Roman Norbert Bittman (June 5, 1941 - November 7, 2017) was a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

film and television producer, most noted as a longtime producer of news and current affairs for the

Canadian Broadcasting Corporation The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (french: Société Radio-Canada), branded as CBC/Radio-Canada, is a Canadian public broadcaster for both radio and television. It is a federal Crown corporation that receives funding from the government. ...

. Born in

Fort Vermilion Fort Vermilion is a hamlet on the Peace River in northern Alberta, Canada, within Mackenzie County. Established in 1788, Fort Vermilion shares the title of oldest European settlement in Alberta with Fort Chipewyan. Fort Vermilion contains many ...

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...

to a

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father and a Métis mother, Bittman grew up in Hay River, Northwest Territories."Hay River Student Chosen for Trip". '' Edmonton Journal'', June 10, 1960. As a high school student, he volunteered for a new local

community radio Community radio is a radio service offering a third model of radio broadcasting in addition to commercial and public broadcasting. Community stations serve geographic communities and communities of interest. They broadcast content that is popula ...

station in the community,"The Weekly Briefing"
''Broadcast Dialogue'', November 23, 2017. and was one of just two students from the Northwest Territories selected to participate in a national student event at the Stratford Festival in 1960. He pursued postsecondary studies in the film and television program at

Ryerson University Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU or Toronto Met) is a public research university located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The university's core campus is situated within the Garden District, although it also operates facilities elsewhere in Tor ...

, and worked for

CBC News CBC News is a division of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation responsible for the news gathering and production of news programs on the corporation's English-language operations, namely CBC Television, CBC Radio, CBC News Network, and CBC.ca ...

before becoming producer of the documentary series ''

The Nature of Things ''The Nature of Things'' (also, ''The Nature of Things with David Suzuki'') is a Canadian television series of documentary programs. It debuted on CBC Television on 6 November 1960. Many of the programs document nature and the effect that hu ...

''. He also produced a number of short documentary films for the

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 ...

, and was a partner in his wife Marilyn Belec's independent production firm Mobius Productions. In 1993, Bittman was named as head of the Nova Scotia Film Development Corporation. In this role he helped to pass legislation creating a provincial tax credit for film and television production, and introduced an ambitious plan to build and operate the province's first full

sound stage A sound stage (also written soundstage) is a soundproof, large structure, building, or room with large doors and high ceilings, used for the production of theatrical film-making and television productions, usually located on a secured movie or ...

, but was dismissed from the role in 1996 after the NSFDC board rejected his financing plan. Thereafter Bittman worked primarily in efforts to improve

indigenous Indigenous may refer to: *Indigenous peoples *Indigenous (ecology), presence in a region as the result of only natural processes, with no human intervention *Indigenous (band), an American blues-rock band *Indigenous (horse), a Hong Kong racehorse ...

representation in media, including serving on the inaugural board of the

Aboriginal Peoples Television Network The Aboriginal Peoples Television Network (APTN, stylized aptn) is a Canadian specialty channel. Established in 1992 and maintained by governmental funding to broadcast in Canada's northern territories, APTN acquired a national broadcast licen ...

, and serving as a mentor in a special program for indigenous screenwriters at the

Banff Centre Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity, formerly known as The Banff Centre (and previously The Banff Centre for Continuing Education), located in Banff, Alberta, was established in 1933 as the Banff School of Drama. It was granted full autonomy as ...

. He was awarded 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 ...

in the Arts & Media category in 2001, and subsequently served as interim CEO of the National Aboriginal Achievement Foundation in 2004-05 and as executive producer of the awards gala in 2005 and 2006. Bittman 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 anch ...

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in 2017. At the

7th Canadian Screen Awards The 7th annual Canadian Screen Awards were held on March 31, 2019, to honour achievements in Canadian film, television, and digital media production in 2018.

in 2019, he received a posthumous Board of Directors Tribute Award from the

Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television The Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television is a Canadian non-profit organization created in 1979 to recognize the achievements of the over 4,000 Canadian cinema of Canada, film industry and television in Canada, television industry professionals ...

."Canadian Screen Awards announce special honorees"
News 1130 CKWX, January 15, 2019.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bittman, Roman 1941 births 2017 deaths Film producers from Alberta Canadian television producers Canadian Broadcasting Corporation people National Film Board of Canada people Canadian Screen Award winners Canadian Métis people Métis filmmakers People from Hay River Toronto Metropolitan University alumni