Robert Lang (producer)
| Robert Lang | |
|---|---|
 Robert Lang (middle) | |
| Occupation | Producer, director, Kensington Communications Inc. |
| Nationality | Canada |
| Genre | documentary, factual television |
| Notable works | Museum Secrets, Raw Opium, Diamond Road, The Sacred Balance |
| Website | |
|
www | |
Robert Lang is a Canadian film producer, director, writer. He began his career in Montreal working at the National Film Board of Canada as a documentary film director and camera operator in the mid-1970s. In 1980, he moved to Toronto, where he founded his own independent production company, Kensington Communications, to produce documentaries for television and non-theatrical markets. Since 1998, Lang has been involved in conceiving and producing interactive media for the Web and mobile devices.
Career
Robert Lang's work in television includes a number of documentary and factual series: Museum Secrets, a 22-part television series that investigates the stories behind artifacts in great museums around the world for History, UKTV and BBC Worldwide; Shameless Idealists, a five-part series that profiles a number of prominent change-makers and social activists for CTV; Diamond Road, a three-part series about the diamond industry for TVO, ZDF Arte and Discovery Times; The Sacred Balance, a four-part miniseries for CBC and PBS based on the book by geneticist and environmentalist Dr. David Suzuki; 72 Hours: True Crime, a true crime factual series for CBC and TLC; and Exhibit A: Secrets of Forensic Science, a forensic crime series hosted by Graham Greenefor Discovery and TLC. In 2013, he co-created and was executive producer on a mobile app to enhance your museum experience at the Royal Ontario Museum called ScopifyROM.
In 2015, Lang produced a one-hour documentary for TVOntario and CPAC exploring young peoples’ relationship to voting called The Drop: Why Young People Don't Vote.[1]
In 2015-16, Lang produced The Equalizer, the first of two one-hour documentaries, coproduced by Kensington TV and Berlin Producers for broadcast on CBC’s The Nature of Things, SRC Explora and ZDF/Arte. His next documentary is a point-of-view piece for TVOntario and Canal D, called Risk Factor.[2]
He has been responsible for several documentary films, including: as producer, co-writer of Raw Opium, which examines the failure of the War on Drugs through the lives of people involved in the international opium trade (TVO, ZDF Arte, SBS); as director, writer, producer of Return to Nepal, in which renowned musician Bruce Cockburn travels to the remote Humla district of Northwestern Nepal (CBC documentary); as co-writer / director, producer of Almost Home: a Sayisi Dene Journey, an intimate portrait of a Canadian aboriginal community in transition for CBC Nature of Things and APTN; River of Sand, which explores the ancient culture, popular music, and current struggles of the people of Mali, West Africa for Vision TV and TVO; Separate Lives, the Gemini-winning documentary which follows the lives of conjoined twins from Pakistan and the pioneering operation that gave them a chance at a new life for Discovery; The Biggest Little Ticket, a children’s musical fantasy special for CTV which won several awards; and Mariposa: Under a Stormy Sky, a documentary music special for CTV.
Lang's work in film and television has garnered a number of national and international awards (see Awards section below for details). He's also been active in the production community as a founding member of the Documentary Organization of Canada, as a board member for The Real News since 2007 and as the founder of the Hot Docs CrossCurrents Fund in 2013.
Filmography
TV Series credits
| Year(s) | Program | Credit | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1997–2002 | Exhibit A: Secrets of Forensic Science | co-creator, producer, director (shared credit) | 66 episodes |
| 2002 | The Sacred Balance | executive producer, director (shared credit) | 4 X 1 hour |
| 2003-2007 | 72 Hours: True Crime | co-creator, executive producer (shared credit) | 45 episodes |
| 2007 | Diamond Road | producer, executive producer | 3 X 1 hour limited series, feature doc |
| 2010-2013 | Museum Secrets | executive producer, co-creator, director (Inside the Vatican) | 22 episodes |
| 2012 | Shameless Idealists | executive producer, director, writer | 5 x 1/2 hour |
Select documentary credits
| Year | Film | Producer | Director | Writer |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1985 | Fragile Harvest | Yes | Yes | |
| 1986 | Seeds | Yes | Yes | |
| 1988 | One Warm Line: The Legacy of Stan Rogers | Yes | Yes | |
| 1991 | Mariposa: Under a Stormy Sky | Yes | Yes | |
| 1991 | Earth Journal with Richard Leakey | Yes | Yes | |
| 1993 | The Biggest Little Ticket | Yes | Yes | |
| 1996 | Separate Lives | Yes | Yes | |
| 1998 | River of Sand | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| 2001 | My Beat: The Life and Times of Bruce Cockburn | Yes | Yes | |
| 2003 | Almost Home: a Sayisi Dene Journey | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| 2007 | Diamond Road | Yes | ||
| 2008 | Return to Nepal | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| 2011 | Raw Opium | Yes | Yes | |
| 2015 | 25 Down: Why Young People Don't Vote | Yes | ||
| 2016 | The Equalizer | Yes | ||
| 2016 | Risk Factor | Yes | Yes |
Accolades
- 2014 Canadian Screen Award - Museum Secrets (ACCT) Best Factual Series, Best Editing in an Information Program or Series
- 2013 Canadian Screen Award - Museum Secrets (ACCT)[3]
- 2008 Canadian New Media Awards, Best News Information, Diamond Road Online (CNMA)[4][5]
- 2008 Gemini Award – Best Documentary Series, Diamond Road (ACCT)[6]
- 2008 Platinum Award – Best Feature Documentary, Diamond Road (Houston Worldfest)[7]
- 2007 Worldmedal – Docudrama, 72 Hours:True Crime (New York Festivals)[8]
- 2005 Worldmedal – Docudrama, 72 Hours:True Crime (New York Festivals)[9]
- 2004 Golden Sheaf Award – Best Documentary, Social/Political Almost Home (Yorkton Festival)[10]
- 2004 NFB Kathleen Shannon Award, Almost Home (Yorkton Short Film & Video Festival)[11]
- 2004 Platinum Award – Ecology/Environment/Conservation, Sacred Balance Show 3 Fire of Creation (Houston Worldfest)[12]
- 2003 Prix Science & Societé, Sacred Balance Show 2: The Matrix of Life (Paris Festival International de l’Emission Scientifique de Télévision)[13]
- 1998 Prix Regard Canadien, River of Sand (Vues D’Afrique)
- 1998 Gemini Award – Science, Technology, Nature, Separate Lives (ACCT)[14]
- 1997 Hot Docs – Vision TV Humanitarian Award, A Place in the World[15]
- 1995 Award of Excellence – Best Variety, The Biggest Little Ticket (Alliance for Children and Television)[16]
- 1994 Blé D’Or Award, Fragile Harvest (Agrovidéo, Montreal)
- 1990 Gold Award, Seeds (Berlin Agricultural Film Festival)
References
- ↑ http://kensingtontv.com/kensington/index.php?type=project&id=58
- ↑ http://kensingtontv.com/kensington/index.php?type=project&id=60
- ↑ "Awards Database". Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television. Retrieved Dec 3, 2013.
- ↑ "www.bullfrogfilms.com". Bullfrog Films. Retrieved Dec 3, 2013.
- ↑ "Top 15 - 2008 Canadian New Media Awards". Backbone Magazine. Retrieved Dec 3, 2013.
- ↑ "Canadian Screen Awards database". Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television. Retrieved Dec 3, 3013. Check date values in:
|access-date=(help) - ↑ "2008 Worldfest Winner's List" (PDF). Worldfest Houston. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 20, 2009. Retrieved Dec 3, 2013.
- ↑ "New York Festivals Awards Database". New York Festivals. Retrieved Dec 3, 2013.
- ↑ "New York Festivals Awards Database". New York Festivals. Retrieved Dec 3, 2013.
- ↑ "2004 Canadian Golden Sheaf Award Winners". Yorkton Film Festival. Retrieved Dec 3, 2013.
- ↑ "2004 Canadian Golden Sheaf Award Winners". Yorkton Film Festival. Retrieved Dec 3, 2013.
- ↑ "Houston Worldfest Houston Winners 2004" (PDF). Worldfest Houston. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 28, 2007. Retrieved Dec 3, 2013.
- ↑ "A David Suzuki Foundation Moment in History: The Sacred Balance". David Suzuki Foundation. Retrieved Dec 3, 2013.
- ↑ "Canadian Screen Awards Database". Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television. Retrieved Dec 3, 2013.
- ↑ "1997 Hot Docs Awards Archive". Hot Docs. Retrieved Dec 3, 2013.
- ↑ "Bizet's Dream and Watatow take ACT Awards". Playback Magazine. Retrieved Dec 3, 2013.