Film Society - Canada

Canada

The beginnings of Canadian film education may be traced to the relatively late arrival of the film society movement. While the earliest film societies were formed in Paris in 1924 and in London the following year, it wasn't until 1935 that Donald Buchanan assembled a sufficient number of film enthusiasts to launch the National Film Society of Canada. That organization, largely modelled on the British Film Institute, took as its mandate the establishment of a genuine film culture. Within a year, the society opened branches in Ottawa, Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver.

After a wartime hiatus, the Canadian film society movement enjoyed what may now be seen as its golden age. The National Film Society, renamed the Canadian Film Institute in 1950, became a clearing house for a growing number of societies across Canada. It was soon a victim of its own success as the groups broke away in 1954 to form the Canadian Federation of Film Societies (CFSS). Spearheaded by Dorothy Burritt, CFFS member societies programmed ambitious retrospectives often accompanied by lengthy and erudite program notes.

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