Don Owen (September 19, 1931 – February 21, 2016) was a Canadian film director, writer and producer. Owen worked for Canada's

National Film Board The National Film Board of Canada (NFB; french: Office national du film du Canada (ONF)) is Canada's public film and digital media producer and distributor. An agency of the Government of Canada, the NFB produces and distributes documentary fi ...

, producing short documentaries in the 1960s, and the dramatic film '' Nobody Waved Goodbye'' (1964), which was the NFB's first full-length feature. A sequel, '' Unfinished Business'' followed in 1984. He and fellow NFB director

Donald Brittain Donald Code Brittain, (June 10, 1928 – July 21, 1989) was a film director and producer with the National Film Board of Canada. Career ''Fields of Sacrifice'' (1964) is considered Brittain's first major film as director. His other notable ...

co-directed the 1965 documentary portrait of

Leonard Cohen Leonard Norman Cohen (September 21, 1934November 7, 2016) was a Canadian singer-songwriter, poet and novelist. His work explored religion, politics, isolation, depression, sexuality, loss, death, and romantic relationships. He was inducted in ...

, '' Ladies and Gentlemen... Mr. Leonard Cohen''. The same year, he also completed ''

High Steel ''High Steel'' is a 1965 short National Film Board of Canada documentary film directed by Don Owen about Mohawk Ironworkers from Kahnawake building New York City skycrapers. Synopsis Featuring breathtaking sequences of workers walking along na ...

'', a fifteen-minute colour documentary about the Canadian Caughnawaga

First Nations First Nations or first peoples may refer to: * Indigenous peoples, for ethnic groups who are the earliest known inhabitants of an area. Indigenous groups *First Nations is commonly used to describe some Indigenous groups including: **First Natio ...

peoples who worked on Manhattan skyscraper projects. On July 31, 1965, in an interview with Dusty Vineberg of the ''

Montreal Star ''The Montreal Star'' was an English-language Canadian newspaper published in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It closed in 1979 in the wake of an eight-month pressmen's strike. It was Canada's largest newspaper until the 1950s and remained the dominan ...

'', Owen attributed the success of ''

'' to the fact that he wrote, directed, and edited it himself, calling this "a welding of three aspects of filmmaking that many young filmmakers increasingly insist is vital to integrity." For his film on the Canadian Olympic runner

Bruce Kidd Bruce Kidd, (born July 26, 1943) is a Canadian academic, author, and athlete. Born in Ottawa, Ontario, he was a member of the University of Toronto track and field team. He won 18 national senior championships in Canada, the United States, and Br ...

he persuaded poet

W. H. Auden Wystan Hugh Auden (; 21 February 1907 – 29 September 1973) was a British-American poet. Auden's poetry was noted for its stylistic and technical achievement, its engagement with politics, morals, love, and religion, and its variety in ...

to write and voice the narration. In 1966 he directed the acclaimed ''

Notes for a Film About Donna and Gail ''Notes for a Film About Donna and Gail'' is a Canadian drama film, directed by Don Owen and released in 1966.Steve Gravestock, ''Don Owen: Notes on a Filmmaker and His Culture''. Indiana University Press, 2005. . The film centres on Donna (Mich� ...

'' and the following year he directed ''

The Ernie Game ''The Ernie Game'' is a 1967 Canadian drama film directed by Don Owen (filmmaker), Don Owen. Plot The film centres on Ernie Turner and his attempts to survive in the world after he's released from an insane asylum, asylum. He grows increasingly ...

'', which was entered into the

18th Berlin International Film Festival The 18th annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from 21 June to 2 July 1968. The Golden Bear was awarded to the Swedish film ''Ole dole doff'' directed by Jan Troell. Jury The following people were announced as being on the jury for ...

. In later years, he directed a documentary titled ''Cowboy and Indian'' (1972), '' Partners'' (1976) and ''Turnabout'' (1988), along with an episode of the series ''

Danger Bay ''Danger Bay'' is a Canadian television series, produced in Vancouver, with first-run episodes broadcast on CBC Television in Canada and The Disney Channel in the United States premiering October 8, 1984. Reruns of the show continued on The Disney ...

'' (1988). Owen was the subject of a retrospective at the

2005 Toronto International Film Festival The 30th Toronto International Film Festival ran from September 8–17 and screened 335 films from 52 countries - 109 of these films were world premieres, and 78 were North American premieres. Awards At the Festival's closing event, the following ...

References

External links

*
Watch films by Don Owen
at the National Film Board of Canada
Don Owen at the Canadian Film Encyclopedia

''Making Movie History: Don Owen'', interview at NFB.ca
Canadian documentary film directors 1935 births Film directors from Toronto BAFTA winners (people) National Film Board of Canada people 2016 deaths Best Director Genie and Canadian Screen Award winners University of Toronto alumni Best Editing Genie and Canadian Screen Award winners {{canada-film-director-stub