Don Haig

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Don Haig
Born
Donald George Haig

(1933-07-22)22 July 1933
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
Died2 March 2002(2002-03-02) (aged 68)
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Occupation(s) Film producer
Film editor
Years active 1955 - 1998
Awards Governor General's Awards
Academy Award
Genie Award

Don Haig (22 July 1933 — 2 March 2002) was a Canadian filmmaker, editor, and producer.

Contents

Haig's work in film and television spanned nearly five decades. Over the course of his career, he won Academy, Genie, [1] and Gemini awards, and the Governor General's Performing Arts Award.

Haig was known as the "godfather of Canadian film" for nurturing young talent and producing many award-winning films. He is recognized by some as "the most important person on the Canadian film scene," helping create over 500 films. [2]

Career

Haig left high school after grade 9 and took a job repairing films at the Winnipeg distribution offices of MGM. In 1956, he moved to Toronto and was hired by the CBC film department, splicing commercials into The Ed Sullivan Show . After moving through the ranks and establishing a reputation as a superb editor, he left the CBC in 1962 and travelled to Europe, where he met Canadian producer/director Allan King. Back in Toronto, they joined with producer/director Beryl Fox to form their own company, Film Arts (aka Haig-King Film Arts). The CBC contracted Film Arts to edit and/or co-produce segments for This Hour Has Seven Days and the fifth estate , and CTV did the same for W5 . Haig was editor on the Beryl Fox documentaries Fields of Endless Day , The Single Woman and the Double Standard, Summer in Mississippi and The Mills of the Gods: Viet Nam , which won Film of the Year at the 18th Canadian Film Awards in 1966. [2]

In 1970, Haig co-founded the (now-defunct) Canadian Film Editors Guild. He was chairman of the Canadian Film and Television Association in 1972. [2]

Among the films he helped produce was Artie Shaw: Time Is All You've Got , which was written and directed by Brigitte Berman in 1985. [2] Oprah Winfrey presented Berman and Haig with an Oscar at the 59th Academy Awards.

After the 1992 sale of Film Arts to Film House, Haig joined the National Film Board of Canada and became head of English documentary production. [2] He was noted for aiding young talent with funding, guidance, and editing. He retired in 1998.

Personal life

Haig died of cancer at his home in Toronto in 2002, at age 68. His life partner was Bill Schultz, who is now the co-chair of the Don Haig Foundation. [3] [4]

The Don Haig Foundation

In 2003, The Don Haig Foundation was established to support and recognize young filmmakers. In 2006, the foundation began a partnership with the Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival to ensure a home for the Don Haig Award, a monetary award which is presented to a filmmaker with a feature-length entry at the festival. The Don Haig Award is presented annually to an outstanding Canadian independent producer, with the recipient selected by a jury of independent filmmakers. The award recognizes creative vision and entrepreneurship, as reflected in the recipient's body of work, as well as a track record of mentoring emerging Canadian filmmakers.

Filmography

Film Arts

National Film Board of Canada [13]

Lifetime awards

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References

  1. ↑ Topalovich, Maria (2000). And the Genie Goes To... Celebrating 50 Years of the Canadian Film awards. Toronto: Stoddart Publishing Company Ltd. p. 249. ISBN   0-7737-3238-1.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 "Don Haig". Canadian Film Encyclopedia. Archived from the original on 22 February 2013. Retrieved 24 December 2022.
  3. ↑ Waugh, Thomas, Romance of Transgression in Canada: Queering Sexualities, Nations, Cinemas. Carleton University Press, 2006. ISBN   978-0773530690. p. 426.
  4. ↑ "Don Haig Passes Away". playbackonline.ca. Playback. Retrieved 26 December 2022.
  5. ↑ "The Single Woman and the Double Standard". femfilm.ca. Canadian Women Film Directors Database. Retrieved 5 February 2023.
  6. ↑ "Serpent River Paddlers". screenculture.org. CESIF. Retrieved 5 February 2023.
  7. ↑ "A.J. Casson: The Only Critic is Time". collectionscanada.gc.ca. CM Magazine. Retrieved 5 February 2023.
  8. ↑ "Concertante: Arnold Spohr and the Winnipeg Ballet". winnipegfilmgroup.com. Winnipeg Film Group. Retrieved 5 February 2023.
  9. ↑ "Finding Out: Incest and Family Sexual Abuse". ojp.gov. U.S. Department of Justice. Retrieved 5 February 2023.
  10. ↑ "Those Roos Boys and Friends". screenculture.org. CESIF. Retrieved 5 February 2023.
  11. ↑ "Home to Buxton". screenculture.org. CESIF. Retrieved 5 February 2023.
  12. ↑ "White Light". reelingback.com. Reeling Back. Retrieved 5 February 2023.
  13. ↑ "Producer: Don Haig". onf-nfb.gc.ca. National Film Board of Canada. Retrieved 5 February 2023.
  14. ↑ "Award Recipient: Don Haig". ggpaa.ca. Governor General's Performing Arts Awards. Retrieved 5 February 2023.
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