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Condie Richard
Though he draws with the precision of a master, sheer talent has never prevented Richard Condie from thinking with the clarity of a child. His almost naive vision of the world has delighted audiences since the release of Oh Sure, in 1977.
Condie is now, without question, one of his generation's great animators. Films like Getting Started (1979) and The Big Snit (1986) combine savage wit and impeccable comic timing. Along with animators Brad Caslor and Cordell Barker, Richard Condie has helped establish the of the National Film Board as a world-renowned centre for the filmmaking arts.
Born in Vancouver in 1942, Condie received his BA from the University of Manitoba. At various times he worked as a sociology researcher and a social worker, until 1971, when a lifetime of "fooling around" with drawing paid off with a grant from the Canada Council.
The animated film Oh Sure was the product of that funding. Purchased by the NFB, the film's success affirmed Condie's shift to a career in the arts.
Throughout the early `70s, Condie's animated work garnered accolades throughout the world. Getting Started was a hit in Eastern Europe as well as North America, gathering six international awards. In the pre-glasnost era, Condie's 10-minute elegy to procrastination won awards at festivals in Zagreb, Tampere and Krak as well as a Bijou at the Canadian Short Film and Television Awards.
Continuing in the tradition of that European success, Pig Bird (1981) won six international awards. It also received the nod at Zagreb with the Croatian and Serbian judges combining forces to give it the award for best educational film.
And, of course, there's The Big Snit (1985), a Genie nominee that juxtaposes global nuclear holocaust and a game of Scrabble. This beloved film also received an Oscar nomination from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, as well as 16 other international awards.
Condie's next release with the NFB, The Apprentice/L'Apprenti (1996), won awards in Chicago and Winnipeg.
La Salla is Richard Condie's most recent project with the National Film Board.
