Retrospective in Honour of Norman McLaren

Toronto, Friday, September 8, 2006

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I would like to take this opportunity while in such wonderful company to share a few thoughts on the enduring lesson of Norman McLaren’s artistic career.

His work is extraordinary, as much because of his attention to detail and inventiveness as his ability to set the screen ablaze with his creations. He remains a true master and role model for all aspiring animation filmmakers. His creations remain to this day, a delight for spectators.

He was a remarkable man, extraordinary in his talent, heart, social conscience, unassuming kindness and great depth of soul.

Back in the early 80s, when I was shooting my first feature film for the National Film Board of Canada, I remember its halls were a wonderful permanent forum, where at least two generations of filmmakers would regularly cross paths. I often met McLaren between the cutting room and the cafeteria. It was during his last few years with the Board, and yet he still possessed the infectious enthusiasm of a novice.

For me, McLaren’s most important lesson is that of a body of work at once demanding, unyielding, passionate, bold and envisioned within the bounds of a unique public service: the National Film Board of Canada.

It is a double lesson that today’s artists and policymakers must embrace. A democratic society cannot neglect its responsibilities toward the arts and culture, lest it run the risk of terrible consequences. McLaren’s adventure reminds us of just how important it is for our searching and creativity to be free of the limitations imposed by an all-too-exclusive use of the term “cultural industries.”

Don’t get me wrong: I know, as you do, that film is both an art and an industry. But I also know that in order to satisfy the demands of both, we must not lose sight of the fact that while the driving force of the industry is the bottom line, the lifeblood of creation is the need for a space in which to explore and express, free of mercantilist restrictions and market trends.

One could say that for the sake of the health of cultural industries and their survival beyond immediate consumption, we must preserve institutions like the Canada Council for the Arts and the National Film Board of Canada.

In short, the NFB, initially created over 60 years ago to support the war effort and subsequently evolving to bring Canada to Canadians and the rest of the world, has proven to be open in its development to the expectations and demands of the true artists who have built its reputation. McLaren, like Pierre Perrault and many others, is part of that tradition.

McLaren’s work, which we are invited to discover in its entirety through this wonderful DVD collection, reminds us that the duty of a democratic state is not to dictate the place and form of art; rather, it is to guarantee freedom of creation and expression, to ensure the education that goes along with it, and to preserve and share it.

That, I believe, is McLaren’s lesson. And that is why I am here tonight, proud and honoured to share this patronage with my wife.

Thank you.