John Grierson
Production
1898-04-26 · Kilmadock, Stirlingshire, Scotland, UK
John Grierson (1898–1972) was a pioneering Scottish filmmaker and producer who shaped the documentary film movement, earning recognition as the father of British and Canadian documentary cinema. He famously coined the term "documentary" in 1926 and championed the idea that film should serve as a tool for social education and reform. As the driving force behind the British documentary movement, he founded the GPO Film Unit, which produced groundbreaking works like Night Mail (1936), and later played a key role in establishing the National Film Board of Canada (NFB) in 1939, turning it into one of the world's most influential documentary institutions. Grierson’s vision and advocacy for documentary as a vehicle for public service and civic engagement left a lasting legacy on global nonfiction filmmaking.
Filmography
The New Generation
2025 · Movie
A Return to Memory
2024 · Movie
Documenting John Grierson
2014 · Movie
Creative Process: Norman McLaren
1990 · Movie
Grierson
1973 · Movie
I Remember, I Remember
1968 · Movie
Health of a City
1965 · Movie
Heart of Scotland
1962 · Movie
Seawards the Great Ships
1960 · Movie
John Grierson
1959 · Movie
Rivers at Work
1958 · Movie
Devil on Horseback
1954 · Movie
The Oracle
1953 · Movie
Man of Africa
1953 · Movie
Miss Robin Hood
1952 · Movie
The Brave Don't Cry
1952 · Movie
You're Only Young Twice!
1952 · Movie
Four Men in Prison
1950 · Movie
The Londoners
1939 · Movie
The Face of Scotland
1938 · Movie
North Sea
1938 · Movie
The Smoke Menace
1937 · Movie
Trade Tattoo
1937 · Movie
A Job in a Million
1937 · Movie
Daily Round
1937 · Movie
Children at School
1937 · Movie
Night Mail
1936 · Movie
On the Fishing Banks of Skye
1935 · Movie
A Colour Box
1935 · Movie
BBC: The Voice of Britain
1935 · Movie
Coal Face
1935 · Movie
Droitwich: The World's Most Modern Long Wave Transmitter
1935 · Movie
The Song of Ceylon
1934 · Movie
Granton Trawler
1934 · Movie
Weather Forecast
1934 · Movie
6.30 Collection
1934 · Movie
Post-Haste
1934 · Movie
Spring Comes to England
1934 · Movie
The Country Comes to Town
1933 · Movie
Cable Ship
1933 · Movie
The Coming of the Dial
1933 · Movie
Spring on the Farm
1933 · Movie
O'er Hill and Dale
1932 · Movie
Upstream
1932 · Movie
Industrial Britain
1931 · Movie
Our Dumb Friend
1930 · Movie
Herlock Sholmes in Be-a-Live-Crook
1930 · Movie
Kuster Beaton
1930 · Movie
Kerri Cheertum in Jungle-Tungle
1930 · Movie
Tom Mixup
1930 · Movie
Conquest
1930 · Movie
Drifters
1929 · Movie
Hitchcock on Grierson
Movie