While the board is well known for its Documentary films (some inspired the likes of Stanley Kubrick, Ken Burns and George Lucas) and some dramatic features (ex: Mon Oncle Antoine, Jesus of Montreal and the Oscar-nominated The Decline of the American Empire), the Board is most famous internationally for its animation, which has garnered several awards, including Oscars. Although it got started with Disney in early World War II, it had its glory years during The Dark Age of Animation when it was a shining light of pure artistic excellence. Its documentaries have received a bit of a boost in recognition after being cited as a key influence on Scottish electronic band Boards of Canada, who even named themselves after the Board.
For a sampling of the Film Board's animation genius, see Animation Favorites from the National Film Board of Canada
, hosted by Leonard Maltin, and The National Film Board of Canada's Animation Festival along with compilation DVDs of sorts.
In addition, the Film Board has its own official YouTube Channel and Android app.
Notable Live-Action Films:
- Carts of Darkness
- A Chairy Tale
- City of Gold (believed to be the Trope Maker for The Ken Burns Effect)
- The Decline of the American Empire
- The Devil at Your Heels
- First Winter
- Going the Distance
- If You Love This Planet (1983 Oscar winner; also designated as subversive foreign propaganda by the Reagan administration)
- I'll Find a Way (1977 Oscar winner)
- Jesus of Montreal
- Mon Oncle Antoine
- Neighbours
- Nails (a documentary about... what else? It's better than it sounds)
- Paddle to the Sea
- Pas de deux
- The Railrodder — short film starring none other than Buster Keaton
- 21-87 (a film that influenced The Force)
- Very Nice, Very Nice
Notable Animated Films:
- 64,000,000 Years Ago
- Affairs of the Art
- Animal Behaviour
- Balablok (1973 Cannes short winner)
- Bead Game
- Begone Dull Care
- The Big Snit
- Blackfly
- Blind Vaysha
- Blinkity Blank (Short Film Palme d'Or winner)
- Bob's Birthday (1994 Oscar winner; later became the pilot for Bob and Margaret)
- The Cat Came Back
- Cat's Cradle
- Christmas Cracker
- The Danish Poet (2006 Oscar winner)
- Dimanche
- The Dingles
- The Drag
- Every Child (1979 Oscar winner)
- Every Dog's Guide to Complete Home Safety
- Every Dog's Guide to the Playground
- Evolution (1971)
- The Family That Dwelt Apart
- Flutter
- The Flying Sailor
- George and Rosemary
- Get a Job
- Getting Started
- Hot Stuff
- The House That Jack Built
- How Dinosaurs Learned to Fly
- Hunger
- I Know an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly
- Juke-Bar
- La Salla
- Log Driver's Waltz (Canada Vignettes)
- The Lump
- Madame Tutli-Putli
- Mamie
- Manivald
- Me and My Moulton
- Mindscape
- Monsieur Pointu
- Mr. Frog Went A-Courting
- My Financial Career
- My Grandmother Ironed the King's Shirts
- Noël Noël (aired once on Cartoon Network during the 2004 Christmas season)
- Oma's Quilt
- Paradise
- Peep and the Big Wide World (later became a full TV series)
- The Romance of Transportation in Canada (first animated Oscar nod in 1952)
- Runaway
- Ryan (2004 Oscar winner about former NFB animator Ryan Larkin)
- The Sand Castle (1977 Oscar winner)
- Special Delivery (1978 Oscar winner)
- The Spine (2009)
- The $treet
- Strange Invaders
- Strings
- The Sweater
- The Tender Tale of Cinderella Penguin
- To Be
- The Town Mouse and the Country Mouse
- Two Sisters
- Universe
- Walking
- What on Earth!
- When the Day Breaks
- Why Me?
- Wild Life (Une vie sauvage)
Notable Directors:
- Cordell Barker
- Brad Caslor
- Sheldon Cohen
- Richard Condie
- Paul Driessen
- David Fine & Alison Snowden
- Peter Foldes (early CGI animator)
- William Greaves (of Symbiopsychotaxiplasm: Take One fame)
- Jeff Hale
- Christopher Hinton
- Co Hoederman
- John and Faith Hubley
- Wolf Koeing
- Torill Kove
- Derek Lamb
- Evelyn Lambart
- Chris Landerth
- Ryan Larkin
- Caroline Leaf
- Arthur Lipsett (collage filmmaker that later influenced George Lucas)
- Colin Low
- Norman McLaren
- Michael Mills
- Marv Newland
- Alanis Obomsawin
- Ishu Patel
- Janet Perlman
- Kaj Pindal
- Bretislav Pojar
- Gerald Potteron
- Wendy Tilby and Amanda Forbes
- John Weldon
Tropes associated with the NFB:
- The Animators Showoff: The biggest reason for the studio's acclaim during the animation dark ages was for its hands-off approach towards production; they allow animators to create their own visions and experiment with the medium.
- Apocalyptic Montage: Lipsett's films are full of it (in both audio and video footage).
- Deranged Animation: The Board is famous for the experimental work of Norman McLaren and other animators who tried out various techniques like Drawn on Film, Pinscreen Animation, Stop Motion (à la Pixellation) and Paint-on-Glass Animation.
- The Ken Burns Effect: City of Gold influenced Ken Burns with its usage of animation camera techniques to pan old photos of a former gold mining town.
- No Budget: The studio didn't have the money or resources to produce Disney quality animation after the two went their separate ways. However, it was because of these limitations that the NFB decided to emphasize technical and artistic experimentation in their cartoons; which lead to them becoming widely recognized in the film industry as well as the go-to studio amongst Canadian indie animators.
- Rapid-Fire Comedy: For NFB fans, the films of Richard Condie (The Big Snit) and John Weldon (Log Drivers Waltz), The Cat Came Back and Get a Job are a good start. Some resort to Black Comedy, Satire and so on.
- Streisand Effect: If You Love This Planet won the 1982 Best Documentary Short Oscar after being labeled as foreign propaganda by the U.S. Foreign Agent Registration Act.
