John Grierson
Director
Biography
John Grierson (1898–1972) was a pioneering Scottish filmmaker and producer who shaped the documentary film movement, earning recognition as the father of British and Canadian documentary cinema. He famously coined the term "documentary" in 1926 and championed the idea that film should serve as a tool for social education and reform. As the driving force behind the British documentary movement, he founded the GPO Film Unit, which produced groundbreaking works like Night Mail (1936), and later played a key role in establishing the National Film Board of Canada (NFB) in 1939, turning it into one of the world's most influential documentary institutions. Grierson’s vision and advocacy for documentary as a vehicle for public service and civic engagement left a lasting legacy on global nonfiction filmmaking.
Filmography
Night Mail
as Commentary 1936
Creative Process: Norman McLaren
as Self 1990
Grierson
as Self (archive footage) 1973
The Face of Scotland
as John Knox (voice) 1938
I Remember, I Remember
1968
Documenting John Grierson
2014
On the Fishing Banks of Skye
as Narrator 1935
Rivers at Work
as Narrator 1958
John Grierson
as Himself 1959
Hitchcock on Grierson
as Self TBA