Special Collections
The Special Collections include the documentation of early work, script development and production by some of Canada's great film auteurs. They boast all three drafts of Naked Lunch, a handwritten script for Speaking Parts, an annotated script from The Sweet Hereafter, the third version of Roadkill and the original script from the classic Goin' Down the Road.
The Library began acquiring the collections of notable Canadian filmmakers and film professionals in 1990 with extensive donations from David Cronenberg and Atom Egoyan. Currently, there are eight filmmaker collections among the Special Collections, plus archives from celebrity interviewer Brian Linehan, actor/director Al Waxman, photographer Jack Pashkovsky, publicist Prudence Emery and Canadian film magazine Cinema Canada.
The Special Collections are fully archived to assist Canadian film researchers and scholars, producers, journalists, critics and others with an interest in these important artists and film professionals. In addition to scripts, they also feature storyboards, notes and other documentation, music scores, set designs and memorabilia.
Pashkovsky Collection
The Pashkovsky Collection is an impressive catalogue, donated by filmmaker Barry Avrich, of nearly 400 photographs of stars from the Golden Age of Hollywood, including such luminaries as Greta Garbo, Clark Gable, Cary Grant, and Jimmy Durante. Jack Pashkovsky (1911-2001) was a filmmaker and cinematographer who photographed celebrities part-time, shooting his subjects outside restaurants, on studio lots, and signing autographs. The photographs in the collection capture celebrities in the moment, mostly unposed.
Al Waxman Archive
The collection contains textual files, some production records, photographs, artifacts and more which pertain to Mr. Waxman’s personal life, humanitarian work and professional career in film, television and theatre.
Deepa Mehta Archive
The collection includes scripts drafts, notes and some production records from the feature films, Bollywood/Hollywood and The Republic of Love.
Peter Lynch Archive
The collection includes production records from films such as Project Grizzly, The Herd, Cyberman and Arrowhead, as well as photographs, and more from the work of Peter Lynch. It also contains records regarding his earlier involvement with video and new media programming, especially with Video Culture in the 1980s and the work of some of his creative collaborators.
Peter Rowe Archive
This collection contains material specifically related to the Mr. Rowe's documentary " Popcorn with Maple Syrup". The fonds is mostly made up of original interview tapes with various Canadian personalities related to Canada's entertainment industry, as well as CD-Rs of the work in progress and a finished DVD of the production. There are also interview transcripts, scripts and digital photographs all in electronic format.
Barry Avrich Archive
This collection contains research production records, photographs and video related to various documentaries produced and directed by Barry Avrich such as "Glitter Palace", "The Madness of King Richard" and "Guilty Pleasure: The Dominick Dunne Story". There is also a significant portion of material related to his most recent documentary "The Last Mogul: The Story of Lew Wasserman". The video material includes original interviews with various actors, directors, and other famous individuals connected with the entertainment industry as well as copies of the completed productions.
Guy Maddin Archive
This collection features material related to many of writer/director Guy Maddin's notable films. Spanning over two decades, the fonds contains artifacts, graphic materials, posters, printed articles written by/about Guy Maddin, textual records, photographs, set design drawings, videotapes, motion picture film, audio elements and electronic records. The materials reflect Guy Maddin's filmmaking process and include records that document the initial concept, treatment and script stages in addition to pre-production through to post-production.
Brian Linehan Archive
The Brian Linehan Archive documents over 30 years of Linehan's career with nearly 2400 detailed interview research files, more than 1500 video recordings, 631 books, and over 10,000 photographs.
Cinema Canada Collection
The papers of the editors of this important Canadian film magazine published from approximately 1970 to 1990. Cinema Canada was referred to as the “conscience” of the film industry.
David Cronenberg Archive
The papers, scripts, photographs, artefacts, posters and more from Cronenberg's earlier works to Spider.
Atom Egoyan Archive
The personal papers, scripts, films, journals, production files, posters, photographs, and more from Atom Egoyan. There are materials collected from Egoyan's first high-school theatre productions, his early films and include materials from his Oscar-nominated The Sweet Hereafter, Felecia’s Journey and Ararat.
Prudence Emery Archive
Veteran unit publicist Emery has worked for more than 30 years as a publicist for Canadian film. She donated her publicity binders for 18 major films shot in Canada — films such as Margaret's Museum, The Red Violin and Brain Candy..
Bruce McDonald Archive
The collection includes early student work, production files, original artwork from Highway 61 and draft scripts from Roadkill.
Don McKellar Archive
The collection contains significant documentation of McKellar's work on Blue, Thirty Two Short Films about Glenn Gould, The Red Violin and Last Night, among other films.
Jeremy Podeswa Archive
The comprehensive documentation in this collection includes scripts and research files from Podeswa's early films Standards and Eclipse and technical paperwork and dailies from The Five Senses.
Patricia Rozema Archive
The collection includes comprehensive records from the feature films, I've Heard the Mermaids Singing, White Room, When Night Is Falling and Mansfield Park as well as examples from Rozema's early work in news broadcasting.
Donald Shebib Archive
Don Shebib, renowned for his classic film Goin' Down the Road, donated the film's original script as well as an annotated script and shooting schedule for The Ascent and other rare items.