Robert Lang (producer)

Robert Lang
Robert Lang (middle)
Occupation Producer, director, Kensington Communications Inc.
Nationality Canada
Genre documentary, factual television
Notable works Museum Secrets, Raw Opium, Diamond Road, The Sacred Balance
Website
www.kensingtontv.com

Robert Lang is a Canadian film producer, director, writer. He began his career in Montreal working at the National Film Board of Canada as a documentary film director and camera operator in the mid-1970s. In 1980, he moved to Toronto, where he founded his own independent production company, Kensington Communications, to produce documentaries for television and non-theatrical markets. Since 1998, Lang has been involved in conceiving and producing interactive media for the Web and mobile devices.

Career

Robert Lang's work in television includes a number of documentary and factual series: Museum Secrets, a 22-part television series that investigates the stories behind artifacts in great museums around the world for History, UKTV and BBC Worldwide; Shameless Idealists, a five-part series that profiles a number of prominent change-makers and social activists for CTV; Diamond Road, a three-part series about the diamond industry for TVO, ZDF Arte and Discovery Times; The Sacred Balance, a four-part miniseries for CBC and PBS based on the book by geneticist and environmentalist Dr. David Suzuki; 72 Hours: True Crime, a true crime factual series for CBC and TLC; and Exhibit A: Secrets of Forensic Science, a forensic crime series hosted by Graham Greenefor Discovery and TLC. In 2013, he co-created and was executive producer on a mobile app to enhance your museum experience at the Royal Ontario Museum called ScopifyROM.

In 2015, Lang produced a one-hour documentary for TVOntario and CPAC exploring young peoples’ relationship to voting called The Drop: Why Young People Don't Vote.[1]

In 2015-16, Lang produced The Equalizer, the first of two one-hour documentaries, coproduced by Kensington TV and Berlin Producers for broadcast on CBC’s The Nature of Things, SRC Explora and ZDF/Arte. His next documentary is a point-of-view piece for TVOntario and Canal D, called Risk Factor.[2]

He has been responsible for several documentary films, including: as producer, co-writer of Raw Opium, which examines the failure of the War on Drugs through the lives of people involved in the international opium trade (TVO, ZDF Arte, SBS); as director, writer, producer of Return to Nepal, in which renowned musician Bruce Cockburn travels to the remote Humla district of Northwestern Nepal (CBC documentary); as co-writer / director, producer of Almost Home: a Sayisi Dene Journey, an intimate portrait of a Canadian aboriginal community in transition for CBC Nature of Things and APTN; River of Sand, which explores the ancient culture, popular music, and current struggles of the people of Mali, West Africa for Vision TV and TVO; Separate Lives, the Gemini-winning documentary which follows the lives of conjoined twins from Pakistan and the pioneering operation that gave them a chance at a new life for Discovery; The Biggest Little Ticket, a children’s musical fantasy special for CTV which won several awards; and Mariposa: Under a Stormy Sky, a documentary music special for CTV.

Lang was recipient of the Queen's Gold Jubilee Medal in 2002, was named North American Trailblazer of the Year by MIPDOC in 2009 and his work in film and television has garnered many national and international awards (see Awards section below for details). He's also been active in the production community as a founding member of the Documentary Organization of Canada, as a board member for The Real News since 2007 and as the founder of the Hot Docs CrossCurrents Fund in 2013.

Filmography

TV Series credits

Year(s) Program Credit Notes
1997–2002 Exhibit A: Secrets of Forensic Science co-creator, producer, director (shared credit) 66 episodes
2002 The Sacred Balance executive producer, director (shared credit) 4 X 1 hour
2003-2007 72 Hours: True Crime co-creator, executive producer (shared credit) 45 episodes
2007 Diamond Road producer, executive producer 3 X 1 hour limited series, feature doc
2010-2013 Museum Secrets executive producer, co-creator, director (Inside the Vatican) 22 episodes
2012 Shameless Idealists executive producer, director, writer 5 x 1/2 hour

Select documentary credits

Year Film Producer Director Writer
1985 Fragile Harvest Yes Yes
1986 Seeds Yes Yes
1988 One Warm Line: The Legacy of Stan Rogers Yes Yes
1991 Mariposa: Under a Stormy Sky Yes Yes
1991 Earth Journal with Richard Leakey Yes Yes
1993 The Biggest Little Ticket Yes Yes
1996 Separate Lives Yes Yes
1998 River of Sand Yes Yes Yes
2001 My Beat: The Life and Times of Bruce Cockburn Yes Yes
2003 Almost Home: a Sayisi Dene Journey Yes Yes Yes
2007 Diamond Road Yes
2008 Return to Nepal Yes Yes Yes
2011 Raw Opium Yes Yes
2015 The Drop: Why Young People Don't Vote Yes
2016 The Equalizer Yes
2016 Risk Factor AKA The Truth About Risk Yes Yes Yes
2017 Champions vs. Legends Yes

Accolades

  • 2016 Platinum Remi Award - The Equalizer, Houston International Film Festival, Sports Documentary
  • 2016 Finalist, Sports Documentary, The Equalizer, International Sport Film Festival Palermo
  • 2016 Nominated, Best Sports Program, Canadian Screen Awards, 2016
  • 2014 Canadian Screen Award - Museum Secrets (ACCT) Best Factual Series, Best Editing in an Information Program or Series
  • 2013 Canadian Screen Award - Museum Secrets (ACCT)[3]
  • 2008 Canadian New Media Awards, Best News Information, Diamond Road Online (CNMA)[4][5]
  • 2008 Gemini Award – Best Documentary Series, Diamond Road (ACCT)[6]
  • 2008 Platinum Award – Best Feature Documentary, Diamond Road (Houston Worldfest)[7]
  • 2007 Worldmedal – Docudrama, 72 Hours:True Crime (New York Festivals)[8]
  • 2005 Worldmedal – Docudrama, 72 Hours:True Crime (New York Festivals)[9]
  • 2004 Golden Sheaf Award – Best Documentary, Social/Political Almost Home (Yorkton Festival)[10]
  • 2004 NFB Kathleen Shannon Award, Almost Home (Yorkton Short Film & Video Festival)[11]
  • 2004 Platinum Award – Ecology/Environment/Conservation, Sacred Balance Show 3 Fire of Creation (Houston Worldfest)[12]
  • 2003 Prix Science & Societé, Sacred Balance Show 2: The Matrix of Life (Paris Festival International de l’Emission Scientifique de Télévision)[13]
  • 1998 Prix Regard Canadien, River of Sand (Vues D’Afrique)
  • 1998 Gemini Award – Science, Technology, Nature, Separate Lives (ACCT)[14]
  • 1997 Hot Docs – Vision TV Humanitarian Award, A Place in the World[15]
  • 1995 Award of Excellence – Best Variety, The Biggest Little Ticket (Alliance for Children and Television)[16]
  • 1994 Blé D’Or Award, Fragile Harvest (Agrovidéo, Montreal)
  • 1990 Gold Award, Seeds (Berlin Agricultural Film Festival)

References

  1. ↑ http://kensingtontv.com/kensington/index.php?type=project&id=58
  2. ↑ http://kensingtontv.com/kensington/index.php?type=project&id=60
  3. ↑ "Awards Database". Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television. Archived from the original on 2013-12-16. Retrieved Dec 3, 2013.
  4. ↑ "www.bullfrogfilms.com". Bullfrog Films. Retrieved Dec 3, 2013.
  5. ↑ "Top 15 - 2008 Canadian New Media Awards". Backbone Magazine. Archived from the original on 2013-12-07. Retrieved Dec 3, 2013.
  6. ↑ "Canadian Screen Awards database". Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television. Archived from the original on 2013-12-16. Retrieved Dec 3, 3013. Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  7. ↑ "2008 Worldfest Winner's List" (PDF). Worldfest Houston. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 20, 2009. Retrieved Dec 3, 2013.
  8. ↑ "New York Festivals Awards Database". New York Festivals. Retrieved Dec 3, 2013.
  9. ↑ "New York Festivals Awards Database". New York Festivals. Retrieved Dec 3, 2013.
  10. ↑ "2004 Canadian Golden Sheaf Award Winners". Yorkton Film Festival. Archived from the original on 2013-12-07. Retrieved Dec 3, 2013.
  11. ↑ "2004 Canadian Golden Sheaf Award Winners". Yorkton Film Festival. Archived from the original on 2013-12-07. Retrieved Dec 3, 2013.
  12. ↑ "Houston Worldfest Houston Winners 2004" (PDF). Worldfest Houston. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 28, 2007. Retrieved Dec 3, 2013.
  13. ↑ "A David Suzuki Foundation Moment in History: The Sacred Balance". David Suzuki Foundation. Retrieved Dec 3, 2013.
  14. ↑ "Canadian Screen Awards Database". Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television. Archived from the original on 2013-12-16. Retrieved Dec 3, 2013.
  15. ↑ "1997 Hot Docs Awards Archive". Hot Docs. Archived from the original on 2013-12-07. Retrieved Dec 3, 2013.
  16. ↑ "Bizet's Dream and Watatow take ACT Awards". Playback Magazine. Retrieved Dec 3, 2013.
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