ion, Expo 67,Academy Award winner for Best Short Film 1968) had a contract to make a film about Quetico Provincial Park. He needed an assistant who knew how to live in the wilderness and who could also play the part of the canoeist. He heard about Bill from someone who had seen The Timeless Wilderness. He hired Bill, and one great Canadian documentary filmmaker launched the career of another. Bill’s rise to success as a filmmaker was meteoric. One success followed another.The very first film he made for the National Film Board of Canada,Paddle to the Sea, won eleven national and international awards and was nominated for an Oscar (Best Short Film) in 1968.One of life’s little ironies:he lost to his mentor, Chris Chapman, A Place to Stand. By the mid-seventies,he had become one of Canada’s most successful documentary filmmakers. Bill’s films were so well made, and were so appealing, they were used again and again from kindergarten to university for many courses. His


painting above–


Mountains Study, Oil on paper from the sketch books circa 1984, Bill Mason Productions.


painting right– Rock Pinnacle, Oil on paper, Private Collection.


44


WWW.RAPIDMAG.COM


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33