Donald Shebib

Directing

Donald Shebib

Born — Died

1938-01-17 — 2023-11-05

Place of birth

Toronto, Canada

Known for

Directing

Credits

25 titles

Donald Everett Shebib (27 January 1938 – 5 November 2023) was a Canadian film and television director. Shebib was a central figure in the development of English Canadian cinema who made several short documentaries for the National Film Board of Canada and CBC Television in the 1960s before turning to feature films, beginning with the influential Goin' Down the Road (1970) and what many call his masterpiece, Between Friends (1973). He soon became frustrated by the bureaucratic process of film funding in Canada and chronic problems with distribution as well as a string of box office disappointments. After Heartaches (1981), he made fewer films for theatrical release and worked more in televisi…

Known for

Nightalk poster
5.7

A female cop goes undercover on a phone-sex app to solve a murder investigation as she risks becoming the killer's next victim.

Nightalk

2022

Between Friends poster
7.0

An ex-con, his daughter and her two friends plan the elaborate heist of a nickel mine in Northern Ontario.

Between Friends

1973

The Pathfinder poster
5.4

In this sequel to The Last of the Mohicans, the Pathfinder (Kevin Dillon) defends a British fort under siege during the French and Indian Wars. His Indian father, Chingachgook (Graham Greene), and the lovely Mabel Dunham (Laurie Holden) are swept up in the battle, and the Pathfinder finds himself forced to choose between his father and the woman he loves. The film is based on last of James Fenimore Cooper's "Leatherstocking Tales."

The Pathfinder

1996

Running Brave poster
4.3

The story of Billy Mills the American Indian that came from obscurity, to win the 10,000 meter long distance foot race in the Tokyo Olympics.

Running Brave

1983

The Little Kidnappers poster
5.7

Loosely based on a '50's movie of the same name, it tells the story of two young orphan boys who travel by themselves from the Old country to join their father's family in Canada. There they encounter their stern disciplinarian grandfather who has alienated himself from some of his neighbors. There is particularly no love lost between the grandfather and his Dutch neighbors, who he generalizes as being responsible for his son's death in the Boor War. A side product of this animosity is that it is keeping apart the boy's aunt and her Dutch doctor suitor. The two boys change everything though when they find a young baby on the beach...

The Little Kidnappers

1990

The Climb poster
7.0

Based on the true story of the 1953 assault on Nanga Parbat, a treacherous Himalayan Peak.

The Climb

1986

Behind the camera

Nightalk poster
5.7

A female cop goes undercover on a phone-sex app to solve a murder investigation as she risks becoming the killer's next victim.

Nightalk

2022

Nightalk poster
5.7

A female cop goes undercover on a phone-sex app to solve a murder investigation as she risks becoming the killer's next victim.

Nightalk

2022

Between Friends poster
7.0

An ex-con, his daughter and her two friends plan the elaborate heist of a nickel mine in Northern Ontario.

Between Friends

1973

The Pathfinder poster
5.4

In this sequel to The Last of the Mohicans, the Pathfinder (Kevin Dillon) defends a British fort under siege during the French and Indian Wars. His Indian father, Chingachgook (Graham Greene), and the lovely Mabel Dunham (Laurie Holden) are swept up in the battle, and the Pathfinder finds himself forced to choose between his father and the woman he loves. The film is based on last of James Fenimore Cooper's "Leatherstocking Tales."

The Pathfinder

1996

Running Brave poster
4.3

The story of Billy Mills the American Indian that came from obscurity, to win the 10,000 meter long distance foot race in the Tokyo Olympics.

Running Brave

1983

The Little Kidnappers poster
5.7

Loosely based on a '50's movie of the same name, it tells the story of two young orphan boys who travel by themselves from the Old country to join their father's family in Canada. There they encounter their stern disciplinarian grandfather who has alienated himself from some of his neighbors. There is particularly no love lost between the grandfather and his Dutch neighbors, who he generalizes as being responsible for his son's death in the Boor War. A side product of this animosity is that it is keeping apart the boy's aunt and her Dutch doctor suitor. The two boys change everything though when they find a young baby on the beach...

The Little Kidnappers

1990

The Little Kidnappers poster
5.7

Loosely based on a '50's movie of the same name, it tells the story of two young orphan boys who travel by themselves from the Old country to join their father's family in Canada. There they encounter their stern disciplinarian grandfather who has alienated himself from some of his neighbors. There is particularly no love lost between the grandfather and his Dutch neighbors, who he generalizes as being responsible for his son's death in the Boor War. A side product of this animosity is that it is keeping apart the boy's aunt and her Dutch doctor suitor. The two boys change everything though when they find a young baby on the beach...

The Little Kidnappers

1990

The Climb poster
7.0

Based on the true story of the 1953 assault on Nanga Parbat, a treacherous Himalayan Peak.

The Climb

1986

The Climb poster
7.0

Based on the true story of the 1953 assault on Nanga Parbat, a treacherous Himalayan Peak.

The Climb

1986

Goin' Down the Road poster
6.3

Two friends travel from Nova Scotia to Toronto in hope of finding a better life. A classic, and over 50 years later, the film has been on every TIFF list of the top 10 Canadian films ever made.

Goin' Down the Road

1970

Goin' Down the Road poster
6.3

Two friends travel from Nova Scotia to Toronto in hope of finding a better life. A classic, and over 50 years later, the film has been on every TIFF list of the top 10 Canadian films ever made.

Goin' Down the Road

1970

Goin' Down the Road poster
6.3

Two friends travel from Nova Scotia to Toronto in hope of finding a better life. A classic, and over 50 years later, the film has been on every TIFF list of the top 10 Canadian films ever made.

Goin' Down the Road

1970

Rip-Off poster
4.0

Best friends Michael, Steve, Cooly and Richie are seniors at a large Toronto high school. Foremost on their minds and that of many of their classmates are what they are going to do this upcoming summer and beyond. They don't want to waste away the summer much like they did this past summer. Mike is being pressured by his parents to go to university following graduation from high school, although Mike himself is unsure if that's what he wants to do. Other ideas they discuss are to tour with their band, Arctic Madness, or to start a commune on a five hundred acre parcel of wilderness property outside of Timmins that was deeded to Mike. As the end of the school year approaches and these successive ideas come and fall by the wayside, the four come to a realization of what their future together holds

Rip-Off

1971

Down the Road Again poster
4.0

In 1970, Joey and Pete left Nova Scotia to try life in the big city in the Canadian Classic Goin’ Down the Road. Now, some forty years later, Joey has died, and Pete must fulfill his last wish: to take his ashes back to Cape Breton Island, as well as a few other tasks along the way. Armed with a series of letters and an envelope full of money, Pete heads back home. DOWN THE ROAD AGAIN is a touching, comedic and romantic tale of second chances at life and love.

Down the Road Again

2011

Down the Road Again poster
4.0

In 1970, Joey and Pete left Nova Scotia to try life in the big city in the Canadian Classic Goin’ Down the Road. Now, some forty years later, Joey has died, and Pete must fulfill his last wish: to take his ashes back to Cape Breton Island, as well as a few other tasks along the way. Armed with a series of letters and an envelope full of money, Pete heads back home. DOWN THE ROAD AGAIN is a touching, comedic and romantic tale of second chances at life and love.

Down the Road Again

2011

Heartaches poster
5.6

A young wife becomes pregnant, but the child's father is not her husband. Afraid to tell him, she leaves home, and meets an outgoing, free-spirited woman on a bus. Although the two are polar opposites, the wife moves in with the young woman, and finds out that they have much more in common than she realized.

Heartaches

1981

Change of Heart poster
9.0

An 8-year-old heads for Toronto to find her father, joined by an uncle who wants her inheritance.

Change of Heart

1993

Second Wind poster
6.5

A successful executive and family man takes up jogging for a hobby. Soon his desire to excel as a long distance runner interferes with his career and marriage.

Second Wind

1976

Satan's Choice poster
8.0

A rare "inside" view of a motorcycle club in Toronto, one of the network of such fraternal groups in the large centers across North America. The names they adopt (Satan's Choice is only one) are as individual as their special ethics and views of life, all freely expressed in this film.

Satan's Choice

1965

Satan's Choice poster
8.0

A rare "inside" view of a motorcycle club in Toronto, one of the network of such fraternal groups in the large centers across North America. The names they adopt (Satan's Choice is only one) are as individual as their special ethics and views of life, all freely expressed in this film.

Satan's Choice

1965

No artwork available
6.7

A hardened and embittered man turns his life around with the help of a farm boy in this uplifting family tale. Down on his luck and dependent on booze, Native American Fish Hawk (Will Sampson) changes his fate when he accepts a job hunting down a bear that's been killing local livestock. His temporary residence with the Boggs family brings young Corby (Charles Fields) into his life, and the boy's friendship gives Fish Hawk a new reason to live.

Fish Hawk

1980

No artwork available
9.0

Combat footage and old photographs from extant BBC documentary footage from the First and Second World Wars is intercut with contemporary footage of First World War veterans recalling their experiences at Royal Canadian Legion halls, memorial day commemorations and veterans' hospitals.

Good Times, Bad Times

1969

No artwork available
9.0

Combat footage and old photographs from extant BBC documentary footage from the First and Second World Wars is intercut with contemporary footage of First World War veterans recalling their experiences at Royal Canadian Legion halls, memorial day commemorations and veterans' hospitals.

Good Times, Bad Times

1969

The Ascent poster
6.4

The real-life adventure of a dashing Italian soldier who escapes a British prisoner-of-war camp because he dreams of climbing 17,000-foot Mt. Kenya and planting the Italian flag at the summit. The obsessive British camp commander pursues him, and the two men are locked in a battle of wills, fuelled by honor and their love for the same woman.

The Ascent

1994

A Search for Learning poster
10.0

A film for teachers, describing the use of the "discovery method" in teaching. All it needs is a teacher whose encouragement is natural and unobtrusive. The film shows a free environment where even the furniture can be arranged to meet the needs of a particular enquiry. Film loops and other visual media are shown being used to advantage in this method of teaching.

A Search for Learning

1967