Remembering Allan King

Canadian documentary filmmaker Allan King died June 15 at his Toronto home. He was 79.

King was one of Canada's best; an acclaimed pioneer of the cinema verite and direct forms whose best works documented the lives of his fellow countrymen. His first major film, Warrendale (1966), which follows children in a Toronto mental health institution, prompted Jean Renoir to note, “Allan King is a great artist. His remarkable work exposes one of the most suspenseful actions I have ever seen on a screen.”

The versatile King also worked in features and television, winning the Grand Prix at the Paris International Film Festival and the Golden Reel Award for the highest grossing Canadian film of the year with his 1976 film, Who Has Seen The Wind.

The clip below finds King discussing his award-winning 2003 film, Dying at Grace, which follows palliative care patients at Toronto’s Grace Hospital. It was a work King took on to confront his own questions and thoughts on dying. His observations and revelations are especially poignant.


- Phil Morehart