the Canadian film and television sector. The magazine had its origins in the Canadian Society of Cinematographers (CSC), which be ...
'' 32 (November 1976): 35–40.


References


Notes


External links


Northern Stars: Donald Shebib

Donald Shebib
on the Canadian Film Encyclopedia *
Donald Shebib
at the National Film Board (''Satan's Choice'' and ''A Search for Learning'')
Article at thecanadianencyclopedia.ca
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shebib, Donald 1938 births 2023 deaths Best Editing Genie and Canadian Screen Award winners Film producers from Ontario Canadian male screenwriters Film directors from Toronto Screenwriters from Toronto Canadian people of Irish descent Canadian people of Lebanese descent Canadian television directors Directors of Genie and Canadian Screen Award winners for Best Documentary Film University of Toronto alumni Producers of Best Picture Genie and Canadian Screen Award winners