Photo: © Maryse Boyce

Since 2015, the Sommets du cinéma d’animation and the Cinémathèque québécoise have presented the René-Jodoin Award annually. This award recognizes the outstanding work of a Canadian animation figure or organization. The 2026 recipient is an exceptional filmmaker whose body of work, spanning more than 40 years, has undeniably influenced the world of animation: Donald McWilliams.

“In addition to being a filmmaker, a leading expert of the work of Norman McLaren, and a true historian of animation at the NFB, Donald McWilliams has served as a mentor and advisor to many younger directors. It was him that Wendy Tilby and Amanda Forbis turned to as the model for the main character in When the Day Breaks. He is acknowledged for his help in dozens of animated short film credits. It is this generous contribution to a creative community that we wish to highlight by naming him the eleventh recipient of the René-Jodoin Award,” emphasizes Marcel Jean, Executive Director of the Cinémathèque québécoise.

Donald McWilliams is a documentary filmmaker whose work makes use of both live-action and animation techniques. He was inspired to become a filmmaker after meeting Norman McLaren in 1968. McWilliams would later work with McLaren, and this led him to make two films about the acclaimed NFB animator: Creative Process: Norman McLaren (1990) and Norman McLaren: Animated Musician (2014). McWilliams’ other films include a trilogy of historical film essays: The Passerby (1995), awarded Best Cultural Documentary at the 1997 Hot Docs festival and selected as one of the 50 best filmic essays by the Vienna Film Festival in 2007, The Fifth Province (2003), and A Time There Was: Stories from the Last Days of Kenya Colony (2009). McWilliams also produced and edited Sunrise Over Tiananmen Square, which was nominated for the 1999 Oscar for Best Documentary Short. The Writers Guild of Canada has nominated his work twice for a best documentary script award. McWilliams has been a part of the NFB Animation Studio for close to four decades and was named Honorary President of the 2016 Ottawa International Animation Festival, a testament to his influence in animation circles.

The** 2026 René-Jodoin Award** will be presented to Mr. McWilliams at the Sommets Awards Ceremony on May 16 at 5:30 p.m. at the Cinémathèque québécoise. A special 16mm screening of his film ALOUD/BAGATELLE will be presented prior to the program of winning films from this year’s Sommets, during the Closing Night event, following at 7:30 p.m.