Free public screening of Bob Lower’s National Film Board of Canada feature documentary
at the Winnipeg Art Gallery, May 20
May 6, 2014 – Winnipeg – National Film Board of Canada
“We must take Canadians by the throat and convince them they’re a great nation. How do we do that on film?” – John Grierson, 1940
As part of its 75th-anniversary celebrations, the National Film Board of Canada (NFB) presents a FREE screening of Winnipeg filmmaker Bob Lower’s new feature documentary, Shameless Propaganda, on May 20 at 7 p.m. in the Winnipeg Art Gallery’s Muriel Richardson Auditorium.
Some have called the documentary Canada’s national art form. If it is, the foundations of that art were laid by the NFB in the first six years of its existence, under the inspired vision and watchful eye of John Grierson, its first Commissioner.
Written, directed and edited by Bob Lower, Shameless Propaganda is Lower’s personal take on the greatest and most compelling propaganda effort in our history. To make the 72-minute documentary, he watched the films produced by the NFB from 1939 until 1945—all 500 of them—and distilled the essence of their message to Canadians. Using only films and still photos from that era, Lower recreates the picture of Canada they gave us and looks in it for the Canada we know today. What he finds is by turns enlightening, entertaining, and unexpectedly disturbing.
Shameless Propaganda is produced and executive produced for the NFB by David Christensen.
Bob Lower has been editing, writing and occasionally directing films for more than 40 years, largely in Winnipeg. Active with the NFB in the late 70s and 80s, he veered into drama for a decade before returning to documentaries in the late 90s. He has been going back and forth between the genres ever since. Recent documentary writing and editing credits include The Devil’s Brigade, Ballet Girls, Ballet High, 40 Years of One Night Stands, 40 Years of One Night Stand – Mysteries of the Deep, and The Nature of Things – Surviving the Teenage Brain.
Both Bob Lower and David Christensen will be in attendance at the screening to take questions from the audience.
Quick Facts
• Shameless Propaganda had its world premiere on May 3 at the DOXA Documentary Film Festival in Vancouver.
• For those who can’t make the Winnipeg screening on May 20, the film is also available online at NFB.ca and on DVD, as of May 14.
• The Winnipeg screening of Shameless Propaganda is part of an array of free activities in cities across Canada in celebration of the NFB’s 75th anniversary
Promotional material
For downloadable hi-res images, go to <onf-nfb.gc.ca/eng/press-room/photo-gallery/>.
Associated Links
https://www.nfb.ca/film/shameless_propaganda/clip/shameless_propaganda_clip
nfb.ca / 75
https://www.nfb.ca/film/nfb_75th_anniversary_trailer/
http://wag.ca/
Keep connected
Screening Room Online : NFB.ca
Facebook : https://www.facebook.com/nfb.ca
Twitter : https://twitter.com/nfb/
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Media Relations
RoseAnna Schick
Publicist for the NFB
Tel.: 204-783-7600
E-mail: rascreative@yahoo.ca
Lily Robert
Director, Corporate Communications, NFB
Tel.: 514-283-3838
Cell: 514-296-8261
E-mail: l.robert@nfb.ca
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.
