Canadian Government Motion Picture Bureau
The Canadian Government Motion Picture Bureau (CGMPB; French: Bureau de cinématographie du gouvernement canadien), founded as the Exhibits and Publicity Bureau, was the film production agency of the Government of Canada administered by the Department of Trade and Commerce, and intended to promote trade and industry. Created in 1918, it was the first government film production organization in the world.
| Agency overview | |
|---|---|
| Formed | September 1918 |
| Preceding agency |
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| Dissolved | 1941 |
| Superseding agency |
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| Agency executive |
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| Parent department | Department of Trade and Commerce |
Its purpose, according to the Minister of Trade and Commerce, was "advertising abroad Canada's scenic attractions, agricultural resources and industrial development," and much of its production was devoted to producing travelogues and industrial films.
It also produced early Canadian documentaries such as Lest We Forget (1935), a compilation film (using newsreel footage with staged sequences) recounting Canada's role in the First World War, written, directed, and edited by Frank Badgley, the director of the Bureau from 1927 to 1941; and The Royal Visit (1939), also co-written and edited by Badgley, which documented the 1939 royal tour of Canada by King George VI and his consort, Queen Elizabeth.