JG
Photo of John Grierson

John Grierson

Producer, Actor, Director, Editor, Writer, Additional Credits
Born April 26, 1898Died February 19, 1972 (73 years)
John Grierson (1898–1972) was a pioneering Scottish filmmaker and producer who shaped the documentary film movement, earning recognition as the father of British and Canadian documentary cinema. He famously coined the term "documentary" in 1926 and championed the idea that film should serve as a tool for social education and reform. As the driving force behind the British documentary movement, he founded the GPO Film Unit, which produced groundbreaking works like Night Mail (1936), and later played a key role in establishing the National Film Board of Canada (NFB) in 1939, turning it into one of the world's most influential documentary institutions. Grierson’s vision and advocacy for documentary as a vehicle for public service and civic engagement left a lasting legacy on global nonfiction filmmaking.

Known For

  • A Colour Box
  • Night Mail
  • Drifters
  • Turksib
  • The Song of Ceylon
  • Coal Face
  • Granton Trawler
  • Child's Play
  • Seawards the Great Ships
  • North Sea
  • The Brave Don't Cry
  • You're Only Young Twice
  • Shadow on the Mountains
  • Devil on Horseback
  • We Live in Two Worlds
  • Man of Africa
  • BBC: The Voice of Britain

John Grierson Filmography

1954
Child's Play · as Executive Producer
1954
1953
Edge of Divorce · as Executive Producer
1953
The Horse's Mouth · as Executive Producer
1953
Scotch on the Rocks · as Executive Producer
1953
1952
Miss Robin Hood · as Executive Producer
1952
The Brave Don't Cry · as Executive Producer
1952
Time, Gentlemen, Please! · as Executive Producer
1952
You're Only Young Twice · as Executive Producer
1952
Brandy for the Parson · as Executive Producer
1939
1938
1938
North Sea · as Executive Producer
1937
1937
1937
1937
1935
1935
1935
1934
1934
1933
1932
1931

2014
1938
The Face of Scotland · as John Knox (voice)
1936
Night Mail · as Commentary

1999
Cinéma Vérité: Defining the Moment · as Self (founder, Nfb)
1991
1989
The Magical Eye · as Self
1979
1973
Grierson · as Self (archive Footage)

1934
Granton Trawler · as Director Of Photography
1934
The Private Life of the Gannets · as Cinematographer
1929
Turksib · as English Version Producer

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