Paul Cowan
Encyclopedia
Paul Cowan is a Canadian filmmaker who has spent the bulk of his career with the National Film Board of Canada
.
Cowan was nominated for an Academy Award for Documentary Feature
for Going the Distance
, a documentary about the 1978 Commonwealth Games
. He was the director of the controversial docudrama The Kid Who Couldn't Miss
and cinematographer on the Oscar-winning Flamenco at 5:15
.
He is the winner of a Genie Award
for his documentary Westray, on the Westray Mine
disaster. He retired from the NFB in 2009, after directing a film adaptation of Margaret MacMillan
's Peacemakers: The Paris Peace Conference of 1919 and Its Attempt to End War
.
A resident of Westmount, Quebec
, Cowan is married to CBC radio personality Katie Malloch
.
National Film Board of Canada
The National Film Board of Canada is Canada's twelve-time Academy Award-winning public film producer and distributor. An agency of the Government of Canada, the NFB produces and distributes documentary, animation, alternative drama and digital media productions...
.
Cowan was nominated for an Academy Award for Documentary Feature
Academy Award for Documentary Feature
The Academy Award for Documentary Feature is among the most prestigious awards for documentary films.- Winners and nominees:Following the Academy's practice, films are listed below by the award year...
for Going the Distance
Going the Distance (1979 film)
Going the Distance is a 1979 Canadian documentary film directed by Paul Cowan about the 1978 Commonwealth Games. Produced by the National Film Board of Canada, it was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature....
, a documentary about the 1978 Commonwealth Games
1978 Commonwealth Games
The 1978 Commonwealth Games were held in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, from 3 to 12 August 1978, two years after the 1976 Summer Olympics were held in Montreal, Quebec...
. He was the director of the controversial docudrama The Kid Who Couldn't Miss
The Kid Who Couldn't Miss
The Kid Who Couldn't Miss is a 1982 docudrama directed by Paul Cowan. Produced by the National Film Board of Canada, it combines fact and fiction to question fighter pilot Billy Bishop's accomplishments during World War I, featuring excerpts from John MacLachlan Gray's play Billy Bishop Goes to...
and cinematographer on the Oscar-winning Flamenco at 5:15
Flamenco at 5:15
Flamenco at 5:15 is a 1983 short documentary film directed by Cynthia Scott, taking audiences inside a flamenco dance class. Produced by Studio D, the women's studio of the National Film Board of Canada, the film won an Academy Award in 1984 for Documentary Short Subject.-External links:*...
.
He is the winner of a Genie Award
Genie Award
Genie Awards are given out to recognize the best of Canadian cinema by the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television. From 1949-1979, the awards were named the Canadian Film Awards...
for his documentary Westray, on the Westray Mine
Westray Mine
The Westray Mine was a coal mine in Plymouth, Nova Scotia, Canada. It was the site of an underground methane explosion on May 9, 1992. The explosion resulted in the deaths of all 26 miners who were working underground at the time.-Background:...
disaster. He retired from the NFB in 2009, after directing a film adaptation of Margaret MacMillan
Margaret MacMillan
Margaret Olwen MacMillan, OC is a historian and professor at the University of Oxford, where she is Warden of St. Antony's College. She is former provost of Trinity College and professor of history at the University of Toronto and previously, at Ryerson University...
's Peacemakers: The Paris Peace Conference of 1919 and Its Attempt to End War
Peacemakers: The Paris Peace Conference of 1919 and Its Attempt to End War
Peacemakers: The Paris Peace Conference of 1919 and Its Attempt to End War is a historical narrative based on the events of the Paris Peace Conference of 1919. It was written by the Canadian historian Margaret MacMillan with a foreword by American diplomat Richard Holbrooke...
.
A resident of Westmount, Quebec
Westmount, Quebec
Westmount is a city on the Island of Montreal, an enclave of the city of Montreal, in southwestern Quebec, Canada; pop. 20,494; area 4.02 km²; population density of 5,092.56 inhabitants/km²....
, Cowan is married to CBC radio personality Katie Malloch
Katie Malloch
Katie Malloch is a Canadian broadcaster who currently hosts the series Tonic, a nightly jazz program on CBC Radio 2. Until March 2007, she was host of Jazz Beat. A graduate of McGill University, Malloch began freelancing for the CBC in 1972, and became a staff announcer in 1975.She is married to...
.