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Giles Walker
Giles Walker
Giles Walker
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Giles Walker (January 17, 1946 – March 23, 2020)[1] was a Scottish-born Canadian film director.

Biography

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Giles Walker, born in 1946 in Dundee, Scotland, received a B.A. from the University of New Brunswick and an M.A. from Stanford University Film School in 1972. He joined the National Film Board of Canada soon after, directing documentaries, then switching to dramas in 1977. Bravery in the Field was nominated for a live-action short Oscar in 1979. The Masculine Mystique (directed with John N. Smith), the first of a trio of NFB movies dealing with issues of gender relations, showed Walker's experimental side, working with non-professional actors and the technique of improvisation.[2] The two other films in the series, however, moved closer to an easy, palatable Hollywood style – successfully in 90 Days but less so in The Last Straw. Perhaps Walker's most successful fictional work is Princes in Exile, a film about a summer camp for children with cancer, notable for delicate treatment of the subject and a moving lack of sentimentality. Walker died in March 2020 after a 10-year battle with brain cancer.[3]

Partial filmography

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Short film

Year Title Director Writer
1979 Bravery in the Field Yes Yes
Twice Upon a Time... Yes No

Feature film

Year Title Director Writer Producer
1984 The Masculine Mystique Yes Yes Yes
1985 90 Days Yes Yes Yes
1987 The Last Straw Yes Yes Yes
1990 Princes in Exile Yes No No
1993 Ordinary Magic Yes No No
1996 Never Too Late Yes No No
2001 Blind Terror Yes No No

Television

Year Title Notes
1999 Little Men 1 episode
2001 Tales from the Neverending Story 2 episodes
2004 Fries with That? 11 episodes
2007 Doctor*Ology 2 episodes

References

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See also

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Giles Walker

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Giles Walker was a Scottish-born Canadian film director and producer known for his work with the National Film Board of Canada, where he created a diverse body of documentaries and fiction films over several decades. Born on January 17, 1946, in Dundee, Scotland, Walker began his career in 1974 as a documentary filmmaker with the NFB in Montreal after immigrating to Canada. He directed and produced numerous short documentaries as well as feature-length fiction works, blending observational storytelling with narrative elements in his projects. His notable films include the Oscar-nominated short Bravery in the Field (1979) and the comedy feature 90 Days (1985), which highlighted his versatility across genres. Walker spent much of his professional life contributing to Canadian cinema through the NFB, earning recognition for his thoughtful portrayals of human experiences. He died in Toronto on March 23, 2020.

Early life

Education and immigration to Canada

Giles Walker was born on January 17, 1946, in Dundee, Scotland. He immigrated to Canada at a young age and later began his career as a documentary filmmaker with the National Film Board of Canada in Montreal in 1974.

Career at the National Film Board of Canada

Documentary filmmaking

Giles Walker joined the National Film Board of Canada in 1974 as a documentary filmmaker. His early work at the NFB concentrated on documentaries that employed observational techniques and featured non-professional subjects in authentic settings to capture real-life experiences and environments. For instance, in his 1976 short No Way They Want to Slow Down, Walker offered an informal, observational portrait of the Canadian ski team's demanding routines, travels, and competitions in South America, relying on the actual athletes and their real circumstances rather than scripted performances or professional actors. Walker emerged as a key figure in the NFB's development of "alternative dramas," an innovative form that blended dramatic narrative structures with documentary techniques and the use of non-professional actors to achieve a sense of truthful, spontaneous storytelling. This approach reflected an evolution in his early style toward merging the authenticity of documentary observation with fictional elements. He soon transitioned to dramatic filmmaking.

Dramatic shorts and Oscar nomination

After beginning his career at the National Film Board of Canada in 1974 as a documentary filmmaker, Giles Walker transitioned to directing dramatic films in the late 1970s. In 1979 he directed the satirical short Twice Upon a Time..., which depicts a city called Stereoville where residents are physically tied back-to-back to speakers of the other official language to manage bilingualism, until an unattached bilingual individual disrupts the system. That same year Walker directed and co-wrote the dramatic short Bravery in the Field, which centers on an elderly World War II veteran and a young street thug who, after a violent confrontation leaves both injured and hospitalized, come to recognize their shared sense of displacement and lack of purpose. The film earned Walker an Academy Award nomination for Best Live Action Short Film in 1979. These early dramatic shorts exemplified Walker's emerging style of combining dramatic storytelling with documentary techniques and non-professional actors, an approach that established him as a key figure in the NFB's alternative dramas.

Gender relations trilogy

Giles Walker created a notable trilogy on male-female relationships during his tenure at the National Film Board of Canada, consisting of The Masculine Mystique (1984), 90 Days (1985), and The Last Straw (1987). These films formed part of the NFB's efforts to develop alternative dramas that blended dramatic storytelling with non-professional actors and documentary techniques. Walker played a key role in this approach, using it to explore contemporary gender dynamics with a mix of humor, honesty, and introspection. The Masculine Mystique, co-directed with John N. Smith, served as the first installment and took the form of an essentially docudrama feature that examined the challenges faced by four men in adapting to feminism, modern women, and shifting male-female relationships. The film featured NFB employees and their associates in the principal roles, presenting an amused yet touching portrayal of their personal dilemmas, including commitment issues, affairs, divorce aftermath, and the search for partners, intercut with frank encounter sessions where the characters confronted their attitudes and emotions. Walker served as co-director, co-writer, and co-producer on this experimental effort that reflected the NFB's alternative drama initiatives. 90 Days marked the second and most acclaimed entry in the trilogy, earning praise as an award-winning theatrical release with a tongue-in-cheek style that followed the continuing misadventures of two recurring characters, Alex and Blue, as they navigated romantic pursuits—Alex confronting a surprising proposition and Blue pursuing a mail-order bride under time pressure. Walker directed, co-wrote with David Wilson, and co-produced this more accessible comedy, which achieved wider recognition for its humorous take on modern relationships. The Last Straw concluded the trilogy as a sequel to 90 Days, with Walker again directing, co-writing with David Wilson, and co-producing. The film continued the stories of Alex and Blue, focusing on further complications in their lives involving fertility, reproductive desires, and family pressures in a humorous yet frank exploration of gender relations. While building on the characters and themes established earlier, it maintained the trilogy's use of alternative dramatic techniques to probe evolving male-female dynamics.

Independent career

Feature films

Giles Walker directed several feature films during his independent career, building on his earlier dramatic work at the National Film Board of Canada. His first such project was ''Princes in Exile'' (1990), an NFB/Cinepix co-production drama centered on teenagers with cancer attending a summer camp. He next directed ''Ordinary Magic'' (1993), a family-oriented drama notable for featuring Ryan Reynolds in his debut film role. Walker continued with ''Never Too Late'' (1996), a comedy exploring themes of aging and vitality. These films reflect Walker's shift toward more mainstream narrative storytelling while maintaining focus on human relationships and personal challenges.

Television directing

Giles Walker transitioned to television directing in the late 1990s, taking on episodic work in series and miniseries. He directed one episode of the family drama series ''Little Men'' in 1999, two episodes of ''Tales from the Neverending Story'' in 2001, and notably directed 11 episodes of the comedy series ''Fries with That?'' in 2004. He also directed two episodes of ''Doctor*ology'' in 2007. His television work included contributions to the series ''Emily of New Moon'', as well as miniseries such as ''Il Duce Canadese'' and ''René Lévesque''. He also directed the TV movie ''Blind Terror'' (2001), a suspense thriller. Walker's final project was the documentary ''The Way of Tai Chi'' in 2011, marking the end of his directing career with a return to non-fiction subject matter.

Awards and recognition

Giles Walker's short film Bravery in the Field (1979) received an Academy Award nomination for Best Live Action Short Film at the 52nd Academy Awards in 1980. It also won two Genie Awards in 1980: Outstanding TV Drama Under 30 Minutes (for Walker) and Outstanding Cinematography in a Dramatic Film (Non-Feature). His feature film 90 Days (1985) was nominated for several Genie Awards in 1986, including Best Motion Picture and Best Achievement in Direction. Walker received additional recognition, including a Special Mention from the Prize of the Ecumenical Jury at the Montréal World Film Festival for Princes in Exile (1990) and the Lucas award at the International Festival of Films for Children and Young People for Ordinary Magic (1993).

Personal life and death

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