A Matter of Fat

1969 Canadian film

1969 (1969)

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A Matter of Fat is a 1969 documentary film produced by the National Film Board of Canada and directed by William Weintraub.^[1] It chronicles the efforts of a 358-pound man, Gilles Lorrain, to lose half his body weight as part of a hospital supervised weight loss program.^[2]

In the film, which is narrated by Lorne Greene, Lorrain recounts his life and experiences, often with humour. In one 21-second time lapse sequence, Weintraub shows Lorrain's 150-pound weight loss, filmed at two frames a day for seven months. The film also shows Lorrain's return to his family after the gruelling program, and his conviction that he will be one of one in four dieters who can keep the weight off.^[2]^[3]

In addition to focusing on Lorrain's story, the film explores what other obese people are doing to lose weight, and hears from medical authorities on misconceptions and practices in the weight loss industry. A Matter of Fat also motivated the film's director to lose weight.^[2]^[3]

Awards

22nd Canadian Film Awards, Toronto: Best Film Over 30 Minutes, 1970
Atlanta Film Festival, Atlanta: Gold Medal, 1971
Atlanta Film Festival, Atlanta: Special Jury Award, 1971
American Film and Video Festival, New York: Blue Ribbon, 1971^[2]^[3]^[1]

References

^ ^a ^b "A Matter of Fat". onf-nfb.gc.ca. National Film Board of Canada. 11 October 2012. Retrieved 3 February 2023.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Evans, Gary (1991). In the National Interest: A Chronicle of the National Film Board of Canada from 1949 to 1989. University of Toronto Press. pp. 196. ISBN 0-8020-6833-2. A Matter of Fat weintraub.
^ ^a ^b ^c "A Matter of Fat". Collection. National Film Board of Canada. 11 October 2012.

External links

Watch A Matter of Fat on the NFB website
A Matter of Fat at IMDb

Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television for Best Animated Short, Best Live Action Short and Best Theatrical Short

Theatrical Short
(1949–1996)

Who Will Teach Your Child? (1949)
North Shore (1950)
After Prison, What? (1951)
Opera School (1952)
L'Homme aux oiseaux (1953)
Farewell Oak Street (1954)
High Tide in Newfoundland¹ (1955)
Gold (1956)
The Sceptre and the Mace (1958)
Money Minters, The Quest and The Tall Country (1959)
Royal River (1960)
Universe (1961)
Morning on the Lièvre (1962)
Nahanni (1963)
Anniversary (1964)
Do Not Fold, Staple, Spindle or Mutilate and Ça n'est pas le temps des romans (1968)
Vertige and At Home (1969)
A Matter of Fat and Blake (1970)
Don't Knock the Ox (1971)
This Is a Photograph (1972)
Goodbye Sousa (1973)
Along These Lines (1975)
Cooperage (1976)
Spartree (1977)
L'Affaire Bronswik (1978)
Nails (1980)
The Strongest Man in the World (1981)
Zea (1982)
Elvis Gratton (1983)
Ted Baryluk's Grocery (1984)
Charade (1985)
George and Rosemary (1988)
Saeed (1991)
Arrowhead (1994)
Les fleurs magiques (1995)
The Home for Blind Women (1996)

Live Action Short
(1986–present)

The Edit (1986)
I Need a Man Like You to Make My Dreams Come True (1987)
The Mysterious Moon Men of Canada (1989)
In Search of the Last Good Man (1990)
Battle of the Bulge (1992)
The Fairy Who Didn't Want to Be a Fairy Anymore (1993)
The Hangman's Bride (1997)
When Ponds Freeze Over (1998)
Moving Day (1999)
Le P'tit Varius (2000)
The Heart of the World (2001)
I Shout Love (2002)
Noël Blank (2003)
Capacité 11 personnes (2004)
Milo 55160 (2005)
Le rouge au sol (2006)
Après tout (2007)
Next Floor (2008)
Danse Macabre (2009)
Savage (2010)
Doubles with Slight Pepper (2011)
Throat Song (2012)
Noah (2013)
Hole (2014)
She Stoops to Conquer (2015)
Mutants (2016)
Fluffy (2017)
Fauve (2018)
Pick (2019)
Black Bodies (2020)
Girls Shouldn't Walk Alone at Night (2021)
Simo (2022)
Motherland (2023)

Animated Short
(1968–present)

Un enfant...un pays¹ (1968)
Walking (1969)
To See or Not to See (1970)
Evolution (1971)
Dans la vie... (1972)
The Family That Dwelt Apart (1973)
The Owl Who Married a Goose (1975)
The Street (1976)
Spinnolio (1977)
Afterlife (1978)
Every Child (1980)
The Big Snit (1986)
Get a Job (1987)
The Cat Came Back (1989)
Juke-Bar (1990)
Strings (1992)
Pearl's Diner (1993)
La vieille dame et les pigeons (1997)
Bingo (1998)
When the Day Breaks (1999)
Village of Idiots (2000)
The Boy Who Saw the Iceberg (2001)
The Hungry Squid (2002)
Falling in Love Again (2003)
Ryan (2004)
cNote (2005)
The Danish Poet (2006)
Madame Tutli-Putli (2007)
Isabelle au bois dormant (2008)
Runaway (2009)
Lipsett Diaries (2010)
Romance (2011)
Paula (2012)
Subconscious Password (2013)
Me and My Moulton (2014)
The Ballad of Immortal Joe (2015)
Blind Vaysha (2016)
The Tesla World Light (2017)
Animal Behaviour (2018)
Giant Bear (2019)
Hot Flash (2020)
Angakusajaujuq: The Shaman's Apprentice (2021)
The Flying Sailor (2022)
Where Rabbits Come From (2023)

¹ These two films were given honorable mentions rather than officially winning the award, but are included here as no other winner was named above them.