Malca Gillson (1926-2010) was a Canadian filmmaker with the National Film Board of Canada, and one of the first women to join the NFB in a non-junior position. She was a multi-tasker, acting as composer, sound editor, editor, producer and director. She is best known for her ground-breaking trilogy about end-of-life care: The Last Days of Living, Reflections on Suffering and Time for Caring.
Gillson joined the NFB in 1955, by which time she was married to NFB cameraman Denis Gillson; they would divorce, but she kept the name for the rest of her life. At the time, most female recruits were negative cutters and secretaries; she was hired as a composer, then placed in the sound department and went on to do the sound and/or music for several notable films, including the BAFTA-winning Buster Keaton Rides Again (1965), and Oscar nominee Helicopter Canada (1966).
By 1971, Gillson was a film editor and, in 1975, she began to direct. Her films, including Musicanada (1975), Alberta Girls (1975) and Canada Vignettes: The Music Makers (1975) all involved music and musicians. In 1979, her attention turned to end-of-life issues and she filmed three documentaries at Montreal’s Royal Victoria Hospital: The Last Days of Living (1980), Reflections on Suffering (1982) and Time for Caring (1982). The Last Days of Living, shot at the hospital’s palliative care unit, was the first film to truthfully bring the subject of death to professionals and the public; it is regarded as an essential film for healthcare professionals, volunteers and the public at large.
Gillson retired from the NFB in 1980 and died in Toronto in 2010.
Filmography
Eye Witness No. 88 - documentary short, Grant Crabtree and Hector Lemieux 1955 - music
Lobsters Are a Community Affair - documentary short, Donald Fraser 1955 - music
Eye Witness No. 98 - documentary short, Tim Wilson and Hector Lemieux 1957 - sound editor
Bridge Under the Ocean - documentary short, Raymond Garceau 1957 - sound editor
Wildlife of the Rocky Mountains - documentary short, William H. Carrick 1958 - music editor
Security: Espionage - documentary short, Stanley Clish 1958 - co-sound editor with Victor Merrill
The Responsibilities of Freedom - documentary short, Ian MacNeill 1958 - sound editor
Setting Fires for Science - documentary short, Donald Brittain 1958 - co-sound editor with Karl Duplessis
Ashes of Doom - short film, Grant Munro and Don Arioli 1970 - co-sound editor with Victor Merrill
People of the Seal: Eskimo Summer - documentary, Richard Robinson and Michael McKennirey 1971 - co-sound editor with Ken Page, André Galbrand and Don Wellington
People of the Seal: Eskimo Winter - documentary, Richard Robinson and Michael McKennirey 1971 - co-sound editor with Ken Page, André Galbrand and Don Wellington
Nell and Fred - documentary short, Richard Todd 1971 - editor
Norman Jewison, Film maker - documentary, Douglas Jackson 1971 - co-editor with Edward Le Lorrain and Les Halman
Summer's Nearly Over - documentary short, Michael Rubbo 1971 - co-sound editor with Bill Graziadei
Here is Canada - documentary short, Tony Ianzelo 1972 - editor
The Question of Television Violence - documentary, Graeme Ferguson 1972 - editor
