Tanya Ballantyne Tree
Directing
Biography
Tanya Ballantyne (May 4, 1944 - June 18, 2015), also known later in her career as Tanya Ballantyne Tree, was a Canadian film director,[1] most noted for her 1967 documentary film The Things I Cannot Change. Created for the National Film Board of Canada, the film was broadcast by CBC Television on May 3, 1967, as an episode of the anthology series Festival, and received a special mention from the jury at the 1967 Montreal International Film Festival. However, with the film having generated some controversy around whether it was exploitative of stars Kenneth and Gertrude Bailey, she opted to concentrate on raising her family with her then-husband Bruce Mackay, and did not return to filmmaking until deciding in the 1980s to track down the Baileys to update their story in a new film, Courage to Change. Having divorced from Mackay, she added Tree to her surname at this time, telling the press that she wanted to be known by a surname that she had chosen for herself, instead of being defined solely by the surnames of her father and ex-husband. She subsequently directed the documentary films Nurses Care: One Day at a Time, Niagara Falls and Ted Allan: Minstrel Boy of the 20th Century, before her death in 2015.
Known For
The story of two young women who go to the city to work in a dress factory, and who share a room to ease their expenses and their loneliness. The film shows the currents that brought them together and the facets of their natures that first made them seem compatible but eventually drove them apart. Their story reflects, to a degree, the situation of anyone who has ever shared the life of another.
Notes for a Film About Donna & Gail
Directed by Don Owen, this follow-up to Graham Parker’s 1964 film Joey revisits the life of the eponymous young boy, who at the age of seven had trouble finding adoptive parents, most of whom look for children who are still in their infant years. This film catches up with Joey after he has found a home, and reveals some of the problems he faces in adjusting to the routines of family life.
A Further Glimpse of Joey
"This feature documentary is considered to be the forerunner of the NFB's Challenge for Change Program. The film offers in inside look at 3 weeks in the life of the Bailey family. Trouble with the police, begging for stale bread, and the birth of another child are just some of the issues they face. Through it all, the father tries to explain his family's predicament. Although filmed in Montreal, the film offers an anatomy of poverty as it occurs throughout North America." - NFB
The Things I Cannot Change
From humble beginnings in Montreal’s scrappy St Urbain neighbourhood, Ted Allan (1916-1995) would become one of Canada’s most distinctive writing talents and raconteurs, authoring numerous books, plays and screenplays, most notably, Lies My Father Told Me. This fascinating documentary offers a detailed portrait of a unique individual, from his journey to Spain to fight the fascists to his collaboration with John Cassavetes. Featuring footage of Allan’s staged readings, his musings on his lengthy career and interviews with friends and family, including actress Gena Rowlands, writer Stanley Mann and director Ted Kotcheff.
Ted Allan: Minstrel Boy of the 20th Century
This feature documentary is a sequel to the 1966 documentary The Things I Cannot Change, which, by focusing on the Bailey family of Montreal, provided an anatomy of poverty in North America. Courage to Change explores what has happened to the Baileys in the intervening 18 years.