A
boy of twelve, on his way home from school he'd detour
to the lane behind the local theatre where he'd pick through
discarded scraps of 35mm film. He'd sneak out of the house
after dinner to return to the theatre where he persuaded
the projectionist to teach him his trade - and race home
to meet his 9 o'clock curfew. He bought a 16mm projector,
put it in the family's coal shed, used a white sheet for
a screen and called his set up The Ace Theatre. There
he showed films to his brothers and the neighbourhood
kids.
Don
left school after Grade 9 to work at MGM's Winnipeg office.
In 1956, he joined the editing staff at CBC Television
in Toronto. He received several awards for editing including
the Anik/Wilderness Award for Vietnam: The Mills of
the Gods. In 1963 he formed Film Arts Limited where
he continued to provide editing and post-production services
to major CBC TV productions (This Hour Has Seven Days,
The National Dream, the fifth estate).
In
the 1970s, Don's activities broadened to include the roles
of co-producer and executive producer on a vast array
of projects. His credits include the feature films I've
Heard the Mermaids Singing, Dancing in the Dark and
Alligator Shoes - all of which screened at the
Cannes Film Festival. Among his documentary credits are
Anatomy of a Writer: Timothy Findley and the short,
Track Stars, both Gemini Award winners; Comic
Book Confidential (Berlin Film Festival); Twist
(New York Film Festival); and Artie Shaw: Time is All
You've Got, which won the Academy Award for Best Documentary
in 1987.
In
1992, Don joined the National Film Board. By the time
he left in 1998, he had overseen the production of 135
films in Vancouver, Montreal and Atlantic Canada. Don
returned to Toronto where he resumed his role as an executive
producer in the independent filmmaking community.
Throughout
his life, Don gave generously to emerging filmmakers.
He contributed his time, his knowledge, his money, the
use of the editing facilities he had built, and his faith
in the filmmakers and their talent. He considered it a
privilege to do so.
Don
received many awards and honours for his outstanding contribution
to Canadian film and television culminating in the prestigious
Governor General's Performing Arts Award.
Honoured
and touched as he was by such public recognition, Don
most treasured the respect and acknowledgement he received
from his fellow filmmakers. "We couldn't have done it
without him," they'd say. Don came to be known affectionately
as "the godfather of Canadian film."
Don
Haig's Honours & Awards
1963
- Wilderness Award, One More River, Editor
1964 - Canadian Film Award, Summer in Mississippi,
Editor
1965 - Wilderness Award, Mills of the Gods, Editor
1979 - ACCT Genie Award, Outstanding Independent Film,
Track Stars, Executive Producer
1980 - CFTA Award, Best Overall Production, A Path
of His Own, Executive Producer
1982 - Chicago International Film Festival, Gold Plaque,
A Helping Hand, Executive Producer
1984 - Yorkton Short Film & Video Festival, Golden
Sheaf Award, Alex Colville: The Splendour of Order,
Executive Producer
1985 - Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television, Air
Canada Award
1985 - Canadian Film & Television Association, Jack
Chisholm Award
1987 - CBC Producers' Association Award
1987 - Ontario Film Institute, Special Award for Excellence
in Film
1987 - Cannes, Prix de la Jeunesse, I've Heard the
Mermaids Singing, Executive Producer
1988 - Yorkton Film Festival, Special Award
1990 - American Film & Video Festival, Comic Book
Confidential, Executive Producer
1991 - City of Toronto, Media Arts Award
1992 - Women in Film & TV, Special Friend Award
1993 - York University, Honorary Doctor of Letters
1993 - Governor General of Canada, Performing Arts Award
1993 - Academy of Cinema & Television - Gemini/Donald
Brittain Award, Timothy Findley: Anatomy of a Writer,
Executive Producer
2000 - AV Preservation Trust of Canada, Masterworks Honourarium,
The Mills of the Gods, Editing
2001 - Hot Docs, Special Achievement Award
Don
Haig's Film & Television Credits
There
is an extensive list of Don's credits at: The
Film Reference Library
For
a hi-res copy of Don's photo, click
here (don_haig.bmp 2.8MB)
