Canadian Government Motion Picture Bureau

Canadian Government Motion Picture Bureau
Agency overview
Formed	September 1918
Preceding agency	Exhibits and Publicity Bureau;
Dissolved	1941
Superseding agency	National Film Board of Canada;
Agency executive	Fred Badgely, Director;
Parent department	Department of Trade and Commerce

The Canadian Government Motion Picture Bureau (CGMPB; French: Bureau de cinématographie du gouvernement canadien), founded as the Exhibits and Publicity Bureau, was the film production agency of the Government of Canada administered by the Department of Trade and Commerce, and intended to promote trade and industry. Created in 1918, it was the first government film production organization in the world.^[1]^[2]

Its purpose, according to the Minister of Trade and Commerce, was "advertising abroad Canada's scenic attractions, agricultural resources and industrial development," and much of its production was devoted to producing travelogues and industrial films.^[1]

It also produced early Canadian documentaries such as Lest We Forget (1935),^[3] a compilation film (using newsreel footage with staged sequences) recounting Canada's role in the First World War, written, directed, and edited by Frank Badgley, the director of the Bureau from 1927 to 1941; and The Royal Visit (1939),^[4] also co-written and edited by Badgley, which documented the 1939 royal tour of Canada by King George VI and his consort, Queen Elizabeth.^[5]

^ ^a ^b McIntosh, Andrew, and Peter Morris. 2017 February 3. "Canadian Government Motion Picture Bureau." The Canadian Encyclopedia.
^ Matlin, Julie (2009-08-12). "The Founding of the NFB". NFB Blog. Archived from the original on 2014-07-15. Retrieved 2021-05-03.
^ McInnes, Graham (2004). One Man's Documentary: A Memoir of the Early Years of the National Film Board. Winnipeg: University of Manitoba Press. p. 214. ISBN 0-88755-679-5.
^ Morris, Peter (1978). Embattled Shadows: A History of Canadian Cinema 1895-1939. Montreal: McGill-Queen's University Press. p. 273. ISBN 0-7735-0323-4.
^ "The Royal Visit". nfb.ca. National Film Board of Canada. Retrieved 13 April 2023.

[:0-1] McIntosh, Andrew, and Peter Morris. 2017 February 3. "Canadian Government Motion Picture Bureau." The Canadian Encyclopedia.

[:1-2] Matlin, Julie (2009-08-12). "The Founding of the NFB". NFB Blog. Archived from the original on 2014-07-15. Retrieved 2021-05-03.

[3] McInnes, Graham (2004). One Man's Documentary: A Memoir of the Early Years of the National Film Board. Winnipeg: University of Manitoba Press. p. 214. ISBN 0-88755-679-5.

[4] Morris, Peter (1978). Embattled Shadows: A History of Canadian Cinema 1895-1939. Montreal: McGill-Queen's University Press. p. 273. ISBN 0-7735-0323-4.

[5] "The Royal Visit". nfb.ca. National Film Board of Canada. Retrieved 13 April 2023.

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