Gilbert Joseph "Gil" Cardinal (July 19, 1950 – November 21, 2015) was a Canadian

filmmaker Filmmaking (film production) is the process by which a motion picture is produced. Filmmaking involves a number of complex and discrete stages, starting with an initial story, idea, or commission. It then continues through screenwriting, castin ...

of Métis descent. Born in

Edmonton Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city ancho ...

in 1950, and placed in a foster home at the age of two, Cardinal only discovered his Métis roots while making his documentary ''

Foster Child Foster care is a system in which a minor has been placed into a ward, group home ( residential child care community, treatment center, etc.), or private home of a state-certified caregiver, referred to as a "foster parent" or with a family ...

''. This 1987

National Film Board of Canada 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 f ...

(NFB) film received over 10 international film awards, including a Gemini Award for best direction for a documentary program, following its broadcast on CBC's '' Man Alive'' series.

Background

After graduating from the radio and TV arts program of the

Northern Alberta Institute of Technology The Northern Alberta Institute of Technology (NAIT) is a applied sciences institute in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. NAIT provides careers programs in applied research, technical training, applied education, and learning designed to meet the dema ...

in 1971, he worked as a studio cameraman at Alberta's

Access Access may refer to: Companies and organizations * ACCESS (Australia), an Australian youth network * Access (credit card), a former credit card in the United Kingdom * Access Co., a Japanese software company * Access Healthcare, an Indian BPO se ...

network, where he made his first film, a documentary about the pianist Mark Jablonski. In 1975 he became director and associate producer of the series ''Come Alive''. He also '' Shadow Puppets: Indian Myths and Legends'', a series on Cree and Blackfoot legends. Cardinal left Access in 1980 to work with the NFB as a freelance director, researcher, writer and editor. His first film he directed for the Film Board was ''Children of Alcohol'' (1983), produced by Anne Wheeler, a documentary about the effects of parental alcoholism on children. He also shot a series of short documentaries and dramas, notably ''Hotwalker ''(1985), before making ''Foster Child''. In 1987, Cardinal made '' Keyanaw Tatuskhatamak'', about the struggle for Native self-government in northern Alberta. Other NFB credits include ''The Spirit Within'' (1990), on Native spiritual programs in prisons, and ''David with F.A.S. ''(1997), about fetal alcohol syndrome. In 1998, he directed the CBC miniseries '' Big Bear'', for which Cardinal was nominated for a second Gemini. In 2006, he made the CBC drama '' Indian Summer: The Oka Crisis'', about the 1990

Oka Crisis The Oka Crisis (french: links=no, Crise d'Oka), also known as the Kanehsatà:ke Resistance (), was a land dispute between a group of Mohawk people and the town of Oka, Quebec, Canada, which began on July 11, 1990, and lasted 78 days until Septe ...

. Cardinal also directed numerous episodes of '' North of 60'' and '' The Rez'', and an episode of the drama anthology series '' Four Directions''. He directed two NFB documentaries about the ultimately successful efforts of the

Haisla Nation The Haisla Nation is the Indian Act-mandated band government which nominally represents the Haisla people in the North Coast region of the Canadian province of British Columbia, centred on the reserve community of Kitamaat Village. The traditional ...

to repatriate their g'psgolox pole, a mortuary pole taken from them in 1929. His 2003 film ''Totem: The'' ''Return of the'' ''G’psgolox Pole,'' premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival.

Death and legacy

In 1997, Cardinal was recognized with a

National Aboriginal Achievement Award The Indspire Awards, until 2012 the National Aboriginal Achievement Awards, are annual awards presented by Indspire in Canada. The awards are intended to celebrate and encourage excellence in the Aboriginal community. About The awards were fi ...

, now the Indspire Awards, for Film and Television. On November 7, 2015, the Alberta Media Production Industries Association (AMPIA) announced at its 27th David Billington Award ceremony that he was the recipient of the 2015 award, which honours contributions to the province's audiovisual industry. Too ill to attend, Cardinal had been presented with the award at a private ceremony. AMPIA also announced the creation of the Gil Cardinal Legacy Fund, which was founded by close friends, to provide funding for emerging Aboriginal filmmakers to kickstart their careers. Cardinal died of

cirrhosis Cirrhosis, also known as liver cirrhosis or hepatic cirrhosis, and end-stage liver disease, is the impaired liver function caused by the formation of scar tissue known as fibrosis due to damage caused by liver disease. Damage causes tissue rep ...

on November 21, 2015 in Edmonton at the age of 65. He had been hospitalized in his final months as he experienced a serious health decline complicated by diabetes.

References

External links

*
Watch Gil Cardinal's films at NFB.ca
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cardinal, Gil 1950 births 2015 deaths Canadian television directors Canadian people of Métis descent Canadian Screen Award winners Métis filmmakers Film directors from Edmonton Northern Alberta Institute of Technology alumni Canadian adoptees Deaths from cirrhosis Indspire Awards