Robert Lang Fonds

Biographical History


Date Floruit 1972-

ROBERT LANG is an internationally recognized, award-winning filmmaker and television producer whose work has covered many documentary topics, from music programs and interactive media to science and social documentaries.


Lang founded the production company Kensington Communications in 1980, and in that role he has been responsible for hundreds of television programs, including: 3 seasons of 72 Hours: True Crime; the acclaimed four-part television series The Sacred Balance with David Suzuki; 5 seasons of the true crime series Exhibit A: Secrets of Forensic Science; the Gemini Award-winning 3-part series Diamond Road; the 5-part series Shameless Idealists; and 3 seasons of the hit documentary program Museum Secrets.


He has worked as a director on many music productions with artists such as Bruce Cockburn, Emmylou Harris, Daniel Lanois, Jackie Richardson, Toumani Diabate and Ali Farka Toure.


Among his many award-winning documentaries and TV specials are the Gemini-winning Separate Lives, One Warm Line: the Legacy of Stan Rogers, Diamond Road, and The Equalizer (Canadian Screen Award).


Lang has produced many interactive digital projects over the years, from River of Sand interactive website (1998), to The Sacred Balance online (2003), Diamond Road interactive documentary (2007), Museum Secrets Interactive (2011), ScopifyROM, a mobile app to enhance the museum experience at the Royal Ontario Museum (2013) and Risk Navigator mobile app (2017).

Extent and Medium

Moving Image
• 22 reels col. print, optical sound ; 16mm release prints (ca. 12,341 ft; ca 5:35:03 run time)
• 2 reels col. original cut negative, silent ; 16mm A+B rolls (1672 ft, ca. 26 mins)

Video
• 3 ¾ in. U-matic cassettes (1:34:00 run time)
• 3 Betacam SP cassettes (1:23:20 run time)
• 2 VHS cassettes (30 mins)
This fonds consists of a single series Robert Lang Early Films that includes Robert Lang’s film productions from the 1970s.

The series includes the short films:
• 70 Cycles
o About the cycling road race at the Montreal Olympics
• Tracks
o Featuring a cross-country ski race from Montreal to Ottawa
• Jano
o Note from donor: Robert doesn't remember when this film was made or where, but he thinks Nigeria or elsewhere in Africa in the early 1970s
• Seeds (short version of Fragile Harvest)
• Woroko Po (filmed during A Great Tree Has Fallen)
• Elmina
o Filmed during A Great Tree Has Fallen and focuses on the slave castle on the Ghanaian coast. Elmina was produced independently by Lang, and later picked up by CBC.


And the longer films:
• A Great Tree Has Fallen (1973)
o This is the first film Robert Lang made. It remains in distribution today as the only documentary about the traditional 8-day funeral ceremonies and “enstoolment” of the king of the Ashanti people in Ghana – the Asantehene. Narrated by Roy Sieber, well known writer and art historian.
• Joe David: Spirit of the Mask
o Documentary about Indigenous artist Joe David
• Potatoes
o Directed by Robert Lang for the National Film Board in Montreal during the mid-70s. “Potatoes” was one of the documentaries that was commissioned by the short-lived Environment Unit at the NFB and was an early investigation of the corporatization of farming and loss of family farm-based communities.
• An Easy Pill to Swallow
o Directed by Robert Lang for the National Film Board in Montreal during the mid-70s
• Ridley: A Secret Garden
• Taking Chances
• Path to Nepal

The films are all finished productions (release print, video master, or screeners) and some include promotional sheets to accompany the films.

For A Great Tree Has Fallen, original A+B rolls are present. Original sound elements for music and effects and the final mix were included, but unfortunately they were in unplayable condition and they have been destroyed.

Conditions governing access

Preservation concerns may limit access, consult archivist.

Robert Lang Fonds

Description
This fonds consists of a single series Robert Lang Early Films that includes Robert Lang’s film productions from the 1970s. The series includes the short films: • 70 Cycles o About the cycling road race at the Montreal Olympics • Tracks o Featuring a cross-country ski race from Montreal to Ottawa • Jano o Note from donor: Robert doesn't remember when this film was made or where, but he thinks Nigeria or elsewhere in Africa in the early 1970s • Seeds (short version of Fragile Harvest) • Woroko Po (filmed during A Great Tree Has Fallen) • Elmina o Filmed during A Great Tree Has Fallen and focuses on the slave castle on the Ghanaian coast. Elmina was produced independently by Lang, and later picked up by CBC. And the longer films: • A Great Tree Has Fallen (1973) o This is the first film Robert Lang made. It remains in distribution today as the only documentary about the traditional 8-day funeral ceremonies and “enstoolment” of the king of the Ashanti people in Ghana – the Asantehene. Narrated by Roy Sieber, well known writer and art historian. • Joe David: Spirit of the Mask o Documentary about Indigenous artist Joe David • Potatoes o Directed by Robert Lang for the National Film Board in Montreal during the mid-70s. “Potatoes” was one of the documentaries that was commissioned by the short-lived Environment Unit at the NFB and was an early investigation of the corporatization of farming and loss of family farm-based communities. • An Easy Pill to Swallow o Directed by Robert Lang for the National Film Board in Montreal during the mid-70s • Ridley: A Secret Garden • Taking Chances • Path to Nepal The films are all finished productions (release print, video master, or screeners) and some include promotional sheets to accompany the films. For A Great Tree Has Fallen, original A+B rolls are present. Original sound elements for music and effects and the final mix were included, but unfortunately they were in unplayable condition and they have been destroyed.
Extent and Medium
Moving Image
• 22 reels col. print, optical sound ; 16mm release prints (ca. 12,341 ft; ca 5:35:03 run time)
• 2 reels col. original cut negative, silent ; 16mm A+B rolls (1672 ft, ca. 26 mins)

Video
• 3 ¾ in. U-matic cassettes (1:34:00 run time)
• 3 Betacam SP cassettes (1:23:20 run time)
• 2 VHS cassettes (30 mins)