The National Film Board of Canada (NFB) is mourning the passing of veteran animator, director and film producer Robert Verrall, who died in Montreal on January 17, at the age of 97.
Born in Toronto on January 13, 1928, Verrall was one of the early generation of Canadian film pioneers at the NFB, where he worked for more than 40 years, from 1945 to 1987. Over the course of this distinguished career, his films garnered a BAFTA Award, prizes at the Cannes Film Festival and Venice Film Festival, and six Academy Award nominations.
"Robert Verrall was one of the builders of the NFB, who possessed a keen eye for great stories and talented creators. Gifted in animation, he built on the foundation put in place by Norman McLaren to attract global renown for the NFB as a centre for animation excellence. In documentary and drama, he oversaw the NFB's efforts to establish production units across the country. He was an ally when trailblazers like Kathleen Shannon founded Studio D, the world's first publicly funded feminist filmmaking studio. Robert truly helped to shape the modern NFB, and we are deeply grateful for his legacy," said Suzanne Guèvremont, Government Film Commissioner and NFB Chairperson.
Select biography
Robert Verrall began his career at the NFB in 1945 as a summer student and joined the staff of the animation department the following year, when he was hired by the renowned Norman McLaren.
He apprenticed with McLaren and formed a close association with Colin Low and Wolf Koenig, with whom he made The Romance of Transportation in Canada, winner of the best animated short film award at Cannes and the first NFB film nominated in an animation category at the Academy Awards.
Verrall distinguished himself as a producer and as head of the NFB's Animation Department from 1967 to 1972, enhancing the NFB's reputation as a world leader with such classics as Ryan Larkin's Oscar-nominated Walking (1968), Yvon Mallette's Boomsville (1968), Zlatko Grgić's Hot Stuff (1971) and Barrie Nelson's comedic Propaganda Message (1974).
His own film, Cosmic Zoom (1968), transported audiences from the farthest conceivable point of the universe to the tiniest particle of existence and was an international success.
In 1972, Verrall became Director of English Production, a post he held until 1976. During his term he was responsible for extending NFB production activities to Toronto and Winnipeg while helping to establish Studio D, the NFB's legendary women's filmmaking unit, and Studio B, responsible for drama, both based in Montreal.
In 1977, he was appointed Executive Producer of Special Projects, which included the Canada Vignettes program and Paul Cowan's Oscar-nominated Commonwealth Games film, Going the Distance.
In September 1980, Verrall was named head of Studio B and was instrumental in carrying out the NFB's commitment to the co-production of feature films and television dramas, with titles such as The Wars, Empire Inc. and The Tin Flute/Bonheur d'occasion.
Verrall's legacy includes over 50 films on which he acted as either director or producer, before retiring from the NFB in the summer of 1986 to live at his farm in the Eastern Townships.
His son David followed in his footsteps as a distinguished producer and executive producer of animation in his own right, joining the NFB in 1977 and going on to head its English Animation Studio in Montreal.
Robert Verrall was interviewed by Joanne Robertson in 2012 for the NFB online anthology Making Movie History.
