Peter Raymont

Peter Raymont (born February 28, 1950) is a Canadian filmmaker and producer and the president of White Pine Pictures, an independent film, television and new media production company based in Toronto. Among his films are Shake Hands with the Devil: The Journey of Romeo Dallaire, A Promise to the Dead: The Exile Journey of Ariel Dorfman (2007), The World Stopped Watching (2003) and The World Is Watching (1988). The 2011 feature documentary West Wind: The Vision of Tom Thomson and 2009's Genius Within: The Inner Life of Glenn Gould were co-directed with Michèle Hozer.

Education Raymont attended Crighton Street School, Rockcliffe Park Public School and Lisgar Collegiate Institute. He graduated from Trinity College School in Port Hope in 1968.

At Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario he was honoured with the Tricolour Award for contribution to the university community. Raymont graduated from Queen's University in 1971 with a Bachelor of Arts, majoring in Political Science and Film Studies. Raymont is a graduate of The Canadian Centre for Advanced Film Studies in North York, Ontario (First Year, 1988), now the Canadian Film Centre. He was a co-founder of the Canadian Independent Film Caucus, now The Documentary Organization of Canada and is a member of The Directors' Guild of Canada and The Canadian Media Producers' Association.

Early career Raymont's career began at age 21 at the National Film Board of Canada in Montreal. From 1971 to 78, he worked as an editor, director and producer. While at the NFB, Raymont also taught film and video production in the Canadian Arctic. In 1978, Raymont moved to Toronto and established his independent film and television production company, Investigative Productions now operating as White Pine Pictures. He co-partnered the company for many years with his late wife, award-winning filmmaker and author Lindalee Tracey.

Career Raymont was executive producer of the television drama series The Border, which he co-created with Lindalee Tracey, Janet MacLean and Jeremy Hole, and Cracked, a Toronto-based police procedural which explores the intersection of the law and mental illness. Cracked's 2 seasons are also broadcast in France, Germany, USA and elsewhere.

Raymont's documentary feature Shake Hands with the Devil: The Journey of Roméo Dallaire was honoured with the 2005 Audience Award for World Cinema Documentaries at The Sundance Film Festival and the 2007 Emmy Award for Best Documentary. A Promise to the Dead: The Exile Journey of Ariel Dorfman was longlisted for the 2007 Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature.

Genius Within: The Inner Life of Glenn Gould premiered at the 2009 Toronto International Film Festival, followed by invitational presentations at the International Documentary Film Festival in Amsterdam (IDFA) and several other festivals worldwide (Full Frame, Vancouver, Seattle, Sydney, Melbourne, Hawaii, Bermuda). The film opened theatrically across Canada, USA and Australia in 2010, playing in over 50 US cities. A two-hour version of the film was broadcast on the PBS series American Masters in December, 2010. Genius Within won the 2010 Gemini Award for Best Biography Documentary presented by the Canadian Academy of Cinema and Television, and was short-listed for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature.

In 2015 Raymont received an Honorary Doctor of Letters Degree from Trent University

In 2019 he was named the winner of the Don Haig Award at the Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival.

Filmography Film Year Title Director Producer Writer 1970 Blue 1971 Have You Ever Been North of Princess Street? 1977 Flora: Scenes from a Leadership Convention 1978 The Art of the Possible 1979 History on the Run: The Media and the ’79 Election 1981 Magic in the Sky 1982 Arctic Spirits Falasha: Agony of the Black Jews 1983 On to the Polar Sea: A Yukon Adventure Prisoners of Debt: Inside The Global Banking Crisis 1986 At The Brink: The Cuban Missile Crisis 1987 The Politics of Aid 1988 The World Is Watching 1990 Between Two Worlds 1992 Voices From the Shadows 1993 Chasing the Dream 1994 Hearts of Hate: The Battle for Young Minds 1995 Abby, I Hardly Knew Ya The Skeptic’s Journey 1997 Invisible Nation: Policing the Underground Passing the Flame: The Legacy of Women’s College Hospital 1999 Rwanda: In Search of Hope 2002 King of Hearts 2003 Into the Light The World Stopped Watching Arctic Dreamer: The Lonely Quest of Vilhjalmur Stefansson 2004 Shake Hands with the Devil: The Journey of Roméo Dallaire Bhopal: The Search for Justice The Killer Cure 2005 The Idealist: James Beveridge, Film Guru 2007 A Promise to the Dead: The Exile Journey of Ariel Dorfman Tsepong: A Clinic Called Hope 2008 Worlds Collide: The Saga of Herschel Island I Nuligak: An Inuvialuit History of First Contact Tar Sands: The Selling of Alberta Radical Dreamer: The Passionate Journey of Graham Spry Triage: Dr. James Orbinski’s Humanitarian Dilemma 2009 Genius Within: The Inner Life of Glenn Gould Hugh Hefner: Playboy, Activist and Rebel 2010 Pets on Prozac Experimental Eskimos Winds of Heaven: Emily Carr, Carvers and The Spirit of The Forest The Team Prosecutor 2011 West Wind: The Vision of Tom Thomson 2012 Fight Like Soldiers, Die Like Children 2014 Guantanamo's Child Painted Land: In Search of the Group of Seven 2015 Premier: The Unscripted Kathleen Wynne 2016 All Governments Lie: Truth, Deception and the Spirit of I. F. Stone 2009 Margaret Atwood: A Word After a Word after a Word is Power 2022 Ice-Breaker: The 1972 Summit Series

Executive producer PTSD: Beyond Trauma (2017) The Truth Is In The Stars (2017) The Corporate Coup D'État (2018) Toxic Beauty (2019) Once Were Brothers: Robbie Robertson and The Band (2019) The Price of Cheap (2021) Sleeping Warrior (2021) Unloved: Huronia's Forgotten Children (2022) Buffy Sainte-Marie: Carry It On (2022) Balancing Act (2023) Plastic People: The Hidden Crisis of Microplastics (2024) Shadow Man: William Stephenson and the Art of Political Warfare (2024)

Short film

Television

Awards International Emmy Award Winner for Best Arts Programming - Buffy Sainte Marie 2023 Allan King Award for Excellence in Documentary (Guantanamo's Child), 2016 Academy of Television Arts & Sciences NEWS AND DOCUMENTARY EMMY AWARD - Best Documentary 2007 GENIE AWARD

Gemini Awards: Best Sports Program or Series 1999 Best History-Biography Documentary, 2004 Best Direction of a Documentary, 2004 Best Biography Documentary, 2010

Canadian Film and Television Awards Best Documentary 1983

Sundance Film Festival AUDIENCE AWARD - World Cinema Documentary, 2005

Philadelphia Film Festival JURY AWARD - Best Documentary, 2005

Chicago International Film Festival SILVER HUGO - Best Social/Political Documentary 1991 GOLD HUGO - Best Social/Political Documentary 1988 GOLD PLAQUE - Social/Political Documentary 1983

American Film Festival, New York City Blue Ribbon, Best Social/Political Documentary 1976 Red Ribbon Social/Political Documentary 1983

Nyon International Documentary Film Festival, Switzerland Sesterce d'Argent, 1990 Ecumenical Prize and Second Public Jury Prize, 1988

Leipzig International Film Festival Best Short Documentary 1976 International Jury Award, 1991

Festival International de Programmes Audiovisuels (FIPA), Biarritz, France Special Jury Mention, 2004 Honourable Mention, 2004

Association of Canadian Television and Radio Artists, ACTRA Awards Top Ten Award, 1999 Best Writing, TV Documentary 1984

Yorkton International Film Festival, Canada Best Documentary, Sports/Recreation and Best Cinematography 1985 Best Broadcast Documentary 1991 Best Documentary 2010

Alberta Film and Television (AMPIA) Best Documentary 1986

International Arctic Film Festival (Rovaniemi, Finland) Special Award, Television 1986

23rd International Festival of Short Films (Cracow, Poland) Polish National Peace Committee Prize, 1986

National Film and Video Association, Oakland, California Bronze Apple 1990, Gold Apple 1991, Bronze Apple 1994, Gold Apple 1995

Worldfest Houston Gold, Special Jury Prize, 2001 Gold Award for Documentary Series 2000 Special Jury Prize, 2000 Gold Award for Sports Documentary 1999 Gold Medal for Best Documentary Television Series 1998 Silver Award 1992, Certificate of Merit-Finalist 1995

Academy Awards, Los Angeles, USA Honourable Mention, Documentary category, 1983

Berlin Film Festival Honourable Mention, Peace Prize Committee 1989