Editing

Dennis Sawyer

Over the course of his 30-year-long career at the NFB (1955–1987), Dennis Sawyer produced a large body of work, not only as a director (12 titles) and producer (90 titles) but also as an editor (150 titles), sound technician (4 titles) and cast member (1 title). He started out as a sound technician and film editor in 1955, and his first credit as a director came in 1970. He produced his last film in 1987. His impressive and versatile career saw Sawyer working on a range of films that dealt with a variety of topics, from the Canada Vignettes series and the Fogo Island project to films about Latin America or Africa. Sawyer also directed the timeless depictions of the first four editions of the Arctic Winter Games (from 1970 to 1976), which featured many sports typically included in Olympic competitions but with a specific focus on Indigenous sports.

Acting credits

Behind the camera

When I Go - That's It! poster
NR

Ex-fisherman Billy Crane in Brampton, Ontario, at an industrial job with regular hours. Here he tells why he left Fogo Island and says he has no regrets. (See also Billy Crane Moves Away.)

When I Go - That's It!

1972

No artwork available
NR

A new system devised by Canadians whereby the dryout process in fuel bundles for a nuclear reactor can be completely checked, thereby preventing uneconomical burnup. Produced by the NFB for Atomic Energy of Canada.

U 111 Dryout Experiment

1971

On Power Refuelling poster
7.0

An outstanding factor in the efficiency of the CANDU reactor employed in Canadian nuclear power stations is that its construction allows for refuelling while the plant remains in operation, with no necessity for periodic shut-downs. Filmed at the Pickering, Ontario, station, this film clearly illustrates the processes and the advantages of this Canadian feature. Cutaway models and animated drawings are used in the demonstration.

On Power Refuelling

1971

No artwork available
8.0

This film shows the exacting procedures used during the 1970 replacement of the calandria in the NRX nuclear reactor at Chalk River. Produced by the NFB for Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd.

Reconstruction of the NRX Reactor 1970

1973

Sons of Haji Omar poster
10.0

Haji Omar and his three sons belong to the Lakankhel, a Pashtoon tribal group in northeastern Afghanistan. The film focuses on his family: Haji Omar, the patriarch; Anwar, the eldest, his father's favorite, a pastoralist and expert horseman; Jannat Gul, cultivator and ambitious rebel; and Ismail, the youngest, attending school with a view to a job as a government official.

Sons of Haji Omar

1978

No artwork available
7.0

Nuclear power plants are not exactly sold on the same scale as wheat, but that they can be manufactured as an exportable commodity is well illustrated in this film. For those familiar with nuclear power generation, and even for the lay audience, this is a lucid exposition of how a nuclear power plant is put together. The film shows the machining and assembly of principal components, and the "on power" operation of the Canadian plant at Pickering, Ontario. Produced by the NFB for Atomic Energy of Canada Limited.

On the Critical Path

1971

No artwork available
8.0

A compilation of satirical anti-smoking clips.

Where There's Smoke

1970

No artwork available
6.3

This short animated film is about Wop May, one of Canada's leading bush pilots in the 1920s.

Canada Vignettes: Wop May

1979

The Second Arctic Winter Games poster
NR

The Games included many sports seen in Olympic competition, plus others--for example, pirautaqturniq, the Inuit skill of hitting an object with a ten meter-long sled dog whip. This film captures the all-out participation in the week-long events hosted by Whitehorse, capital of the Yukon, with competitors from all over the Arctic including Alaska, and with observers from the Soviet Union.

The Second Arctic Winter Games

1972

The Second Arctic Winter Games poster
NR

The Games included many sports seen in Olympic competition, plus others--for example, pirautaqturniq, the Inuit skill of hitting an object with a ten meter-long sled dog whip. This film captures the all-out participation in the week-long events hosted by Whitehorse, capital of the Yukon, with competitors from all over the Arctic including Alaska, and with observers from the Soviet Union.

The Second Arctic Winter Games

1972