Award-winning “Stories We Tell” producer, Reel Asian founder to head English-language production in Ontario
May 21, 2014 – Toronto – National Film Board of Canada
Anita Lee has been named by the National Film Board of Canada (NFB) as the new Executive Producer of the NFB's Ontario Centre, based in Toronto, effective May 21, 2014.
A multi-award-winning producer with 20 years' experience in the industry and founder of the Toronto Reel Asian International Film Festival, Lee brings a stellar track record of connecting and collaborating with top talent on work that pushes boundaries in form, story and technology, both at the NFB and in the independent sector. She was selected after an extensive interview process with NFB and independent candidates.
As a staff NFB producer from 2005 to the present, Lee has produced some of the most acclaimed and inventive works in recent NFB history, including Sarah Polley's genre-bending Stories We Tell―a film that has resonated with audiences (sold to 20 territories worldwide) and garnered awards at home and abroad, including a number of firsts for the NFB: the Best Canadian Film and Best Documentary awards from the Toronto Film Critics Association, the Canadian Screen Award for Best Feature Documentary, the Best Non-Fiction Film award from the New York Film Critics Circle and the Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Documentary Film.
Lee also led the NFB's first foray into interactive production as creator/producer of North America's first interactive feature film, Late Fragment (dir. Daryl Cloran, Anita Doron and Mateo Guez), made in collaboration with the CFC Media Lab. Other productions by Lee include the CSA-nominated 3D-documentary hybrid Let the Daylight into the Swamp (dir. Jeffrey St. Jules), which premiered at TIFF, Road Movie (dir. Elle Flanders), a documentary installation invited to TIFF and Berlin, Tiger Spirit (dir. Min Sook Lee), a co-production with Storyline Productions and winner of the Donald Brittain Award for Best Social/Political Documentary, and The Bodybuilder and I, directed by Bryan Friedman, co-produced with January Films, and winner of Best Feature Documentary at Hot Docs.
Prior to joining the NFB, Lee produced a slate of award-winning independent films that premiered at TIFF, Sundance and Berlin, such as John Greyson's feature film Proteus, an official Canada/South Africa co-production (TIFF 2003/Berlin 2004). Lee has also held various media executive positions, including Executive Director/Director of Programming for the Toronto Reel Asian International Film Festival and Executive Director for the Canadian Filmmakers Distribution Centre, and is an alumnus of the Canadian Film Centre Feature Film Program.
With Lee's appointment, the NFB will also be moving to fill two vacant producer positions at the Ontario Centre this summer.
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“Anita has worked with some amazing talent in this country, on productions that consistently push the possibilities of audiovisual storytelling. Deeply committed to broadening the range of voices we work with, Anita brings with her a unique combination of producorial and editorial strengths, a keen entrepreneurial acumen and a dedication to the values of producing meaningful work in the public interest. As the NFB implements its new Strategic Plan, Anita will play a key role in helping to shape our POV documentary strategy.”
Michelle van Beusekom, Interim Director General, NFB English Program
Quick Facts
• Based in Toronto, the Ontario Centre is the NFB's largest English-language production studio, with three staff producers along with an in-house production support team.
• Ontario Centre produces full NFB productions as well as co-productions with talented established and emerging creators. Approximately 25 documentary and interactive projects are underway, from early development to post-production, at any given time.
• Anita Lee is the second executive producer to be hired this year by the NFB, which announced in January that veteran independent producer Shirley Vercruysse had been named as Executive Producer of NFB Pacific and Yukon Centre, based in Vancouve
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About the NFB
Beginning May 2, 2014, the National Film Board of Canada (NFB) marks 75 years of innovation and leadership in social-issue documentaries, auteur animation, and most recently, groundbreaking interactive works. The NFB has produced over 13,000 productions and won over 5,000 awards, including 8 Webbys, 9 Canadian Screen Awards, 12 Oscars and more than 90 Genies. To access acclaimed NFB content, visit NFB.ca or download its apps for smartphones, tablets and connected TV.
