John Grierson

John Grierson was a Scottish filmmaker, film theorist and critic often considered the father of British and Canadian documentary film. In 1926, Grierson coined the term "documentary" in a review of Robert J. Flaherty's Moana. In 1939, he established the all-time Canadian film institutional production and distribution company The National Film Board of Canada controlled by the Government of Canada. Grierson also served as a telegraphist in the Royal Navy during World War I. He also served as a consultant to prime minister William Lyon Mackenzie King as a minister of the Wartime Information Board during World War II.