MONTREAL, QUEBEC -- Colin Low knows a few things about living in Southern Alberta, and his latest work perhaps shows it best of all of them."Moving Pictures" is about "art, war and growing up in Southern Alberta," but is partly an autobiography of the last 100 years, even covering his grandparents time. Low's grandparents crossed the Great Plains with other Latter-day Saints and his father homesteaded just south of Cardston. The Great Depression thwarted his farming efforts, and Low's dad became foreman on the Church's Southern Alberta ranch.
Low was born in Cardston in 1926 and at 74, he may end up making his most recent film his last one. And no wonder. He has been a pioneer, like his grandparents in a way, in the film industry.
Since joining the National Film Board in 1945, low has produced over 200 films. His "In The Labyrinth" piece which he made for Expo 67 was a pioneer piece of its own, leading the way for other IMAX films. In 1983, Low helped direct "Transitions" for Vancouver's Expo 86. This film was the very first stereophonic 3D film. And it wasn't his only "first" either. he also directed the first high definition IMAX film, "Seville" in 1992. He also helped work on "2001: A Space Odyssey."
But he doesn't just work hard. He works well. He has been nominated for nine Academy Awards, received the Order of Canada (one of the highest honours given in Canada), and was the first Anglophone to receive the Prix Albert-Tessier.
Web page created 9 November 2001. Last modified 7 March 2002.