Wolf Koenig

• Name — Wolf Koenig • Born — 17 October 1927 • Birthplace — Dresden, Germany • Died — 26 June 2014 • Place of death — Toronto, Ontario, Canada • Occupation — Film director, cinematographer, film producer, animator • Years Active — 1951 – 1996

Born in Dresden, Germany, Koenig emigrated to Canada with his family in 1937, when they fled Nazi Germany. They settled in 145 acre farm along the Grand River, outside what is now known as Cambridge, Ontario. In 1948, a local representative for the Canadian department of agriculture needed the family's tractor to demonstrate a new tree-planting machine. As the young Koenig pulled the machine across a field, he noticed a small film crew from the NFB's former agricultural film unit, recording the demonstration. After filming was complete, he approached the men, who included director Raymond Garceau, and told them he loved films, especially animation, and hoped to work in filmmaking. They suggested he send in a job application and approximately six weeks later he received a letter offering him the position of a junior splicer for $100 per month. His younger brother Joe Koenig was also a filmmaker.

Koenig quickly established himself as a multi-talented artist, filming Norman McLaren's Neighbours (1952), animating Colin Low's The Romance of Transportation in Canada (1953) and serving as cinematographer on Low's Corral (1954). Koenig co-directed several historically significant NFB documentaries during, including City of Gold (with Low, 1957), The Days Before Christmas (1958), Lonely Boy (with Kroitor, 1962) and Stravinsky (1965). Along with Terence Macartney-Filgate, Roman Kroitor and Tom Daly, he was also one of the principal contributors to the NFB's Candid Eye series, which was influential in the development of direct cinema. Koenig made major contributions to a range of notable projects. He was also the cinematographer for Arthur Lipsett's Experimental Film (1963) and N-Zone (1970), both admired by George Lucas. Koenig served as executive producer of the NFB's English animation unit from 1962 to 1967 and again from 1972 to 1975. His credits as an animation producer included the Academy Award nominees The Drag (1966), What on Earth! (1966) and The House That Jack Built (1967). Koenig also produced Alanis Obomsawin's documentary Kanehsatake: 270 Years of Resistance, named Best Canadian Feature Film at the 1993 Festival of Festivals (now Toronto International Film Festival).