Whistling Smith

Last updated

Whistling Smith
Directed byMarrin Canell
Michael J. F. Scott
Written by Donald Brittain
Produced byBarrie Howells
Michael J. F. Scott
Ian McLaren (exec.)
StarringBernie Smith
Narrated by Donald Brittain
CinematographyHenri Fiks
Edited byMarrin Canell
Michael J. F. Scott
John Knight (sound)
Music byLarry Crosley
Production
company
Distributed by National Film Board of Canada
Release date
  • 1975 (1975)
Running time
27 minutes
CountryCanada
LanguageEnglish

Whistling Smith is a 1975 short documentary film directed by Marrin Canell and Michael J. F. Scott for the National Film Board of Canada. [1] It was produced for the NFB's Pacificanada series, which aired on CBC-TV in early 1975. [2]

Contents

The film is a revealing portrait of a tough cop with a big heart. Vancouver Police Department Sergeant Bernie "Whistling" Smith walks the beat on the city's Downtown Eastside, the hang-out of petty criminals and down-and-outers. His policing style is unorthodox; to many drug users and prostitutes, he's more than a cop—he's a counsellor and a friend. In the year that he's been in charge of this beat, crime has dropped by over forty per cent.

Accolades

Whistling Smith was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short at the 48th Academy Awards. [3] [4] [5] It also won the Canadian Film Award for Sound Re-Recording. [6]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Film Board of Canada</span> Canadas public film and digital media producer and distributor

The National Film Board of Canada is Canada's 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 alternative dramas. In total, the NFB has produced over 13,000 productions since its inception, which have won over 5,000 awards. The NFB reports to the Parliament of Canada through the Minister of Canadian Heritage. It has bilingual production programs and branches in English and French, including multicultural-related documentaries.

Roman Kroitor 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 was also the original inspiration for The Force. His prodigious output garnered numerous awards, including two BAFTA Awards, three Cannes Film Festival awards, and two Oscar nominations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arthur Lipsett</span> Canadian collage filmmaker

Arthur Lipsett was a Canadian filmmaker with the National Film Board of Canada. His short, avant-garde collage films, which he described as "neither underground nor conventional”, contain elements of narrative, documentary, experimental collage, and visual essay. His first film, Very Nice, Very Nice, was nominated for an Academy Award.

Robin Spry was a Canadian film director, producer and writer. He was perhaps best known for his documentary films Action: The October Crisis of 1970 and Reaction: A Portrait of a Society in Crisis about Quebec's October Crisis. His 1970 film Prologue won the BAFTA Award for Best Documentary.

Donald Code Brittain, was a film director and producer with the National Film Board of Canada.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ryan Larkin</span> Canadian animator, artist, and sculptor

Ryan Larkin was a Canadian animator, artist, and sculptor who rose to fame with the psychedelic Oscar-nominated short Walking (1968) and the acclaimed Street Musique (1972). He was the subject of the Oscar-winning film Ryan.

Cynthia Scott is a Canadian award-winning filmmaker who has produced, directed, written, and edited several films with the National Film Board of Canada (NFB). Her works have won the Oscar and Canadian Film Award. Scott is a member of the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts. Her projects with the NFB are mainly focused on documentary filmmaking. Some of Scott's most notable documentaries for the NFB feature dancing and the dance world including Flamenco at 5:15 (1983), which won an Academy Award for Best Documentary at the 56th Academy Awards in 1984. She is married to filmmaker John N. Smith.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michael Rubbo</span>

Michael Dattilo Rubbo is an Australian documentarian/filmmaker.

Colin Archibald Low was a Canadian animation and documentary filmmaker with the National Film Board of Canada (NFB). He was known as a pioneer, one of Canada's most important filmmakers, and was regularly referred to as "the gentleman genius". His numerous honors include five BAFTA awards, eight Cannes Film Festival awards, and six Academy Award nominations.

Boyce Richardson, was a journalist, author and filmmaker.

Tony Ianzelo is a Canadian documentary director and cinematographer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grant Munro (filmmaker)</span> Canadian animator, filmmaker and actor

Grant Munro LL. D. was a Canadian animator, filmmaker and actor. In 1952, he co-starred with Jean-Paul Ladouceur in Norman McLaren's Neighbours. His film, Christmas Cracker, was nominated for an Academy Award in 1965.

High Grass Circus is a 1976 National Film Board of Canada documentary film co-directed by Tony Ianzelo and Torben Schioler, exploring life in the Royal Brothers' traveling circus. It was shot in the spring and summer of 1975 and part of 1976, and had a budget of $62,008.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peter Raymont</span> Canadian filmmaker

Peter Raymont is a Canadian filmmaker and producer and the president of White Pine Pictures, an independent film, television and new media production company based in Toronto. Among his films are Shake Hands with the Devil: The Journey of Romeo Dallaire (2005), A Promise to the Dead: The Exile Journey of Ariel Dorfman (2007), The World Stopped Watching (2003) and The World Is Watching (1988). The 2011 feature documentary West Wind: The Vision of Tom Thomson and 2009's Genius Within: The Inner Life of Glenn Gould were co-directed with Michèle Hozer.

The Family That Dwelt Apart is a 1973 animated short film created by Yvon Malette for the National Film Board of Canada.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tom Daly (filmmaker)</span> Canadian film producer, film editor and film director

Thomas Cullen Daly was a Canadian film producer, film editor and film director, who was the head of Studio B at the National Film Board of Canada (NFB).

Pacificanada is a National Film Board of Canada (NFB) Canadian documentary television miniseries about British Columbia which aired on CBC Television in 1975.

John Kemeny was a Hungarian-Canadian film producer whom the Toronto Star called "the forgotten giant of Canadian film history and...the most successful producer in Canadian history." His production credits include The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz, Atlantic City, and Quest for Fire.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Albert Kish</span> Hungarian-Canadian documentarian/filmmaker (1937–2015)

Albert Kish was a Canadian documentarian/filmmaker.

The 26th Canadian Film Awards were held on October 12, 1975 to honour achievements in Canadian film. The ceremony was hosted by radio personality Peter Gzowski.

References

  1. "Whistling Smith". nfb.ca. National Film Board of Canada. Retrieved 23 April 2023.
  2. Ohayon, Albert. "Pacificanada: British Columbia Seen through the NFB Lens". NFB.ca. National Film Board of Canada . Retrieved 30 March 2012.
  3. "The 48th Academy Awards (1976) Nominees and Winners". oscars.org. Retrieved 2 October 2011.
  4. Whistling Smith (1975)-MUBI
  5. The End of the Game Wins Documentary Short: 1976 Oscars
  6. "Whistling Smith". Canadian Film Encyclopedia. Film Reference Library. Retrieved 12 December 2009.