Don Haig was a Canadian filmmaker, editor, and producer. His work in film and television spanned nearly five decades. Over the course of his career, he won Academy, Genie, and Gemini awards, and the Governor General's Performing Arts Award. Don was known as the "godfather of Canadian film" for nurturing young talent and producing many award-winning films. He is recognized by some as "the most important person on the Canadian film scene," helping create over 500 films.
Career
As a young man, Haig began his career in film distribution in Winnipeg. In the early years, he would travel to small prairie towns with films and a projector, and charge five cents or less to see a movie, as "another pair of eyes doesn't cost much". After the early years repairing film for MGM in Winnipeg, he later moved to the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation where he remained until 1962. In 1963, with the support of filmmakers Allan King and Beryl Fox, he started his company Film Arts. Haig received film editing awards for the Beryl Fox documentaries including Summer in Mississippi and '. He also edited her Fields of Endless Day. In 1970, Haig co-founded the Canadian Film Editors Guild in 1970. He was chairman of the Canadian Film and Television Association in 1972. Among the films he helped produce was ', which was written and directed by Brigitte Berman in 1985. Oprah Winfrey presented Berman and Haig with an Oscar at the 59th Academy Awards. After his retirement and sale of Film Arts to Film House, Haig joined the National Film Board of Canada in 1992 and became head of English production. He was noted for aiding young talent with funding, guidance, and editing their films. He retired in 1998 after completing many NFB productions. He died in 2002 at his home in Toronto. The Don Haig Foundation was established to see his legacy of supporting young filmmakers continue. In 2004, the Don Haig Foundation began recognizing aspiring documentary filmmakers with an annual award. On February 6, 2006, the award committee began a partnership with the Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival to ensure a home for the Don Haig Award.
In addition to the films listed below, there are an estimated 500 films he has contributed as producer or editor, and Library and Archives Canada has an archival collection of over 800 film reels associated with Haig or his companies including Film Arts Ltd.
Haig headed production of English-language film at the National Film Board of Canada. He acted as producer, co-producer, and provided guidance, funding, and editing assistance to many filmmakers while there.
