John Spotton
Director, Editor, Producer
August 8, 1927 — March 3, 1991 (63 years)
John Spotton was a Canadian filmmaker, cinematographer, and editor associated with the National Film Board of Canada (NFB). He played a pivotal role in developing the Direct Cinema movement, contributing to documentaries that emphasized naturalistic and unobtrusive filming techniques. Spotton's notable works include Buster Keaton Rides Again (1965), a documentary capturing the making of Keaton's short film The Railrodder, and Memorandum (1965), which explores the Holocaust's impact on survivors. His contributions significantly influenced documentary filmmaking in Canada and beyond.
Known For
Filmography
| 1979 | |
| 1967 | |
| 1966 | |
| 1965 | Buster Keaton Rides AgainOn Plex |
| 1965 |
| 1966 | |
| 1966 | |
| 1965 | Buster Keaton Rides AgainOn Plex |
| 1964 | |
| 1964 | |
| 1963 | |
| 1961 | |
| 1960 | |
| 1959 | |
| 1959 |
| 1999 | Village of Idiots · as Executive Producer |
| 1989 | Imperfect Union: Canadian Labour and the Left, Part 3: Falling Apart and Getting Together · as Executive Producer |
| 1989 | Imperfect Union: Canadian Labour and the Left, Part 1: International Background - Canadian Roots · as Executive Producer |
| 1989 | Imperfect Union: Canadian Labour and the Left, Part 2: Born of Hard Times · as Executive Producer |
| 1988 | A House Divided: Caregiver Stress and Elder Abuse · as Executive Producer |
| 1988 | Peep and the Big Wide World · as Executive Producer |
| 1987 | No Way! Not Me · as Executive Producer |
| 1987 | Mr. Nobody · as Executive Producer |
| 1985 | Final Offer · as Executive Producer |
| 1985 | Pitchmen · as Executive Producer |
| 1985 | |
| 1985 | |
| 1984 | |
| 1984 | Home Feeling: Struggle for a Community · as Executive Producer |
| 1984 | Prisoners of Debt: Inside the Global Banking Crisis · as Executive Producer |
| 1979 | |
| 1958 |
| 1973 | Kainai · as Cinematographer |
| 1966 | Memorandum · as Cinematographer |
| 1965 | Buster Keaton Rides Again · as Director Of PhotographyOn Plex |
| 1965 | High Steel · as Director Of Photography |
| 1964 | Nobody Waved Good-bye · as Director Of Photography |
| 1964 | The Hutterites · as Director Of Photography |
| 1964 | Toronto Jazz · as Director Of Photography |
| 1963 | Runner · as Director Of Photography |
| 1960 | Circle of the Sun · as Director Of Photography |
| 1958 | Railroaders · as Director Of Photography |
| 1958 | Treasure of the Forest · as Cinematographer |
| 1958 | The Hands That Heal · as Cinematographer |
| 1958 | The General Foreman · as Cinematographer |
| 1955 | Grain Handling in Canada · as Cinematographer |
| 1954 | Salt Cod · as Cinematographer |
| 1954 | Frontier College · as Cinematographer |
| 1954 | College in the Wilds · as Cinematographer |
| 1954 | Eye Witness No. 67 · as Cinematographer |
| 1953 | The World at Your Feet · as Cinematographer |
| 1953 | The Story of Peter and the Potter · as Director Of Photography |
| 1952 | Epidemic: Foot and Mouth Disease - Saskatchewan, 1952 · as Cinematographer |