Don Haig (22 July 1933 — 2 March 2002) was a Canadian filmmaker, editor, and producer.
Haig's work in film and television spanned nearly five decades. Over the course of his career, he won Academy, Genie, and Gemini awards, and the Governor General's Performing Arts Award.
Haig was known as the "godfather of Canadian film" for nurturing young talent and producing many award-winning films. He is recognized by some as "the most important person on the Canadian film scene," helping create over 500 films.
Career Haig left high school after grade 9 and took a job repairing films at the Winnipeg distribution offices of MGM. In 1956, he moved to Toronto and was hired by the CBC film department, splicing commercials into The Ed Sullivan Show. After moving through the ranks and establishing a reputation as a superb editor, he left the CBC in 1962 and travelled to Europe, where he met Canadian producer/director Allan King. Back in Toronto, they joined with producer/director Beryl Fox to form their own company, Film Arts (aka Haig-King Film Arts). The CBC contracted Film Arts to edit and/or co-produce segments for This Hour Has Seven Days and the fifth estate, and CTV did the same for W5. Haig was editor on the Beryl Fox documentaries Fields of Endless Day, The Single Woman and the Double Standard, Summer in Mississippi and The Mills of the Gods: Viet Nam, which won Film of the Year at the 18th Canadian Film Awards in 1966.
In 1970, Haig co-founded the (now-defunct) Canadian Film Editors Guild. He was chairman of the Canadian Film and Television Association in 1972.
Among the films he helped produce was Artie Shaw: Time Is All You've Got, which was written and directed by Brigitte Berman in 1985. Oprah Winfrey presented Berman and Haig with an Oscar at the 59th Academy Awards.
After the 1992 sale of Film Arts to Film House, Haig joined the National Film Board of Canada and became head of English documentary production. He was noted for aiding young talent with funding, guidance, and editing. He retired in 1998.
Personal life Haig died of cancer at his home in Toronto in 2002, at age 68. His life partner was Bill Schultz, who is now the co-chair of the Don Haig Foundation.Waugh, Thomas, Romance of Transgression in Canada: Queering Sexualities, Nations, Cinemas. Carleton University Press, 2006. . p. 426.
The Don Haig Foundation In 2003, The Don Haig Foundation was established to support and recognize young filmmakers. In 2006, the foundation began a partnership with the Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival to ensure a home for the Don Haig Award, a monetary award which is presented to a filmmaker with a feature-length entry at the festival. The Don Haig Award is presented annually to an outstanding Canadian independent producer, with the recipient selected by a jury of independent filmmakers. The award recognizes creative vision and entrepreneurship, as reflected in the recipient's body of work, as well as a track record of mentoring emerging Canadian filmmakers.
Filmography
Film Arts The Single Woman and the Double Standard - documentary, Beryl Fox 1964 - editor Summer in Mississippi - documentary short, Beryl Fox 1965 - editor The Mills of the Gods: Viet Nam - documentary, Beryl Fox 1965 - editor A Path of His Own - Paul Caulfield 1970 - editor The National Dream: Building the Impossible Railway - James Murray, Eric Till 1974 - editor 125 Rooms of Comfort feature, Patrick Loubert 1974 - producer Serpent River Paddlers - documentary short, Anthony Hall 1975 - producer Pleasure Island - short film, Dan Wright 1975 - producer Fields of Endless Day - Terence Macartney-Filgate 1978 - editor Summer's Children - feature, Julius Kohanyi 1979 - co-producer Track Stars: The Unseen Heroes of Movie Sound - documentary short, Terry Burke 1979 - co-producer Carillon: The Bells of Song - documentary short 1979 - producer Portrait of Christine - documentary short 1979 - producer' Different Timbres - documentary, Claire Prieto & Roger McTair 1980 - executive producer A.J. Casson: The Only Critic is Time - documentary, Michael Morningstar 1981 - producer Alligator Shoes - feature, Clay Boris 1981 - co-producer A Helping Hand (The Nature of Things) - documentary short 1982 - co-producer K.C.I.: Beyond the Three R's - documentary short, Scott Barrie 1982 - editor Alex Colville: The Splendour of Order - documentary, Don Hutchison 1984 - executive producer Concertante: Arnold Spohr and the Royal Winnipeg Ballet - documentary, Gabriel Markiw 1984 Unfinished Business - feature, Don Owen 1984 - co-executive producer Finding Out: Incest and Family Sexual Abuse - documentary short, Susan Murgatroyd 1984 - co-producer Artie Shaw: Time Is All You've Got - documentary, Brigitte Berman, Bridge Film Productions 1985 - associate producer D.P. Brown: Beyond Realism - documentary short, Athan Katsos 1985 - co-producer Samuel Lount - feature, Laurence Keane 1985 - co-producer Overnight - feature, Jack Darcus 1985 - co-producer Dancing in the Dark - feature, Leon Marr 1986 - co-producer Those Roos Boys and Friends - documentary, Barbara Boyden 1987 - co-writer, co-producer Home to Buxton - documentary short, Roger McTair & Claire Prieto 1987 - co-producer The Kidnapping of Baby John Doe - TV movie, Peter Gerretsen 1987 - executive producer I've Heard the Mermaids Singing - feature, Patricia Rozema 1987 - executive producer Dreams Beyond Memory - feature, Andrzej Markiewicz 1987 - executive producer Night Friend - feature, Peter Gerretsen 1987 - executive producer Deep Sea Conspiracy - feature, Michael Brun 1987 - co-producer Growing Up in America - documentary, Morley Markson 1988 - co-producer Comic Book Confidential - documentary, Ron Mann 1988 - co-producer Dear John - feature, Catherine Ord 1988 - co-producer Solitary Journey - documentary, Vic Sarin 1989 - co-producer Stanley Knowles: By Word and Deed - documentary short, Dan Curtis 1988 - producer Turnabout - feature, Don Owen 1988 - executive producer The Brain - feature, Edward Hunt 1988 - co-producer Shadow Dancing - feature, Lewis Furey 1988 - co-producer The Crow and the Canary - documentary short, Arnie Lipsey 1989 - producer Mob Story - feature, Gabriel Markiw & Jancarlo Markiw 1989 - co-producer Odyssey in August - documentary short, Stephen Roscoe 1989 - producer Termini Station - feature, Allan King 1989 - co-producer Special of the Day - documentary short, Robert Kennedy 1989 - producer The Midday Sun - feature, Lulu Keating 1989 - executive producer Freakshow - feature, Constantino Magnatta 1989 - executive producer St. Nicholas and the Children - feature, George Bloomfield 1989 - co-producer Defy Gravity - feature, Michael Gibson 1990 - co-producer In Advance of the Landing - documentary short, Dan Curtis 1990 - producer Elizabeth Smart: On the Side of Angels - documentary, Maya Gallus 1991 - executive producer Thick as Thieves - Steve DiMarco 1991 - co-producer White Light - feature, Al Waxman 1991 - executive producer The Heart of a Viking: The Story of Joe Boyle - documentary short, Pat Patterson 1991 - producer The Twist - documentary, Ron Mann 1992 - co-producer Just For Fun - documentary short, David Oiye 1993 - producer
National Film Board of Canada
A Further Glimpse of Joey - documentary short, Don Owen 1966 - editor Timothy Findley: Anatomy of a Writer - documentary, Terence Macartney-Filgate 1992 - co-executive producer Nurses: The Heart of the System documentary, Tanya Tree 1992 - co-executive producer Secret Nation - feature, Michael Jones 1992 - executive producer First Nations: The Circle Unbroken - documentary series, Geraldine Bob, Gary Marcuse, Deanna Nyce & Lorna Williams 1993 - co-executive producer View from the Typewriter - documentary, Robert A. Duncan 1993 - co-executive producer Freedom Had a Price - documentary, Yurij Luhovy 1994 - executive producer Blockade - documentary, Nettie Wild 1994 - co-producer By Woman’s Hand - documentary, Pepita Ferrari 1994 - co-executive producer Seven Crows a Secret - documentary short, John Forrest 1994 - co-executive producer When Shirley Met Florence - documentary short, Ronit Bezalel 1994 - executive producer Trawna Tuh Belvul - animated short, Martin Rose 1994 - co-executive producer Dinosaurs: Piecing It All Together - documentary, Michael McKennirey 1994 - co-executive producer Children for Hire - documentary, Lyn Wright 1994 - co-executive producer The Summer of ‘67 - documentary, Albert Kish & Donald Winkler 1994 - executive producer Lessons - documentary, Paul Cowan 1995 - co-executive producer My Name is Kahentiiosta - documentary short, Alanis Obomsawin 1995 - executive producer 10-7 For Life - documentary, Cynthia Banks 1995 - co-executive producer Anatomy of Desire - documentary, Peter Tyler Boullata & Jean-François Monette 1995 - executive producer Canada Remembers: Part 1, Turning the Tide - documentary, Terence Macartney-Filgate 1995 - executive producer Canada Remembers: Part 2, The Liberators - documentary, Terence Macartney-Filgate 1995 - executive producer Canada Remembers: Part 3, Endings and Beginnings - documentary, Terence Macartney-Filgate 1995 - executive producer Baby Business - documentary, Judy Jackson 1995 - executive producer Multiple Choices - Blending - documentary short, Alison Burns 1995 - executive producer Multiple Choices - Choices - documentary short, Alison Burns 1995 - executive producer Multiple Choices - Community - documentary short, Alison Burns 1995 - executive producer Multiple Choices - Families - documentary short, Alison Burns 1995 - executive producer Multiple Choices - Forever After? - documentary short, Alison Burns 1995 - executive producer Multiple Choices - Loves Me, Loves Me Not - documentary short, Alison Burns 1995 - executive producer Multiple Choices - Picture Perfect - documentary short, Alison Burns 1995 - executive producer Multiple Choices - Power Lines - documentary short, Alison Burns 1995 - executive producer Multiple Choices - Searching - documentary short, Alison Burns 1995 - executive producer Multiple Choices - The Agony and the Ecstasy - documentary short, Alison Burns 1995 - executive producer Multiple Choices - Tying the Knot - documentary short, Alison Burns 1995 - executive producer Multiple Choices - Who, What, Where, When? - documentary short, Alison Burns 1995 - executive producer Multiple Choices - Who’s Who? - documentary short, Alison Burns 1995 - executive producer The Odyssey Diaries - documentary, Susan Fleming 1995 - co-executive producer The Reluctant Deckhand - short film, Jan Padgett 1995 - co-executive producer The Pinnacle and the Poet - documentary short, Louise Abbott 1995 - executive producer Who's Counting? Marilyn Waring on Sex, Lies and Global Economics - documentary, Terre Nash 1995 - co-executive producer Silence & Storm - documentary, Jeremiah Hayes 1995 - co-executive producer The Voyage of the St. Louis - documentary, Maziar Bahari 1995 - executive producer A Web of War - documentary, Brian McKenna 1995 - co-executive producer War at Sea: The Black Pit - documentary, Brian McKenna 1995 - executive producer War at Sea: U-Boats in the St. Lawrence - documentary, Brian McKenna 1995 - executive producer Le temps d'une guerre - documentary, Jacques Vallée 1995 - co-executive producer The Passerby - documentary, Donald McWilliams 1995 - co-executive producer The Marco Polo: Queen of the Seas - documentary, Roger Hart 1995 - co-executive producer Eldon Rathburn: They Shoot...He Scores - documentary short, Louis Hone 1995 - executive producer Mystery of the Maya - documentary short, Barrie Howells & Roberto Rochin 1995 - co-executive producer Broken Promises: The High Arctic Relocation - documentary, Patricia Tassinari, Ziad Hamzeh 1995 - executive producer Children First! - documentary, Jacques Vallée 1995 - executive producer Children of Jerusalem - Gesho - documentary short, Beverly Shaffer 1996 - executive producer