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Colin Low
Cardston, Alberta, Canada
Colin Archibald Low CM RCA (July 24, 1926 – February 24, 2016) was a Canadian animation and documentary filmmaker with the National Film Board of Canada (NFB). He was known as a p…
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Colin Archibald Low CM RCA (July 24, 1926 – February 24, 2016) 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. Low was born and raised in Cardston, Alberta, to Gerald and Marion Low, ranchers who were members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The town borders the Kainai Nation (Blood Tribe), which later became the subject of two of his films; his 1960 film Circle of the Sun marked the first time the Kainai Nation's sacred Sun Dance was filmed. Low studied graphic design and animation at the Banff School of Fine Arts and then the Calgary Institute of Technology. In 1946, while he was at the latter, the National Film Board of Canada was hiring and put out a call for student submissions; one of Low's teachers suggested that he send in his portfolio and, a week later, he was hired by the prominent NFB filmmaker Norman McLaren. McLaren placed Low under the tutelage of George Dunning, who would act as his mentor for five years. To hone his animation skills, he was also put to work with NFB animator Evelyn Lambart. Low was recognized as a filmmaker in 1949. In 1950, he was appointed Head of the Animation Unit. From 1972 to 1976, he was an executive producer for the NFB's Studio C; in 1976, he became Director of Regional Production. He would stay with the NFB for the rest of his life, making 203 films and acting as a researcher and advisor on many others. He officially retired in 1997, but continued to write about animation and large-format film, and to work on film projects.
Filmography
Movies and shows, newest first
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2000
Moving Pictures
Movie Director
-
1992
Momentum
Movie Director
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1988
Emergency
Movie Director
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1986
Transitions
Movie Director
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1983
The Contour Connection
Movie Director
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1982
Standing Alone
Movie Director
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1979
A Pinto for the Prince
Movie Director
-
1977
River (Planet Earth)
Movie Executive Producer
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1976
The Mad Canadian
Movie Executive Producer
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1976
Los Canadienses
Movie Producer
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1976
Blackwood
Movie Executive Producer
-
1976
The Sword of the Lord
Movie Executive Producer
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1976
No Way They Want to Slow Down
Movie Executive Producer
-
1976
Christ Is Risen
Movie Executive Producer
-
1975
Waiting for Fidel
Movie Executive Producer
-
1975
Musicanada
Movie Executive Producer
More credits
-
1975
Earthware
Movie Producer
-
1975
Alberta Girls
Movie Executive Producer
-
1975
Lumsden
Movie Executive Producer
-
1975
Descent
Movie Producer
-
1975
Metal Workers
Movie Producer
-
1974
King of the Hill
Movie Executive Producer
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1974
Another Side of the Forest
Movie Executive Producer
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1974
In Search of the Bowhead Whale
Movie Executive Producer
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1974
Cree Hunters of Mistassini
Movie Producer
-
1974
Freshwater World
Movie Executive Producer
-
1974
The New Alchemists
Movie Producer
-
1974
In Praise of Hands
Movie Producer
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1974
Bate's Car: Sweet as a Nut
Movie Executive Producer
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1974
The Boat That Ian Built
Movie Producer
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1973
Coming Home
Movie Producer
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1973
Kainai
Movie Producer
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1972
Cell 16
Movie Producer
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1972
A Memo from Fogo
Movie Producer
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1972
When I Go - That's It!
Movie Director
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1971
I Don't Think It's Meant for Us...
Movie Producer
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1970
The Winds of Fogo
Movie Director
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1968
Introduction to Fogo Island
Movie Director
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1967
Andrew Britt at Shoal Bay
Movie Director
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1967
In the Labyrinth
Movie Director
