Norman McLaren

Norman McLaren (1914–1987) was one of the most important animators of the 20th century. Born in Scotland, McLaren studied at the Glasgow School of Fine Arts, where he developed a particular interest in on-film animation techniques, becoming one of the world’s leading authorities in this field. After a period filming the Spanish Civil War, he moved to the United States, and a few years later was invited to join the National Film Board of Canada. There, he continued to experiment with animation techniques and produced some of his most important works. He eventually founded the NFB’s animation department. In 1949, several of his films were selected for the programme of the first edition of EXPRMNTL. Two of them, Hen hop (1942) and Fiddle-de-dee (1947), were awarded the "Prix pour qualités exceptionnelles". His success led to him being invited by Jacques Ledoux to serve on the jury for the second edition of the festival, in 1958. His most famous work is Neighbours (1952), which won the Oscar for Best Documentary/Short Subject.