René Jodoin (30 December 1920 – 22 January 2015) was an

animation Animation is a filmmaking technique whereby still images are manipulated to create moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited on film. Animati ...

director and producer who founded the French-language animation studio of the

National Film Board of Canada The National Film Board of Canada (NFB; ) is a Canadian public film and digital media producer and distributor. An agency of the Government of Canada, the NFB produces and distributes documentary films, animation, web documentaries, and altern ...

. Born in

Hull, Quebec Hull is the central business district and oldest neighbourhood of the city of Gatineau, Quebec, Canada. It is located on the west bank of the Gatineau River and the north shore of the Ottawa River, directly opposite Ottawa. As part of Canada's ...

on December 30, 1920, Jodoin died in

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

on January 22, 2015, at the age of 94.

Joining the NFB

Jodoin was invited by animation pioneer

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 ...

to join the NFB in 1943. He worked in the NFB's original animation unit, then left the NFB in 1947. He returned to the Film Board in 1954, working in a variety of capacities, including as head of an NFB animation program producing films for the Department of National Defence and as head of NFB's Science Film Program.

French animation studio founder

In 1966, he founded the French Animation Studio. He produced two

Academy Award The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence ...

-nominated animated shorts during his tenure: ''

Hunger In politics, humanitarian aid, and the social sciences, hunger is defined as a condition in which a person does not have the physical or financial capability to eat sufficient food to meet basic nutritional needs for a sustained period. In t ...

'', by Peter Foldes and '' Monsieur Pointu'', by André Leduc and Bernard Longpré, as well as '' Balablok'' by

Břetislav Pojar Břetislav Pojar (7 October 192312 October 2012) was a Czech puppeteer, animator and director of short film, short and feature films. Born in Sušice, Czechoslovakia, Pojar started his career in the late 1940s with his work on ''The Story of the ...

, winner of the Grand Prix du Festival for Short Film at the

Cannes Film Festival The Cannes Film Festival (; ), until 2003 called the International Film Festival ('), is the most prestigious film festival in the world. Held in Cannes, France, it previews new films of all genres, including documentaries, from all around ...

, and '' The Bronswik Affair'' by Leduc and Robert Awad.

Directorial credits

Jodoin's directorial credits include two short films with McLaren: ''Alouette'' and ''Spheres'', an abstract film set to the music of

Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (German: �joːhan zeˈbasti̯an baχ ( – 28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his prolific output across a variety of instruments and forms, including the or ...

as performed by Glenn Gould. He was also sole director on a cycle of geometrical animated shorts: '' Dance Squared'',Dance Squared
Dance Squared video on

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

'' Notes on a Triangle'', '' Rectangle & Rectangles'' and '' A Matter of Form''.

Post-NFB

Jodoin resigned as head of the French Animation Studio in 1977 and left the NFB in 1985. In 2001, he was awarded the Prix Albert-Tessier, given to individuals for an outstanding career in Québec cinema.

References

External links

*
''René Jodoin (1920-2015)''
NFB.ca * {{DEFAULTSORT:Jodoin, Rene 1920 births 2015 deaths Canadian animators Film directors from Quebec Film producers from Quebec Canadian animated film producers Artists from Quebec People from Gatineau Visual music artists National Film Board of Canada people Prix Albert-Tessier winners