The Cinémathèque Québécoise.

The Cinémathèque Québécoise chose to specialize in animation under special circumstances. One must admit that because of the presence of two National Film Board of Canada offices in Montreal, there was already an exceptional interest in animation in Quebec and Canada. Since Norman McLaren, animation was the one area in which the Canadian cinema became known worldwide. These factors, combined with the interest the Cinémathèque had already shown on the origins of the animated film, led to the organization, within the framework of the Eighth International Film Festival of Montreal on the occasion of the World Fair in 1967, of a global retrospective of animation films from their beginnings to the present.

Two hundred and fifty films were presented, programmed in 18 screenings, from the American primitives to Grand Prize winners of the Annecy Festivals, by way of Canadian films and various thematic shows. About 200 animators met at this festival, and experienced new techniques. These film retrospectives were accompanied by a World Animation Exhibition, tracing the evolution of the animated film, and underlining its connection with comic strips. More than 15 countries participated. With patronage from the International Federation of Film Archives [FIAF], and the International Animated Film Association [ASIFA], and with the collaboration of the National Film Board of Canada, the event was a smashing success.

A Solid Beginning
The great scope of this enterprise made it possible for the Cinémathèque to research the beginnings of animation, interview some of the pioneers, and also acquire, and in some cases restore, a large number of film prints. Also some filmmakers, artists and companies donated to the Cinémathèque the documents that had been on display at the exhibition. We were from then on in possession of an important collection that allowed us to maintain a specialization in the field.

At that time Louise Beaudet (1927-1997) was confirmed in the post of Animation Curator at the Cinémathèque Québécoise.

Before then, the Cinémathèque only owned a number of National Film Board films and some rare films from the private sector. The collection really only took shape in 1967 when 250 silent films from the American pioneers were acquired for the retrospective devoted to them at the Festival. We made sure a historical logic followed by systematically acquiring 300 more Hollywood cartoon titles from the golden era of the 1930s to the 1950s.