Robin Spry (October 25, 1939 – March 28, 2005) was a Canadian film director, producer and writer. He was perhaps best known for his documentary films Action: The October Crisis of 1970 and Reaction: A Portrait of a Society in Crisis about Quebec's October Crisis. His 1970 film Prologue won the BAFTA Award for Best Documentary.

Biography

Robin Spry was born in Toronto, Ontario to Canadian broadcast pioneer and Canadian Broadcasting Corporation founder Graham Spry CC, and economic historian Irene Spry OC. After studies at Oxford University and the London School of Economics, Spry began his filmmaking career in 1964 at the National Film Board in Montreal, earning a place on its payroll in 1965. He built a reputation as a documentarian engaged with the issues of the day, with films on abortion, youth rebellion, and contemporary politics. His 1970 film Prologue documented the riots at the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago, weaving narrative with archival footage. His Canadian Film Award-winning documentary Action: The October Crisis of 1970 (1973) used a similar approach to tell the story of the kidnapping of British diplomat James Richard Cross and the murder of Pierre Laporte. While at the NFB, Spry acted as a producer, director, writer, cinematographer, film editor and actor, appearing in several colleagues' films, including Denys Arcand's Québec, Duplessis et après" (1972), in which he read sections of the 1839 Durham Report. He also starred in the 1981 hostage film Kings and Desperate Men. In 1978, Spry left the NFB. He did some work for the CBC, then founded his own production company, Telescene Film Group Productions, through which he produced many TV movies and series. Upon its bankruptcy in 2000, he worked with the Montreal production company CinéGroupe. The first season of his last production, Charlie Jade, was dedicated to his memory, as mentioned in the credits of the final episode, as was Air Crash Investigation's episode "Mistaken Identity".

Personal life and death

Spry was divorced from journalist Carmel Dumas; they had two children. He died in a car crash in Montreal on March 28, 2005.

Filmography

Awards

Flowers on a One-way Street (1967) Ride for Your Life (1967) Prologue (1970) Action: The October Crisis of 1970 (1974) One Man (1977) Drying Up the Streets (1978) Obsessed (1987) Straight for the Heart (1988) An Imaginary Tale (1990) Hiroshima (1995)