Alma Duncan (partial data)
Also known as: Alma Mary Duncan
Country: Canada
Born: 1917
Died: 2004
Films directed by Alma Duncan
Quotes about Alma Duncan
"Brimming over with ideas, two young Canadian film-makers, Alma Duncan and Babs McLaren, are on their way back to Ottawa to start their own production company. For the last four months, Alma and Babs have been on tour in Italy, France, Switzerland and Britain, absorbing tricks of the trade and technical hints they hope later to incorporate into their own productions. The two women, both in their early 30s, have a busy time ahead. Starting from scratch, they will rent and equip their own studios, make their own sets—and their own film stars. [...] Not for the versatile Alma and Babs the ordinary medium of live actors. Instead, the stars of their 10-minute animated films will be wooden puppets—carved and dressed with meticulous care by Alma herself."
-- Canadian Press
(source)
"Today Miss [Audrey] McLaren and Miss [Alma] Duncan work in a small studio in central Ottawa. They still possess very little equipment. 'Our only important piece of equipment is an extremely good camera,' remarks Miss McLaren. 'We found we could economize on everything but that.' The partners are each responsible for specific areas of the firm's work. All camera work is done by Miss McLaren while the planning, art work and animation is handled by Miss Duncan. Both partners make the puppets, though Alma Duncan makes all the faces. For instance, to portray his different emotions, the hero of Kumak the Sleepy Hunter needed 30 different faces."
-- Dorothy Harley
(source)
For QUOTES about a specific film by Alma Duncan, please see: Folksong Fantasy
Kumak, the Sleepy Hunter
Friendly Interchange
Notes about Alma Duncan
- Born in Paris, Ontario; died in Ottawa.
- Painter, graphic artist, and filmmaker.
- Studied at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts and at McGill University.
- Worked for the National Film Board of Canada from 1943 to 1947.
- In 1947, co-founded the animated film company Dunclaren Productions with Audrey McLaren.
(sources)
Bibliography for
Alma
Duncan
Section 1: Publications about Alma Duncan
Articles from Newspapers, Magazines, or News Websites
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Canadian Press. "Two young Canadians plan own film output." Globe and Mail, July 11, 1951.
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Harley, Dorothy. "Women-working: making animated film takes staying power." Interview with Alma Duncan, Audrey McLaren. Globe and Mail, April 3, 1958.
Dissertations
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Meloche, Jaclyn. "Braiding the Boundaries: A Dialogical Study of Alma Duncan's Art from the 1940s and 1950s." M.A. diss., Carleton University, 2004.
Section 2: Publications about the Films of Alma Duncan
Articles from Newspapers, Magazines, or News Websites
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Monthly Film Bulletin. "Folk Song Fantasy, Canada, 1951." Review of Folksong Fantasy. Monthly Film Bulletin, vol. 19, no. 216, January 1952.
Brief Sections of Dissertations
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Meloche, Jaclyn. "Braiding the Boundaries: A Dialogical Study of Alma Duncan's Art from the 1940s and 1950s." M.A. diss., Carleton University, 2004. (pp. 58-61)
Articles from Newspapers, Magazines, or News Websites
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Hardy, Reginald. "Ottawa girls' puppet film wins acceptance by Edinburgh Festival." Ottawa Citizen, October 1, 1953.
Brief Sections of Dissertations
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Meloche, Jaclyn. "Braiding the Boundaries: A Dialogical Study of Alma Duncan's Art from the 1940s and 1950s." M.A. diss., Carleton University, 2004. (pp. 64-67)
Brief Sections of Dissertations
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Meloche, Jaclyn. "Braiding the Boundaries: A Dialogical Study of Alma Duncan's Art from the 1940s and 1950s." M.A. diss., Carleton University, 2004. (pp. 68-71)
Articles from Newspapers, Magazines, or News Websites
Brief Sections of Dissertations
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Meloche, Jaclyn. "Braiding the Boundaries: A Dialogical Study of Alma Duncan's Art from the 1940s and 1950s." M.A. diss., Carleton University, 2004. (pp. 75-77)
Archival Collections
These archival institutions have holdings related to Alma Duncan or her films:
