National Film Board of Canada in production with Stan Douglas ON iPad /iPhone 3D art app Circa 1948

London — Eavesdrop on the past with Circa 1948, a new collaboration between the National Film Board of Canada (NFB) and Stan Douglas currently in production. Douglas gives users a look at a seminal turning point in the history of Vancouver through the voices of homeless veterans, gamblers, prostitutes and corrupt police officers. Issues of class, race and corruption are tackled in a post-World War II city.

Created by Stan Douglas with the NFB Digital Studio, and produced and distributed by the NFB (whose previous interactive projects include Bear 71, HIGHRISE and Welcome to Pine Point), the 3D art app for iPad and iPhone is central to the Circa 1948 storyworld, which includes a website and interactive installation. The project will launch in spring 2014.

Douglas spoke about his artistic practice and career on October 13 at the 57th BFI London Film Festival in partnership with Power to the Pixel (October 15‒18), a global cross-media forum for content creators. He was joined at Power to the Pixel by NFB producer and executive producer Loc Dao, who spoke about NFB’s leadership in interactive media.

Circa 1948 is produced by Selwyn Jacob and Loc Dao. Dao also serves as executive producer, along with Rob McLaughlin and Tracey Friesen. The project includes a narration script written by award-winning playwright Kevin Kerr and voiced by nearly 20 Vancouver-based character actors of the stage and screen.

About Stan Douglas

For more than 20 years, Vancouver-based artist Stan Douglas has built an international reputation for expanding the experiential spaces of cinema, television and the museum. Douglas has been a pioneer in using digital technology to tell non-linear stories that reflect our history back to us in compelling visual settings. In groundbreaking works like Inconsolable Memories (2005) and Suspiria (2003), he has used algorithmically based technology to create story lines that emerge programmatically, adding non-linearity to his cinematic storytelling. Now, working with the NFB on Circa 1948, Douglas is taking his historically rooted “recombinant” storytelling a step further.

About the NFB

The National Film Board of Canada (NFB) is one of the world’s leading digital content hubs, creating groundbreaking interactive documentaries and animation, mobile content, installations and participatory experiences. The NFB has created over 13,000 productions and won over 5,000 awards, including 4 Canadian Screen Awards, 7 Webbys and 12 Oscars. To access acclaimed NFB content, visit NFB.ca or download its apps for smartphones, tablets and connected TV.