Selwyn Jacob | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1941 (age 83–84) Trinidad, West Indies |
| Education | BEd,University of Alberta; film studies,USC School of Cinematic Arts |
| Occupation(s) | Filmmaker,film producer |
Selwyn Jacob is aCanadian documentary filmmaker whose work has often explored the experiences ofBlack Canadians as well as other stories fromCanada's multicultural communities, as both as an independent director and since 1997 as a producer with theNational Film Board of Canada (NFB).
Selwyn Jacob was born inTrinidad, West Indies in 1941.[1] Jacob attended a teacher's college there before traveling to Canada in 1968 to complete a Bachelor of Education at theUniversity of Alberta in Edmonton. While in Edmonton, he was influenced and mentored by film producer, author and broadcasterFil Fraser. After graduation, Jacob completed a master's degree in film studies at theUSC School of Cinematic Arts.[2][3]
It was while teaching inLac La Biche, Alberta in the late 1970s that Jacob had the idea for his first film: a documentary about black immigrants from Oklahoma who settled inAmber Valley, Alberta, which after several years of research was completed asWe Remember Amber Valley (1984). Jacob said that he was the only Afro-Canadian film director in Alberta at the time.[2][3]
Jacob's subsequent directorial credits includeThe Saint from North Battleford(1989), a portrait ofRueben Mayes;Carol's Mirror (1991), an educational film about racism and equality;Al Tasmim, a film about Canada's oldest mosque; andThe Road Taken (1996), a documentary about the history of Black railway porters, which received theCanada Award from theAcademy of Canadian Cinema and Television.[3][4][5]
Jacob's interest in Black Canadian non-fiction storytelling continued as NFB producer, supplemented by a notable range of films byAsian Canadian filmmakers from Canada's western provinces, exploring their communities' culture and histories, as well. His NFB producing credits includeThe Journey of Lesra Martin, aboutLesra Martin, a Canadian youth who helped to freeRubin "Hurricane" Carter from prison;Jeni LeGon: Living in a Great Big Way (1999), a portrait ofJeni Le Gon, a Vancouver resident who had been one of the first Black women entertainers in Hollywood to sign a long-term contract with a major Hollywood studio;John McCrae's War: In Flanders Fields (1998), a look at Canadian army doctorJohn McCrae, who wrote the poem, "In Flanders Fields"; Colleen Leung'sLetters from Home (2001); Linda Ohama'sObāchan's Garden (2001); Ling Chiu'sFrom Harling Point (2003), about the first Chinese cemetery in Canada; Eunhee Cha'sA Tribe of One (2003); andMighty Jerome (2010), a documentary film about African-Canadian track star Harry Jerome directed byCharles Officer.[3][6][7]
In 2014, Jacobs producedNinth Floor, directed byMina Shum. The film documents a 1969 Montreal student protest against racism known as theSir George Williams Affair, and was filmed in Montreal on the 45th anniversary of the event. It was an event Jacob had been aware of at the time, as a number of its participants had been from Trinidad—including one from his home village—and Jacob has stated that it was always his intention to make a film about the incident.[3][8][9]
The Road Taken NFB.