Martin Duckworth (born March 8, 1933) is a Canadian

documentary A documentary film (often described simply as a documentary) is a nonfiction Film, motion picture intended to "document reality, primarily for instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". The American author and ...

director Director may refer to: Literature * ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine * ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker * ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty Music * Director (band), an Irish rock band * ''D ...

and

cinematographer The cinematographer or director of photography (sometimes shortened to DP or DOP) is the person responsible for the recording of a film, television production, music video or other live-action piece. The cinematographer is the chief of the camera ...

who was on staff at the

National Film Board 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 ...

from 1963 to 1970 and has continued to work with them as a freelance filmmaker. He was cinematographer on more than 100 films, and directed or co-directed 30, most of them with the NFB. His credits as director include ''12,000 Men'' and ''Return to Dresden'' (Golden Sheaf awards at Yorkton, 1979 and 1986), '' A Wives' Tale'' (Quebec Critics’ Choice 1980), '' No More Hiroshima'' (Genie 1984), ''Our Last Days in Moscow'' (best direction FIFA1987), ''Oliver Jones in Africa'' (Mannheim Ducate 1990), and ''Brush with Life'' (Hot Docs Best Film 1994). His cinematography work has included '' Christopher's Movie Matinée'', directed by

Mort Ransen Mort Ransen (August 16, 1933 – September 4, 2021) was a Canadian film and television director, editor, screenwriter and producer, best known for his Genie Award-winning 1995 film ''Margaret's Museum''. Early life Ransen was born Moishe Socora ...

(1968), '' Sad Song of Yellow Skin'', by Michael Rubbo (1970), ''Le bonhomme'', by Pierre Maheu (1972), ''La richesse des autres'', by Maurice Bulbulian (1973), ''Falasha'' by Peter Raymont (1983), ''La bombe en bonus'', by Audrey Schirmer (1986), ''Between Two Worlds'' by Barry Greenwald (1990), ''Seeing Red'' by

Julia Reichert Julia Bell Reichert (June 16, 1946 – December 1, 2022) was an American Academy Award-winning documentary filmmaker, activist, and feminist. She was a co-founder of New Day Films. Reichert's filmmaking career spanned over 50 years as a director ...

(1993), ''Maureen Forrester, the Diva in Winter'', by Donald Winkler (1999), ''Return to Kandahar'' by

Paul Jay Paul Jay (born 1951) is a journalist, filmmaker, is the founder, editor-in-chief, and host of theAnalysis.news, a news analysis service. He was the founder, CEO and senior editor of The Real News Network (TRNN). Jay was born and raised in Toront ...

(2003), ''Professor Norman Cornett'', by

Alanis Obomsawin Alanis Obomsawin, (born August 31, 1932) is an Abenaki people, Abenaki American Canadian, American-Canadian filmmaker, singer, artist, and activist primarily known for her documentary films. Born in New Hampshire, United States and raised prima ...

(2009), '' My Real Life (Ma vie réelle)'', by Magnus Isacsson (2012), ''Granny Power'', by Jocelyn Clarke (2016). He has also worked as a cinematographer with such filmmakers as Gilles Groulx, Don Shebib and

Peter Watkins Peter Watkins (born 29 October 1935) is an English filmmaker, documentarian, writer, and Film theory, film theorist. He is known as a pioneer of the docudrama and the mockumentary genres, typically with heavy political content. His films presen ...

He narrated the opening monologue of the song "The Dead Flag Blues" by

Godspeed You! Black Emperor Godspeed You! Black Emperor (sometimes abbreviated to GY!BE or Godspeed) is a Canadian post-rock collective that originated in Montreal, Quebec in 1994. The group releases recordings through Constellation Records (Canada), Constellation, an in ...

. From 1990 to 2012, he taught film at Concordia University's Mel Hoppenheim School of Cinema. In 2015, he was awarded the Government of Quebec's Prix Albert-Tessier, given to individuals for an outstanding career in Quebec cinema.

Personal life

He is a descendant of Nicholas Austin, one of the first Quakers in the province of Quebec and the founder of

Austin, Quebec Austin is a municipality on the western shore of Lake Memphremagog, part of the Memphrémagog Regional County Municipality in the Estrie region of Quebec, Canada. It was home to inventor Reginald Fessenden. It is named after Nicholas Austin ...

. Duckworth was raised in

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 ...

Notre-Dame-de-Grâce Notre-Dame-de-Grâce (, , ), commonly known as NDG, is a residential neighbourhood of Montreal in the city's West End, with a population of 166,520 (2016). An independent municipality until annexed by the City of Montreal in 1910, NDG is today o ...

neighbourhood. He went to high school 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 ...

, and attended

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

and 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 ...

for BA and MA degrees in history. His father, Jack Duckworth, was secretary-general of the YMCAs in NDG and Halifax. His mother, Muriel Duckworth was a distinguished Canadian pacifist and activist. He was married to Audrey Schirmer, a photographer and filmmaker, with whom he has collaborated on a range of projects. They had three children together, Nicholas, Jacqueline and Danielle. Duckworth is also the father of twins from his first marriage, Marya and Sylvia, as well as daughters Natascha and Anana from his second marriage. His relationship with Schirmer, as she struggled with

Alzheimer Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease and the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in remembering recent events. As the disease advances, symptoms can include problems wit ...

-related dementia prior to her death in 2019, was the subject of Jeremiah Hayes's 2021 documentary film '' Dear Audrey''.Maurie Alioff
"No Hiding a Good Man’s Heart: Jeremiah Hayes’s Dear Audrey"
''

Point of View Point of View or Points of View may refer to: Concept and technique * Point of view (literature) or narrative mode, the perspective of the narrative voice; the pronoun used in narration * Point of view (philosophy), an attitude how one sees or ...

'', December 7, 2021.

References

External links

*
Watch films by Martin Duckworth at NFB.caConcordia University Records Management and Archives: Martin Duckworth fonds
{{DEFAULTSORT:Duckworth, Martin 1933 births Living people Canadian cinematographers Directors of Genie and Canadian Screen Award winners for Best Short Documentary Film Film directors from Montreal Anglophone Quebec people Yale University alumni University of Toronto alumni People from Côte-des-Neiges–Notre-Dame-de-Grâce

Martin Martin may refer to: Places Antarctica * Martin Peninsula, Marie Byrd Land * Port Martin, Adelie Land * Point Martin, South Orkney Islands Europe * Martin, Croatia, a village * Martin, Slovakia, a city * Martín del Río, Aragón, Spain * M ...

National Film Board of Canada people Canadian documentary film directors Academic staff of Concordia University Canadian film educators Prix Albert-Tessier winners