The National Film Board Act 1939.

Discuss the significance of TWO of these in relation to the evolution of
Canadian Cinema. (maximum 250 words for each answer).

1. The National Film Board Act 1939.
2. Tax Shelter Films.
3. Igloolik Isuma Productions.
4. Genre and Canadian film.

SECTION B. (15% x 2=30%)
Answer TWO of these four questions. Your answer should integrate the readings,
discussion and lectures in as much detail as possible (maximum 3 pages). At minimum,
you should refer to 3 key concepts, 3 films and 3 readings. Your answer will be
written in essay format, using 12 point font, double space with proper citation of
sources (Chicago style guidelines).

1. Jolene Rickard has argued that visual sovereignty is a key term for framing new
   Indigenous art making practices. As she writes,” As part of an ongoing strategy
   for survival, the work of indigenous artists needs to be understood through the
   clarifying lens of sovereignty and self-determination, not just in terms of
   assimilation, colonization, and identity politics.” Discuss with reference to the
   Indigenous films screened in class.
   OR
2. The founding mandate of the National Film Board has been to “interpret Canada
   to Canadians.” Discuss the sometimes problematic but ever evolving articulation
   of the ‘national interest’ at the National Film Board with reference to at least
   three distinct historical periods, studios, or film movements from the founding of
   the NFB in 1939 to the present moment, incorporating references to class
   readings and screenings.
   OR
3. In his essay, “Questions of National Cinema,” Andrew Higson argues that
   “Cinema never simply reflects or expresses an already fully formed and
   homogeneous national culture and identity.” How have your readings, screenings
   of films in class and participation in class discussions opened up new ways to
   think about Canadian cinema?
   OR
4. Discuss the evolution of film policy from the National Film Board Act of 1939,
   through the Canadian Co-operation Project, tax shelter years and including the
   formation of federal and provincial funding agencies in Canada. How has the
   tension between often antithetical understanding of cinema as a public good with
   a pedagogic or cultural purpose and cinema as an industry shaped the evolution
   of these policies? Outline the particular and unique role of the federal
   government (in particular) in creating the conditions for the survival of Canadian
   cinema.

Sample Solution