A Return to Memory: Film screening + Q&A

In celebration of International Women’s Day, join us for a screening of the new documentary A Return to Memory (2024, 118 minutes). This film highlights the role of women in establishing the National Film Board and creating Canadian cinema as we know it.

After the screening we’ll host a Q&A with Michelle van Beusekom, who had the original idea for the film and was a consultant. Michelle previously served as the NFB’s Executive Director of English language production studios, and is the current CEO of the Knowledge Network.

About the film: 

“We learned to work with chaos.”

The intrepid women who helped create Canadian cinema come to vibrant life in A Return to Memory, a documentary masterwork illuminating their vital but little-known role in establishing Canada’s National Film Board.

Juxtaposing a dazzling array of archival material with dynamic animation by NFB infographics artist Mélanie Bouchard, director Donald McWilliams evokes the heady wartime years, when women played a key part in transforming the NFB into a major international studio.

With men engaged elsewhere in the war effort, hundreds of women pursued careers at the newly formed public producer — and pioneering figures like Evelyn Spice Cherry, Red Burns and Jane Marsh Beveridge made movie history, creating work that spoke to the world with a distinctive Canadian voice.

Registration is requested, but drop-ins may be allowed if space permits. 

Questions? Email info@nvcl.ca or call 604-998-3450.