Paul Almond
Encyclopedia
Paul Almond, is a Canadian
former television and motion picture screenwriter, director and producer, and since 1990 has been a novelist.
, McGill University
and Balliol College, Oxford University, where he read Philosophy, Politics, Economics, edited the University magazine Isis and played for the Oxford University Ice Hockey Club
.
At the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
, he worked primarily as a director and producer, and also wrote several scripts. He did similar work in England for the BBC
and Associated British Corporation
(London) and Granada TV (where he created the ground-breaking documentary Seven Up!) before embarking on a career as a feature-length film-making.
In the late 1960s, he ambitiously attempted to establish a quality Canadian art cinema, with his understated and highly interiorized films Isabel
(1968), The Act of the Heart
(1970) and Journey
(1972), featuring his then-wife actress Geneviève Bujold
. At the time, these films were met with considerable critical resistance in Canada, but this unique trilogy constitutes Almond's best work to date and is a distinctive contribution to Canadian film.
After an absence from filmmaking of almost a decade, Almond was called in to direct the film Final Assignment
(1980), and went on directing three more films; Ups and Downs (1983), Captive Hearts
(1987) and The Dance Goes On (1991), the later featuring once again Bujold, and their son Matt Almond.
In addition to his television and film work, Almond has also produced and directed several plays on television by such authors as Henrik Ibsen
, Tennessee Williams
, William Shakespeare
, as well as creating his own adaptations of works by Jane Austen
, Emily Brontë
, Henry James
, Somerset Maugham, to name but a few.
In recent years, Almond has authored several novels in the Alford Saga and was appointed an Officer of the Order of Canada
in 2001, He was given a Lifetime Achievement Award by the Directors Guild of Canada
in 2007. He is a member of the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts
.
Paul Almond was first married to National Ballet of Canada
leading dancer Angela Leigh, then to Geneviève Bujold from 1967 to 1973, their son, Matthew James Almond, was born in 1968. He has since married the photographer Joan Harwood Elkins in 1976.
He currently maintains a home in Malibu, CA, in addition to his hereditary family farm in Shigawake, Quebec..
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
former television and motion picture screenwriter, director and producer, and since 1990 has been a novelist.
Life and career
Paul Almond attended Bishop's College SchoolBishop's College School
This article is about the school in Canada. Alternatively, visit Diocesan College in Cape Town, South Africa.Bishop's College School is a private school in Lennoxville, Quebec, Canada....
, McGill University
McGill University
Mohammed Fathy is a public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The university bears the name of James McGill, a prominent Montreal merchant from Glasgow, Scotland, whose bequest formed the beginning of the university...
and Balliol College, Oxford University, where he read Philosophy, Politics, Economics, edited the University magazine Isis and played for the Oxford University Ice Hockey Club
Oxford University Ice Hockey Club
Oxford University Ice Hockey Club, sometimes known as Oxford Blues, is one of the world's oldest ice hockey teams. Tradition places the origin of the club in 1885, when a match is said to have been played against Cambridge University Ice Hockey Club at St Moritz...
.
At the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly known as CBC and officially as CBC/Radio-Canada, is a Canadian crown corporation that serves as the national public radio and television broadcaster...
, he worked primarily as a director and producer, and also wrote several scripts. He did similar work in England for the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
and Associated British Corporation
Associated British Corporation
Associated British Corporation was one of a number of commercial television companies established in the United Kingdom during the 1950s by cinema chain companies in an attempt to safeguard their business by becoming involved with television which was taking away their cinema audiences.In this...
(London) and Granada TV (where he created the ground-breaking documentary Seven Up!) before embarking on a career as a feature-length film-making.
In the late 1960s, he ambitiously attempted to establish a quality Canadian art cinema, with his understated and highly interiorized films Isabel
Isabel (film)
Isabel is a 1968 Canadian film written, directed and produced by Paul Almond. -Synopsis:Learning of her mother's serious illness, Isabel returns to her family's farm on the Gaspé Peninsula. Her mother dies before she can get there, and when her aged uncle Matthew asks her to stay on and help him...
(1968), The Act of the Heart
The Act of the Heart
The Act of the Heart is a 1970 Canadian film written, directed and produced by Paul Almond.- Synopsis :Martha Hayes , a devoutly religious young woman from Québec's Côte-Nord who fancies herself as some kind of a saint, arrives in Montréal to serve as nanny to Russell , the son of a widowed...
(1970) and Journey
Journey (1972 film)
Journey is a 1972 Canadian film written, directed and produced by Paul Almond.-Synopsis:Journey is the allegorical story of a young woman's struggle - outside the normal framework of space and time - to find herself....
(1972), featuring his then-wife actress Geneviève Bujold
Geneviève Bujold
Geneviève Bujold is a Canadian actress best known for her portrayal of Anne Boleyn in the 1969 film Anne of the Thousand Days, for which she won a Golden Globe Award for best actress and was nominated for an Academy Award....
. At the time, these films were met with considerable critical resistance in Canada, but this unique trilogy constitutes Almond's best work to date and is a distinctive contribution to Canadian film.
After an absence from filmmaking of almost a decade, Almond was called in to direct the film Final Assignment
Final Assignment
Final Assignment is a 1980 Canadian film written by Marc Rosen and directed by Paul Almond.-Plot:In this complex spy caper, Nicole is a Canadian broadcast journalist working on assignment in the former Soviet Union...
(1980), and went on directing three more films; Ups and Downs (1983), Captive Hearts
Captive Hearts (film)
Captive Hearts is a 1987 Romantic drama co-produced between Canada, the U.S. and Japan starring Pat Morita, and co-written by Morita and John A. Kuri...
(1987) and The Dance Goes On (1991), the later featuring once again Bujold, and their son Matt Almond.
In addition to his television and film work, Almond has also produced and directed several plays on television by such authors as Henrik Ibsen
Henrik Ibsen
Henrik Ibsen was a major 19th-century Norwegian playwright, theatre director, and poet. He is often referred to as "the father of prose drama" and is one of the founders of Modernism in the theatre...
, Tennessee Williams
Tennessee Williams
Thomas Lanier "Tennessee" Williams III was an American writer who worked principally as a playwright in the American theater. He also wrote short stories, novels, poetry, essays, screenplays and a volume of memoirs...
, William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
, as well as creating his own adaptations of works by Jane Austen
Jane Austen
Jane Austen was an English novelist whose works of romantic fiction, set among the landed gentry, earned her a place as one of the most widely read writers in English literature, her realism and biting social commentary cementing her historical importance among scholars and critics.Austen lived...
, Emily Brontë
Emily Brontë
Emily Jane Brontë 30 July 1818 – 19 December 1848) was an English novelist and poet, best remembered for her only novel, Wuthering Heights, now considered a classic of English literature. Emily was the third eldest of the four surviving Brontë siblings, between the youngest Anne and her brother...
, Henry James
Henry James
Henry James, OM was an American-born writer, regarded as one of the key figures of 19th-century literary realism. He was the son of Henry James, Sr., a clergyman, and the brother of philosopher and psychologist William James and diarist Alice James....
, Somerset Maugham, to name but a few.
In recent years, Almond has authored several novels in the Alford Saga and was appointed an Officer of the Order of Canada
Order of Canada
The Order of Canada is a Canadian national order, admission into which is, within the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, the second highest honour for merit...
in 2001, He was given a Lifetime Achievement Award by the Directors Guild of Canada
Directors Guild of Canada
The Directors Guild of Canada is a Canadian labour union, founded in 1962, which represents more than 3,700 professionals from 48 different occupations in the Canadian film and television industry. The DGC represents directors, assistant directors, location managers, production assistants and...
in 2007. He is a member of the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts
Royal Canadian Academy of Arts
The Royal Canadian Academy of Arts is a Canadian arts-related institution founded in 1880, under the patronage of the Governor General of Canada, Sir John Douglas Sutherland Campbell, the Marquess of Lorne. Canadian landscape painter Homer Watson was a member and president of the Academy...
.
Paul Almond was first married to National Ballet of Canada
National Ballet of Canada
The National Ballet of Canada is Canada's largest ballet troupe. It was founded by Celia Franca in 1951 and is based in Toronto, Ontario. Based upon the unity of Canadian trained dancers in the tradition and style of England's Royal Ballet, The National is regarded as one of the premier classical...
leading dancer Angela Leigh, then to Geneviève Bujold from 1967 to 1973, their son, Matthew James Almond, was born in 1968. He has since married the photographer Joan Harwood Elkins in 1976.
He currently maintains a home in Malibu, CA, in addition to his hereditary family farm in Shigawake, Quebec..
Filmography
- IsabelIsabel (film)Isabel is a 1968 Canadian film written, directed and produced by Paul Almond. -Synopsis:Learning of her mother's serious illness, Isabel returns to her family's farm on the Gaspé Peninsula. Her mother dies before she can get there, and when her aged uncle Matthew asks her to stay on and help him...
(1968) - The Act of the HeartThe Act of the HeartThe Act of the Heart is a 1970 Canadian film written, directed and produced by Paul Almond.- Synopsis :Martha Hayes , a devoutly religious young woman from Québec's Côte-Nord who fancies herself as some kind of a saint, arrives in Montréal to serve as nanny to Russell , the son of a widowed...
(1970), for which he won the Canadian Film AwardCanadian Film AwardThe Canadian Film Awards were the leading Canadian cinema awards from 1949 until 1978. These honours were conducted annually except in 1974 when Quebec directors withdrew their participation and prompted a cancellation that year....
for best director - JourneyJourney (1972 film)Journey is a 1972 Canadian film written, directed and produced by Paul Almond.-Synopsis:Journey is the allegorical story of a young woman's struggle - outside the normal framework of space and time - to find herself....
(1972) - Final AssignmentFinal AssignmentFinal Assignment is a 1980 Canadian film written by Marc Rosen and directed by Paul Almond.-Plot:In this complex spy caper, Nicole is a Canadian broadcast journalist working on assignment in the former Soviet Union...
(1980) - Ups and Downs (1983)
- Captive HeartsCaptive Hearts (film)Captive Hearts is a 1987 Romantic drama co-produced between Canada, the U.S. and Japan starring Pat Morita, and co-written by Morita and John A. Kuri...
(1987) - The Dance Goes On (1991)