Warrendale

Filmed over five weeks at a residential treatment centre called Warrendale near Toronto. Allan King watches twelve children and the staff who look after them; there is no narration, no interview, no direction. King later called this approach actuality drama. The film was made for the CBC, but the broadcaster refused to show it because King would not cut the swearing out of the children’s mouths, so for years it could be seen only at festivals. It took the Prix d’art et d’essai at Cannes in 1967 and a special documentary award from the National Society of Film Critics. Jean Renoir called King a great artist. It stands as one of the best known examples of direct cinema made in Canada.