Wolf Koenig (October 17, 1927 – June 26, 2014) was a Canadian

film director A film director controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the film crew and actors in the fulfilment of that vision. The director has a key role in choosing the cast members, pr ...

, producer,

animator An animator is an artist who creates multiple images, known as frames, which give an illusion of movement called animation when displayed in rapid sequence. Animators can work in a variety of fields including film, television, and video games ...

cinematographer The cinematographer or director of photography (sometimes shortened to DP or DOP) is the person responsible for the photographing or recording of a film, television production, music video or other live action piece. The cinematographer is the ch ...

, and a pioneer in Direct Cinema at 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 fi ...

Early life

Born in Dresden, Germany, Koenig emigrated to Canada with his family in 1937, when they fled

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

. They settled in farm along the Grand River, outside what is now known as

Cambridge, Ontario Cambridge is a city in the Regional Municipality of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, located at the confluence of the Grand and Speed rivers. The city had a population of 138,479 as of the 2021 census. Along with Kitchener and Waterloo, Cambridge ...

. In 1948, a local representative for the

Canadian department of agriculture 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 ...

needed the family's tractor to demonstrate a new tree-planting machine. As the young Koenig pulled the machine across a field, he noticed a small

film crew A film crew is a group of people, hired by a production company, for the purpose of producing a film or motion picture. The crew is distinguished from the cast, as the cast are understood to be the actors who appear in front of the camera o ...

from the NFB's former agricultural film unit, recording the demonstration. After filming was complete, he approached the men, who included director Raymond Garceau, and told them he loved films, especially animation, and hoped to work in filmmaking. They suggested he send in a

job application An application for employment is a standard business document that is prepared with questions deemed relevant by employers. It is used to determine the best candidate to fill a specific role within the company. Most companies provide such forms to ...

and approximately six weeks later he received a letter offering him the position of a junior splicer for $100 per month.

NFB career

Koenig quickly established himself as a multi-talented artist, filming

Norman McLaren William Norman McLaren, LL. D. (11 April 1914 – 27 January 1987) was a Scottish Canadian animator, director and producer known for his work for the National Film Board of Canada (NFB).Rosenthal, Alan. ''The new documentary in action: a caseb ...

's ''

Neighbours ''Neighbours'' is an Australian television soap opera, which has aired since 18 March 1985. It was created by television executive Reg Watson. The Seven Network commissioned the show following the success of Watson's earlier soap '' Sons an ...

'' (1952), animating Colin Low's ''

The Romance of Transportation in Canada ''The Romance of Transportation in Canada'' is a 1952 animated short film made by the National Film Board of Canada, as part of the postwar ''Canada Carries On'' series, offering a humorous account of the history of transportation in Canada. The f ...

'' (1953) and serving as

on Low's ''

Corral A pen is an enclosure for holding livestock. It may also perhaps be used as a term for an enclosure for other animals such as pets that are unwanted inside the house. The term describes types of enclosures that may confine one or many animal ...

'' (1954). Koenig co-directed several historically significant NFB documentaries during, including '' City of Gold'' (with Low, 1957), ''The Days Before Christmas'' (1958), '' Lonely Boy'' (with Kroitor, 1962) and ''Stravinsky'' (1965). Along with

Terence Macartney-Filgate Terence Macartney-Filgate (6 August 1924 – 11 July 2022) was a British-Canadian film director who directed, wrote, produced or shot more than 100 films in a career spanning more than 50 years. Early life Born in England, Macartney-Filgate l ...

Roman Kroitor Roman Kroitor (December 12, 1926 – September 17, 2012) was a Canadian filmmaker who was known as an early practitioner of ''cinéma vérité'', as co-founder of IMAX, and as creator of the Sandde hand-drawn stereoscopic animation system. ...

and Tom Daly, he was also one of the principal contributors to the NFB's ''

Candid Eye ''Candid Eye'' is a Canadian documentary television series which aired on CBC Television in 1958. Production Wolf Koenig, Terence Macartney-Filgate, and Stanley Jackson filmed ''The Days Before Christmas'' in December 1957, and the Canadian Br ...

'' series, which was influential in the development of direct cinema. Koenig made major contributions to a range of notable projects. He was also the cinematographer for

Arthur Lipsett Arthur Lipsett (May 13, 1936 – May 1, 1986) was a Canadian avant-garde director of short collage films. Life and career Born in Montreal into a Jewish family, Lipsett saw his mother, an immigrant from Kiev, commit suicide when he was 10 years ...

's ''Experimental Film'' (1963) and ''N-Zone'' (1970), both admired by

George Lucas George Walton Lucas Jr. (born May 14, 1944) is an American filmmaker. Lucas is best known for creating the '' Star Wars'' and '' Indiana Jones'' franchises and founding Lucasfilm, LucasArts, Industrial Light & Magic and THX. He served as c ...

. Koenig served as executive producer of the NFB's English animation unit from 1962 to 1967 and again from 1972 to 1975. His credits as an animation producer included the

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

nominees '' The Drag'' (1966), '' What on Earth!'' (1966) and '' The House That Jack Built'' (1967). Koenig also produced

Alanis Obomsawin Alanis Obomsawin, (born August 31, 1932) is an Abenaki American Canadian filmmaker, singer, artist, and activist primarily known for her documentary films. Born in New Hampshire, United States and raised primarily in Quebec, Canada, she has wri ...

's documentary '' Kanehsatake: 270 Years of Resistance'', named Best Canadian Feature Film at the 1993 Festival of Festivals (now

Toronto International Film Festival The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF, often stylized as tiff) is one of the largest publicly attended film festivals in the world, attracting over 480,000 people annually. Since its founding in 1976, TIFF has grown to become a perman ...

Legacy

Koenig retired from the NFB in 1995 to

Westport, Ontario Westport is a village in Eastern Ontario, Canada. It lies at the west end of Upper Rideau Lake, at the head of the navigable Rideau Canal system, southwest of Ottawa. The village of Westport was incorporated as an independent municipality in 19 ...

, where he made furniture and remained sporadically active in film. He received numerous honours awards during his career, including a 1984 Genie Award for Best Theatrical Short as producer of '' Ted Baryluk's Grocery'' and six

Canadian Film Award The Canadian Film Awards were the leading Canadian cinema awards from 1949 until 1978. These honours were conducted annually, except in 1974 when a number of Quebec directors withdrew their participation and prompted a cancellation. In the 1970s ...

s: Film of the Year and Best Arts and Experimental Film for ''City of Gold'', Film of the Year and Best General Information Film for ''Lonely Boy'', Best TV Information Film for ''Stravinsky'' and Best Documentary Short Film for ''The Hottest Show on Earth'' (1977). Koenig died June 26, 2014 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 ...

at the age of 86.

References

External links

*
Wolf Koenig, Canadian Film Encyclopedia, Film Reference Library

Watch films by Wolf Koenig at NFB.ca
{{DEFAULTSORT:Koenig, Wolf 1927 births 2014 deaths Canadian documentary film directors Canadian cinematographers Canadian animated film producers Film producers from Ontario Canadian animators Jewish emigrants from Nazi Germany to Canada Canadian documentary film producers National Film Board of Canada people People from Leeds and Grenville United Counties People from Cambridge, Ontario Canadian Screen Award winners Canadian cinema pioneers Film people from Dresden