Malca Gillson (1926-2010) was a Canadian filmmaker with the

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 ...

, and one of the first women to join the NFB in a non-junior position. She was a multi-tasker, acting as composer, sound editor, editor, producer and director. She is best known for her ground-breaking trilogy about end-of-life care: ''The Last Days of Living'', ''Reflections on Suffering'' and ''Time for Caring''.

Early life

Gillson was born Malca Laskin in

Yorkton Yorkton is a city located in south-eastern Saskatchewan, Canada. It is about 450 kilometres north-west of Winnipeg and 300 kilometres south-east of Saskatoon and is the sixth largest city in the province. As of 2017 the census population of the ...

, Saskatchewan, to Bures T. Laskin and Florence Natonson. Hers was a prominent family; her father was a four-term mayor of

Humboldt, Saskatchewan Humboldt is a city in the province of Saskatchewan, Canada. It is located 113 km east of Saskatoon at the junction of Highway 5 and Highway 20. The city is surrounded by the Rural Municipality of Humboldt No. 370. History Named after Ger ...

; her uncle

Saul Laskin Saul Laskin (15 May 1918 – 4 October 2008) was a Canadian politician. He was the first mayor of the City of Thunder Bay, Ontario. Born in Fort William, Ontario, he was the younger brother of jurist Bora Laskin. He was educated in Fort Willia ...

became the first mayor of

Thunder Bay Thunder Bay is a city in and the seat of Thunder Bay District, Ontario, Canada. It is the most populous municipality in Northwestern Ontario and the second most populous (after Greater Sudbury) municipality in Northern Ontario; its population ...

; her other paternal uncle,

Bora Laskin Bora Laskin (October 5, 1912 – March 26, 1984) was a Canadian jurist who served as the 14th chief justice of Canada from 1973 to 1984. Laskin was appointed a puisne justice of the Supreme Court in 1970, and served on the Ontario Court of A ...

, became the 14th

Chief Justice of Canada The chief justice of Canada (french: juge en chef du Canada) is the presiding judge of the nine-member Supreme Court of Canada, the highest judicial body in Canada. As such, the chief justice is the highest-ranking judge of the Canadian court sy ...

Career

Gillson joined the NFB in 1955, by which time she was married to NFB cameraman Denis Gillson; they would divorce, but she kept the name for the rest of her life. At the time, most female recruits were negative cutters and secretaries; she was hired as a composer, then placed in the sound department and went on to do the sound and/or music for several notable films, including the BAFTA-winning ''

Buster Keaton Rides Again ''Buster Keaton Rides Again'' is a 55-minute 1965 documentary film directed by John Spotton and narrated by Michael Kane. The film is a behind-the-scenes documentary shot while Buster Keaton's film ''The Railrodder'' (1965), was being produced. ...

'' (1965), and

Oscar Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to: People * Oscar (given name), an Irish- and English-language name also used in other languages; the article includes the names Oskar, Oskari, Oszkár, Óscar, and other forms. * Oscar (Irish mythology), ...

nominee ''

Helicopter Canada ''Helicopter Canada'' (aka ''Hélicoptère Canada'') is a 1966 Canadian documentary film produced by the National Film Board of Canada and directed by Eugene Boyko. The film features aerial photography of all ten of Canada's provinces. ''Helicop ...

'' (1966). By 1971, Gillson was a film editor and, in 1975, she began to direct. Her films, including ''Musicanada'' (1975), ''Alberta Girls'' (1975) and ''

Canada Vignettes Canada Vignettes are a series of short films by the National Film Board of Canada (NFB), some of which aired on CBC Television and other Canadian broadcasters as interstitial programs. The vignettes became popular because of their cultural depicti ...

: The Music Makers'' (1975) all involved music and musicians. In 1979, her attention turned to end-of-life issues and she filmed three documentaries at

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

’s Royal Victoria Hospital: ''The Last Days of Living'' (1980), ''Reflections on Suffering'' (1982) and ''Time for Caring'' (1982). ''The Last Days of Living'', shot at the hospital’s

palliative care Palliative care (derived from the Latin root , or 'to cloak') is an interdisciplinary medical caregiving approach aimed at optimizing quality of life and mitigating suffering among people with serious, complex, and often terminal illnesses. Wit ...

unit, was the first film to truthfully bring the subject of death to professionals and the public; it is regarded as an essential film for healthcare professionals, volunteers and the public at large. Gillson retired from the NFB in 1980 and died in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

in 2010.

Filmography

*''Eye Witness No. 88'' - documentary short,

Grant Crabtree Grant Holland Crabtree (June 10, 1913 – October 14, 2008) was a Canadian cinematographer, director, and photographer who worked during the early years of the Canadian film industry, first for Crawley Films, then for the National Film Board and ...

and Hector Lemieux 1955 - music *''Lobsters Are a Community Affair'' - documentary short, Donald Fraser 1955 - music *''Eye Witness No. 98'' - documentary short, Tim Wilson and Hector Lemieux 1957 - sound editor *''Bridge Under the Ocean'' - documentary short, Raymond Garceau 1957 - sound editor *''Wildlife of the Rocky Mountains'' - documentary short, William H. Carrick 1958 - music editor *''Security: Espionage'' - documentary short, Stanley Clish 1958 - co-sound editor with Victor Merrill *''The Responsibilities of Freedom'' - documentary short, Ian MacNeill 1958 - sound editor *''Setting Fires for Science'' - documentary short,

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 ...

1958 - co-sound editor with Karl Duplessis *''Stigma'' - short film,

Stanley Jackson Sir Francis Stanley Jackson Jackson's obituary in the 1948 ''Wisden Cricketers' Almanack''. This gives his full name as ''Francis'' Stanley Jackson, whereas Cricinfo and CricketArchive both give his full name as ''Frank'' Stanley Jackson. This ...

1958 - sound editor *''Trans Canada Summer'' - documentary, Ronald Dick 1958 - music editor *''The Clerk'' - short film, Allan Wargon 1958 - co-sound editor with

Kathleen Shannon Kathleen Shannon (November 11, 1935 – January 9, 1998) was a Canadian film director and producer. She is best known as the founder and first executive producer of Studio D of the National Film Board of Canada, the first government-funded fi ...

*''The Department Manager'' - short film, Hugh O’Connor 1958 - co-sound editor with David Green *''The General Foreman'' - short film,

Morten Parker Morten Parker (July 29, 1919 – May 26, 2014) was a Canadian director, producer and writer. Biography Parker was born and raised in a Jewish family in Winnipeg, Manitoba, attended the University of Winnipeg and began his career as a journalist ...

1958 - sound editor *''The Skilled Worker'' - short film,

1958 - music, co-sound editor with David Green *''New Nation in the West Indies - Background to Federation'' - documentary short, Ian MacNeill 1958 - sound editor *''New Nation in the West Indies - The Riches of the Indies'' - documentary short, Ian MacNeill 1958 - sound editor *''Fire Detectives'' - documentary short,

1958 - music *''Here and There - The St. Lawrence Seaway: Lifeline'' - documentary short, John Howe 1958 - music *''Here and There - The St. Lawrence Seaway: Power'' - documentary short, John Howe 1958 - music *''Here and There - The St. Lawrence Seaway: Bottleneck'' - documentary short, John Howe 1958 - music *''Le maître du Pérou'' - documentary,

Fernand Dansereau Fernand Dansereau (born April 5, 1928) is a Canadian film director and film producer. Biography After five years working as a reporter for the Montreal daily Le Devoir, Dansereau joined the NFB in 1955. He was a founding member of the NFB's ...

1958 - co-sound editor with Bernard Bordeleau *''Weakness into Strength'' - documentary short, Ian MacNeill 1958 - sound editor *''L'immigré'' - short film,

Bernard Devlin Bernard Devlin, (December 15, 1824 – February 7, 1880) was an Irish-born lawyer, counsel to the Abraham Lincoln administration of the United States Government during the most northerly engagement of the United States Civil War, Quebec-b ...

1959 - sound editor with Bernard Bordeleau *''The Golden Age'' - documentary short, Richard Gilbert 1959 - music *''The St. Lawrence Seaway'' - documentary short, John Howe and Isobel Kehoe 1959 - with

Maurice Blackburn Maurice McCrae Blackburn (19 November 1880 – 31 March 1944) was an Australian politician and socialist lawyer, noted for his protection of the interests of workers and the establishment of the legal firm known as Maurice Blackburn Lawyers. ...

, music *''In the Beginning a Wilderness of Air'' - documentary short, Richard Gilbert 1959 - music *''The Maritimes: Traditions and Transitions'' - documentary short,

1959 - sound editor *''Double Heritage'' - documentary short, Richard Gilbert 1959 - music *''John Lyman, peintre'' - documentary short,

1959 - sound editor with Marguerite Payette *''The Good, Bright Days (1919-1927)'' - documentary short,

William Weintraub William Weintraub (February 19, 1926 – November 6, 2017) was a Canadian documentarian/filmmaker, journalist and author, best known for his long career with the National Film Board of Canada (NFB). Early life Weintraub was born in Montreal ...

1960 - with

Eldon Rathburn Eldon Davis Rathburn (21 April 1916 – 31 August 2008) was a Canadian film composer who scored over 250 films during his thirty-year tenure as a staff composer at the National Film Board of Canada. Known as "the dean of Canadian film composers",< ...

and Joan Edward, music *''Sunshine and Eclipse (1927-1934)'' - documentary short,

1960 - with

and Joan Edward, music *''Twilight of an Era (1934-1939)'' - documentary short,

1960 - with

and Joan Edward, music *''Leadership Discipline - You Have Control'' - training film,

Donald Wilder Donald Wilder (October 23, 1926 - December 8, 2010) was a Canadian cinematographer and documentarian. He is most noted as a two-time Canadian Film Award winner for Best Cinematography, winning at the 15th Canadian Film Awards in 1963 for '' Nahann ...

1960 - music *''Search and Rescue: The Rescue Coordination Centre'' - documentary short, Roger Blais 1960 - music *''Search and Rescue: The Searchmaster'' - documentary short, Roger Blais 1960 - music *''Suburban Living: Six Solutions'' - documentary, Richard Gilbert 1960 - co-sound editor with Pierre Lemelin *''Le sport et les hommes'' - documentary,

Hubert Aquin Hubert Aquin (24 October 1929 – 15 March 1977) was a Quebec novelist, political activist, essayist, filmmaker and editor. Aquin was born in Montreal and graduated from the Université de Montréal in 1951. From 1951 to 1954, he studied at th ...

1961 - sound editor *''Joey'' - short film, Graham Parker 1964 - co-sound editor with Victor Merrill *''The Prison Community'' - documentary short, Ernest Reid 1965 - music *''

'' - documentary,

John Spotton John Spotton Canadian Society of Cinematographers, C.S.C. (January 1, 1927 - March 3, 1991) was a Canadian filmmaker with the National Film Board of Canada. A versatile artist who worked as a director, producer, cinematographer and editor, Spo ...

1965 - music *'' Notes for a Film About Donna & Gail'' - short film, Don Owen 1966 - music editor *''The Animal Movie'' - cartoon, Grant Munro and Ron Tunis 1966 - music and sound *''

'' - documentary,

Eugene Boyko Eugene Boyko (1923 – March 14, 2003) known to many as "Jeep", was a Canadian filmmaker who worked with the National Film Board of Canada. An early film of his, ''Helicopter Canada'', was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Featu ...

1966 - music *''Take It from the Top'' - documentary short,

1966 - music *''At the Autumn River Camp'' - documentary, Quentin Brown 1967 - co-sound editor with Ken Page and Don Wellington *''At the Caribou Crossing Place'' - documentary, Quentin Brown 1967 - co-sound editor with Ken Page and Don Wellington *''At the Spring Sea Ice Camp'' - documentary, Quentin Brown 1967 - co-sound editor with Ken Page and Don Wellington *''At the Winter Sea Ice Camp'' - documentary, Quentin Brown 1967 - co-sound editor with Ken Page and Don Wellington *''Fishing at the Stone Weir'' - documentary, Quentin Brown 1967 - co-sound editor with Ken Page and Don Wellington *''Stalking Seal on the Spring Ice'' - documentary, Quentin Brown 1967 - co-sound editor with Ken Page and Don Wellington *''Jigging for Lake Trout'' - documentary short, Quentin Brown 1967 - co-sound editor with Ken Page and Don Wellington *''Group Hunting on the Spring Ice'' - documentary, Quentin Brown 1967 - co-sound editor with Ken Page and Don Wellington *''Building a Kayak'' - documentary, Quentin Brown 1967 - co-sound editor with Ken Page and Don Wellington *''

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 ...

'' - feature, Don Owen 1967 - music editor *''Angel'' - experimental short,

Derek May Derek May (1932–1992) was a Canadian animation, dramatic and documentary film director who worked primarily for the National Film Board of Canada (NFB). Originally a painter, his first film with the NFB was the 1966 experimental short, ''Angel''. ...

1967 - sound editor *''Adventures'' - short film,

Michael Rubbo Michael Dattilo Rubbo (born 31 December 1938) is an Australian documentarian/filmmaker. Early life Rubbo was born in Melbourne, the son of Australian microbiologist Sydney Dattilo Rubbo, and the grandson of the painter Antonio Dattilo Rubbo. ...

1968 - co-sound editor with Victor Merrill *''The Winds of Fogo'' - documentary short, Colin Low 1969 - sound editor *''Falling from Ladders'' - documentary short,

Mort Ransen Mort Ransen (August 16, 1933 – September 4, 2021) was a Canadian film and television director and screenwriter, best known for his Genie Award-winning 1995 film ''Margaret's Museum''. Ransen was born in Montreal, Quebec, and was educated at the ...

1969 - sound editor *''Where There's Smoke'' - compilation,

Robert Verrall Robert Verrall (born January 13, 1928 in Toronto, Ontario) is a Canadian animator, director, film producer and administrator who worked with the National Film Board of Canada (NFB) from 1945 until the 1980s. One of the first to join the NFB's fled ...

1970 - co-editor with Karl Duplessis and Alex Raymont *''The Eskimo: Fight for Life'' - documentary, Robert M. Young 1970 - co-sound editor with Ken Page and Don Wellington *''Girls of Mountain Street'' - documentary short, Susan Huycke 1970 - sound editor *''Here's to Harry's Grandfather'' - documentary,

1970 - sound editor *''Pillar of Wisdom'' - documentary short, Josef Reeve 1970 - co-sound editor with Roger Lamoureux, Bill Graziadei and Roger Hart *''Of Many People'' - documentary short,

1970 - co-editor with

and Colin Low *''Ashes of Doom'' - short film, Grant Munro and

Don Arioli Don, don or DON and variants may refer to: Places *County Donegal, Ireland, Chapman code DON *Don (river), a river in European Russia *Don River (disambiguation), several other rivers with the name *Don, Benin, a town in Benin *Don, Dang, a vill ...

1970 - co-sound editor with Victor Merrill *''People of the Seal: Eskimo Summer'' - documentary, Richard Robinson and Michael McKennirey 1971 - co-sound editor with Ken Page, André Galbrand and Don Wellington *''People of the Seal: Eskimo Winter'' - documentary, Richard Robinson and Michael McKennirey 1971 - co-sound editor with Ken Page, André Galbrand and Don Wellington *''Nell and Fred'' - documentary short, Richard Todd 1971 - editor *''Norman Jewison, Film maker'' - documentary, Douglas Jackson 1971 - co-editor with Edward Le Lorrain and Les Halman *''Summer's Nearly Over'' - documentary short,

1971 - co-sound editor with Bill Graziadei *''Here is Canada'' - documentary short,

Tony Ianzelo Tony Ianzelo (born June 13, 1935) is a Canadian documentary director and cinematographer. Career Ianzelo was born in Toronto, Ontario, and attended Toronto's Ryerson Institute of Technology. His career at the National Film Board of Canada was ...

1972 - editor *''The Question of Television Violence'' - documentary, Graeme Ferguson 1972 - editor *''Sub-Igloo'' - documentary short,

James de Beaujeu Domville James de Beaujeu Domville (23 June 1933''New York State, Passenger and Crew Lists, 1917-1966'' – 2 April 2015) was a French-born Canadian theatrical producer and administrator. In addition to his theatrical work, Domville served in several impo ...

and

Joseph B. MacInnis Joseph Beverly MacInnis D.Sc. (born 2 March 1937) is a Canadian physician, author, and diver. In 1974, MacInnis was the first scientist to dive in the near-freezing waters beneath the North Pole. In 1976 he became a member of the Order of Cana ...

1973 - editor *''Bate's Car: Sweet as a Nut'' - documentary short,

1974 - editor *''Musicanada'' - documentary, 1975 - editor, co-director with

*''Alberta Girls'' - documentary short, 1975 - editor, co-director with

*''The Great Clean-up'' - documentary, James Carney 1976 - music with Karl Duplessis *''The Wings of Time'' - documentary short,

Tom Radford Tom Radford (born March 12, 1946) is a Canadian documentary filmmaker from Edmonton, Alberta.Tom Murray"Tom Radford" ''The Canadian Encyclopedia'', March 22, 2010. A cofounder with Anne Wheeler and P. J. Reese of the Filmwest Associates studio, Ra ...

1976 - sound editor *''Coaches'' - documentary, Paul Cowan 1976 - sound editor *''You’re Eating for Two'' - documentary short, 1977 - editor, director *''The Forests and Vladimir Krajina'' - documentary short,

1978 - co-sound editor with Ian Rankin and

Anne Wheeler Anne Wheeler, OC, (born September 23, 1946) is a Canadian film and television writer, producer, and director. Biography Graduating in Mathematics from the University of Alberta she was a computer programmer before traveling abroad. Her years o ...

*''The War is Over'' - short film,

René Bonnière René Gabriel Bonnière (born 10 March 1928) is a Canadian film director and editor, originally from France. He has had a prolific career, working in television and film in both French and English productions. Biography Bonnière was born in Lyo ...

1978 - producer *''It Wasn’t Easy'' - documentary short, Nico Crama 1978 - co-editor with Steven Kellar *''

: The Music Makers'' - documentary short, 1979 - editor, director *''A Pinto for the Prince'' - documentary short, Colin Low and

1979 - sound editor *''Fixed in Time: A Victoria Album'' - documentary short, Shelagh Mackenzie 1980 - co-sound editor with Les Halman and Arthur McKay *''The Last Days of Living'' - documentary, 1980 - editor, director *''Reflections on Suffering'' - documentary short, 1982 - editor, director *''Time for Caring'' - documentary short, 1982 - editor, director *''Singing: A Joy in Any Language'' - documentary, 1983 - editor, co-director with

*''Musical Magic: Gilbert and Sullivan in Stratford'' - documentary, 1984 - editor, director *''The Road to Patriation'' - documentary, Robert Duncan 1984 - co-editor with Fred Hillier, co-producer with Robert Duncan, Jennifer Torrance and Tom Daly *''One Step Away'' - documentary short, Robert Fortier 1985 - casting director *''Automated Lovers'' - documentary short, Annie O'Donoghue 1986 - sound editor *''Making the Words Sing'' - documentary short, 1990 - co-editor with Rex Tasker, co-producer with Terry Fulmer, director

Awards

''Musicanada'' (1975) * Golden Gate International Film Festival, San Francisco: Honorable Mention, Special Jury Award, 1976 ''The Last Days of Living'' (1980) *

Chicago International Film Festival The Chicago International Film Festival is an annual film festival held every fall. Founded in 1964 by Michael Kutza, it is the longest-running competitive film festival in North America. Its logo is a stark, black and white close up of the comp ...

, Chicago: Gold Plaque, Social Issues, 1980 * Golden Gate International Film Festival, San Francisco: Honorable Mention, Honorable Mention, 1980 * HEMA (Health Education Media Association) Film Festival, Philadelphia: Best of Show, 1981 *

Columbus International Film & Animation Festival The Columbus International Film + Animation Festival is a Columbus, Ohio, United States annual film festival which is designed to encourage and promote the use of film and video in all forms of education and communication. It is the first and ol ...

Columbus, Ohio Columbus () is the state capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the 14th-most populous city in the U.S., the second-most populous city in the Midwest, after Chicago, and t ...

: Chris Award, Bronze Plaque, 1981 * Medikinale,

Marburg Marburg ( or ) is a university town in the German federal state (''Bundesland'') of Hesse, capital of the Marburg-Biedenkopf district (''Landkreis''). The town area spreads along the valley of the river Lahn and has a population of approximate ...

: Gold Medal, Specialized Information Films, 1982 * Medikinale,

: Gold Medal, Grand Prize of the University of Marburg, 1982 ''Time for Caring'' (1982) * International Rehabilitation Film Festival, New York: Certificate of Merit, 1983

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gillson, Malca 1926 births 2010 deaths Film directors from Saskatchewan Film producers from Saskatchewan National Film Board of Canada people Canadian documentary film directors Films about death Canadian women film directors Canadian women documentary filmmakers People from Yorkton Canadian documentary film producers Canadian women film producers