Malca Gillson Explained

Malca Gillson
Birth Date:1926
Birth Place:Yorkton, Saskatchewan
Death Date:June 10, 2010
Death Place:Toronto, Ontario
Occupation:Composer, editor, director
Yearsactive:1954–1991

Malca Gillson (1926-2010) was a Canadian filmmaker with the National Film Board of Canada, and one of the first women to join the NFB in a non-junior position. She was a multi-tasker, acting as composer, sound editor, editor, producer and director. She is best known for her ground-breaking trilogy about end-of-life care: The Last Days of Living, Reflections on Suffering and Time for Caring.[1]

Early life

Gillson was born Malca Laskin in Yorkton, Saskatchewan, to Bures T. Laskin and Florence Natonson. Hers was a prominent family; her father was a four-term mayor of Humboldt, Saskatchewan; her uncle Saul Laskin became the first mayor of Thunder Bay; her other paternal uncle, Bora Laskin, became the 14th Chief Justice of Canada.

Career

Gillson joined the NFB in 1955, by which time she was married to NFB cameraman Denis Gillson; they would divorce, but she kept the name for the rest of her life.[2] At the time, most female recruits were negative cutters and secretaries;[3] she was hired as a composer, then placed in the sound department and went on to do the sound and/or music for several notable films, including the BAFTA-winning Buster Keaton Rides Again (1965), and Oscar nominee Helicopter Canada (1966). By 1971, Gillson was a film editor and, in 1975, she began to direct. Her films, including Musicanada (1975), Alberta Girls (1975) and Canada Vignettes: The Music Makers (1975) all involved music and musicians. In 1979, her attention turned to end-of-life issues and she filmed three documentaries at Montreal’s Royal Victoria Hospital: The Last Days of Living (1980), Reflections on Suffering (1982) and Time for Caring (1982). The Last Days of Living, shot at the hospital’s palliative care unit, was the first film to truthfully bring the subject of death to professionals and the public;[4] it is regarded as an essential film for healthcare professionals, volunteers and the public at large.[5]

Gillson retired from the NFB in 1980 and died in Toronto in 2010.[6]

Filmography

The Music Makers - documentary short, 1979 - editor, director

Awards

Musicanada (1975)[7]

The Last Days of Living (1980)[8]

Time for Caring (1982)[9]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Director: Malca Gillson . onf-nfb.gc.ca . National Film Board of Canada . 24 February 2023.
  2. Web site: Fleming . Berkeley . NFB Memories . canadianfilm.ca . Canadianfilm.ca . 24 February 2023.
  3. Web site: A HISTORY OF WOMEN’S FILMMAKING AT THE NATIONAL FILM BOARD OF CANADA . onf-nfb.gc.ca . National Film Board of Canada . 24 February 2023.
  4. Web site: Evans . Gary . In the national interest : a chronicle of the National Film Board of Canada from 1949 to 1989, pp 278 . Archive.org . archive.org . 24 February 2023.
  5. Web site: The Last Days of Living . acmi.net.au . Australian Centre for the Moving Image . 24 February 2023.
  6. Web site: Malca Gillson Obituary . legacy.com . Legacy.com, The Globe and Mail . 24 February 2023.
  7. Web site: Musicanada . onf-nfb.gc.ca . National Film Board of Canada . 24 February 2023.
  8. Web site: The Last Days of Living . onf-nfb.gc.ca . National Film Board of Canada . 24 February 2023.
  9. Web site: Time for Caring . onf-nfb.gc.ca . National Film Board of Canada . 24 February 2023.

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