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Christopher Chapman

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B: January 25, 1927 in Toronto, Ontario
D: October 24, 2015 in Uxbridge, Ontario

Christopher Chapman was a writer, director and cinematographer whose early films concentrated on nature and the environment. Born in Toronto, his twin, Francis was born just before him, just before midnight on January 24, 1927. His father was the distinguished Toronto architect Alfred Chapman and his mother the concert pianist Doris Chapman. Christopher Chapman’s first film, The Seasons, ran 18 minutes and was produced in colour and funded by Imperial Oil, won the Canadian Film of the Year in 1954, and A Place to Stand received two Academy Award nominations and won the Oscar for Best Live-Action Short in 1968. Chapman was the first Canadian filmmaker to receive an Oscar outside of the NFB. A Place to Stand was also named Canadian Film of Year at the Canadian Film Awards (CFA). He was awarded the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts medal for distinguished contribution to the art of cinematography and presented with the first Ontario Film Institute Award for his distinguished achievements and significant contribution to the development of the Canadian film. He is the recipient of the 1967 Centennial Medal, the 1977 Jubilee Medal and the Commemorative Medal for the 125th Anniversary of Canadian Confederation. Chapman was appointed a Member of the Order of Canada in 1987, and awarded a Doctor of Laws by Ryerson University in 2000. Chapman served as president of both the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts and the Directors Guild of Canada. Chapman was 88 when he died at the Reachview Village long-term care facility in Uxbridge, Ontario

These are his credits as a Director.

Features & TV Movies:

The Seasons (1953)
Quetico (1958)

Village in the Dust (1961)
Saguenay (1962)
The Enduring Wilderness, 1963 (cinematographer)
Lewis Mumford on the City, Part 1: The City – Heaven and Hell (co-director, 1963)
Lewis Mumford on the City, Part 2: The City – Cars or People? (co-director, 1963)
Lewis Mumford on the City, Part 3: The City and Its Region (co-director, 1963)
Magic Molecule (co-director, 1964)
The Persistent Seed (1964)
A Place to Stand (1967)

Impressions: 1670-1970 (1970)
Ontario (1970)
Toronto the Good (1973)
Volcano (1973)
A Sense of Humus (1976)

Saskatchewan: Land Alive (1980)
Kelly (1981)
Pyramid of Roses (1982)
The Wilderness 3D(1984)
Crown 3D (1986)
Expo 86 (1986)