# Mark Achbar > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Mark_Achbar > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Mark_Achbar.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Achbar > Source revision: 1347447444 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{short description|Canadian filmmaker (born 1955)|bot = PearBOT 5}} {{Multiple issues| {{BLP sources|date=December 2024}} {{Copy edit|date=July 2025}} }} {{Infobox person | name = Mark Achbar | birth_date = {{Birth year and age|1955}} | birth_place = [Ottawa](/source/Ottawa), Ontario, Canada | occupation = film director, film producer | notable_works = [Manufacturing Consent](/source/Manufacturing_Consent_(film))
[The Corporation](/source/The_Corporation_(2003_film)) }} '''Mark Achbar''' (born 1955){{Cite web|url=http://miff.com.au/festival-archive/film/11362|title = Festival Archive (1952–2020)}} is a Canadian filmmaker, best known for ''[The Corporation](/source/The_Corporation_(2003))'' (2003), ''[Manufacturing Consent: Noam Chomsky and the Media](/source/Manufacturing_Consent%3A_Noam_Chomsky_and_the_Media)'' (1992), and as an executive producer on over a dozen feature documentaries. == Biography == Achbar is a graduate of [Syracuse University](/source/Syracuse_University)'s Fine Arts Film Program. He interned in Hollywood on the children's TV programme ''Bill Daily's Hocus Pocus Gang'', followed by three years in Toronto with [Sunrise Films](/source/Sunrise_Films) on its documentary series Spread your Wings, and briefly on the [CBC](/source/Canadian_Broadcasting_Corporation)/[Disney](/source/Disney) series ''[Danger Bay](/source/Danger_Bay)''. He subsequently worked with his friend, director/writer [Robert Boyd](/source/Robert_Boyd_(director)), and received a [Gemini](/source/Gemini_Award) nomination for Best Writer on ''[The Canadian Conspiracy](/source/The_Canadian_Conspiracy)'', a cultural/political satire for CBC, and [HBO](/source/HBO)'s ''Comedy Experiments'' hosted by Martin Mull, featuring Canadian-born stars: [Eugene Levy](/source/Eugene_Levy), Lorne Greene, Leslie Nelson, [William Shatner](/source/William_Shatner), Morley Safer, [Howie Mandel](/source/Howie_Mandel), Peter Jennings, John Candy, Dave Thomas, Margot Kidder, and Anne Murray. The fake documentary chronicled Canada's secret takeover of the United States. The program won a Gemini for Best Entertainment Special and was nominated for an International Emmy. Achbar moved into independent media, working in many capacities on films, videos, and books, notably [Peter Watkins](/source/Peter_Watkins)' epic 14.5 hour documentary ''The Journey'', and the book ''At Work In The Fields of The Bomb'' with photojournalist [Robert Del Tredici](/source/Robert_Del_Tredici). With [Peter Wintonick](/source/Peter_Wintonick), Achbar co-directed and co-produced ''[Manufacturing Consent: Noam Chomsky and the Media (1992)](/source/Manufacturing_Consent%3A_Noam_Chomsky_and_the_Media)'', which was, until the release of ''[The Corporation](/source/The_Corporation_(2003_film)),'' Canada's all-time top-grossing feature documentary. Achbar's companion book to the film hit the national bestseller list in Canada. Achbar collaborated with [Jennifer Abbott](/source/Jennifer_Abbott) to create ''Two Brides and a Scalpel: Diary of a Lesbian Marriage'', a video diary by the couple who became known as Canada's first legally married same-sex couple. This video diary was filmed by Georgina Scott, a transgender heavy equipment operator who legally married Linda Fraser, a lesbian woman, and then underwent male-to-female sex reassignment surgery. The film received festival invitations from around the world and was broadcast in Canada on [Pridevision](/source/OUTtv_(Canadian_TV_channel)) and the [Knowledge Network](/source/Knowledge_Network). In 1997, Achbar initiated a documentary film project titled ''The Corporation'' with author and [University of British Columbia](/source/University_of_British_Columbia) law professor [Joel Bakan](/source/Joel_Bakan). Bakan wrote the film and book, while Achbar co-directed, produced, and executive-produced the film, with Jennifer Abbott joining the team as co-director and editor in 2000. ''The Corporation'' was released theatrically in 2004 and stands as the all-time top-grossing feature documentary made in Canada. During its 5-year existence, [Encore+](/source/Encore%2B), a YouTube portal for "classic" Canadian films and TV shows (2017–2022), accumulated over 8,263,108 views of the film, its top-ranked title out of 2,500+ titles. ''Manufacturing Consent'' was 2nd ranked, with over 7,380,819 views, an indication of the enduring relevance of the issues the film explores. Telefilm, a Canadian film and television financing agency, had a generous incentive program for producers of successful theatrical films. Until 2004, those films were exclusively dramas. ''The Corporation'' changed that. For the first time, a documentary's box office gross qualified it for a "performance envelope" – a reserve fund for the top Canadian producers whose films gross over $1m. A total of $2.38m was awarded to Achbar's company, Invisible Hand Productions Inc—diminished from the $4.5m the program would have awarded a dramatic production—which he, in collaboration with co-EP Betsy Carson, invested into ten Canadian feature documentaries: five in development and five in production; $270,000 of development financing and a further $5.85m of production financing was locked in for those productions. The completed, theatrically released productions which benefited from this funding are: Velcrow Ripper's ''Fierce Light, When Spirit Meets Action]''; Denis Delestrac's ''[Pax Americana and the Weaponization of Space](/source/Pax_Americana_and_the_Weaponization_of_Space)'', Kevin McMahon's ''[Waterlife](/source/Waterlife)'', Frederick Gertten's ''Bananas: Poison in a Banana Republic''; Mathieu Roy's and Harold Crooks' ''[Surviving Progress](/source/Surviving_Progress);'' and Oliver Hockenhull's ''[Neurons to Nirvana: Understanding Psychedelic Medicine](/source/Neurons_to_Nirvana)''. In 2022, Achbar helped shoot, and is an Executive Producer on, DOSED2-The Trip Of A Lifetime. Achbar continues his film career as an Executive Producer of feature documentary films and the occasional [mockumentary](/source/mockumentary). He has contributed his videography skills to two animal rights videos, ''Penny's Story'' and ''Meat The Victims: Excelsior Farms''. Achbar is co-founder, with Sarah Butterfield, of Speakables, a Vancouver technology startup. Achbar is an investor in Humanitas Smart Planet Fund and Versance.ai. == Selected films == '''Director and producer:''' * [Manufacturing Consent: Noam Chomsky and the Media](/source/Manufacturing_Consent%3A_Noam_Chomsky_and_the_Media) (with Peter Wintonick) (1992) * Two Brides And A Scalpel: Diary of a Lesbian Marriage (with co-director and editor Jennifer Abbott) (1999) * [The Corporation](/source/The_Corporation_(2003_film)) (with co-director and editor Jennifer Abbott and writer Joel Bakan) (2003) * [Romancing The Atom](/source/Romancing_The_Atom), directed by Mark Achbar (in production) '''Executive producer with Betsy Carson:''' * [Fierce Light: When Spirit Meets Action](/source/Fierce_Light), directed by [Velcrow Ripper](/source/Velcrow_Ripper) (with NFB Executive Producer Silva Basmajian) (2008) * [Pax Americana and the Weaponization of Space](/source/Pax_Americana_and_the_Weaponization_of_Space), directed by [Denis Delestrac](/source/Denis_Delestrac) (2009) * [Waterlife](/source/Waterlife), directed by Kevin McMahon (and with Executive Producers Michael McMahon and NFB's Silva Basmajian) (2009) * [Bananas: Poison in a Banana Republic](/source/Bananas%3A_Poison_in_a_Banana_Republic), directed by [Fredrik Gertten](/source/Fredrik_Gertten) (2009) * [Surviving Progress](/source/Surviving_Progress), directed by Mathieu Roy and Harold Crooks (and with Executive Producer Martin Scorsese) (2011) * [Neurons To Nirvana](/source/Neurons_to_Nirvana), directed by Oliver Hockenhull (2013) * [Romancing The Atom](/source/Romancing_The_Atom), directed by Mark Achbar (in production with producer and EP Betsy Carson) Supported by Knowledge Network and TVO, Canada Media Fund, and Creative BC '''Executive producer''' * [Blue Gold: World Water Wars](/source/Blue_Gold%3A_World_Water_Wars), directed by [Sam Bozzo](/source/Sam_Bozzo) (2008) * [Marmato](/source/Marmato), directed by Mark Grieco (2014) * [Fractured Land](/source/Fractured_Land), directed by Fiona Rayher and Damien Gillis (2015) * [When the Storm Fades](/source/When_the_Storm_Fades), directed by Sean Devlin (with Executive Producers Naomi Klein, The Yes Men) (2017) * [DOSED: The Trip of a Lifetime](/source/DOSED%3A_The_Trip_of_a_Lifetime), directed by Tyler Chandler and Nicholas Meyers (2022) * [https://www.facebook.com/CallingAllPeopleDoc/ Calling All People], directed by Hollie McGowan (2024) * [https://www.cinemapolitica.org/distribution/fairy-creek/ Fairy Creek], directed by Jen Muranetz (2024) * [https://rdvcanada.ca/en/product/the-mad-world-of-harvey-kurtzman/], on the writer and editor of the comic book Mad, directed and produced by Bart Simpson '''∫'''(in progress) * [Chemical Consent](/source/Chemical_Consent), directed and produced by Ana Maria Carrizales (in progress) '''Awards for "The Canadian Conspiracy"''' * [Gemini Award](/source/Gemini_Award) nomination, Best Writer, ''[The Canadian Conspiracy](/source/The_Canadian_Conspiracy)'' — "a cultural/political satire for CBC and HBO's Comedy Experiments." '''Awards for "The Corporation"''' *'''Audience Award, World Cinema, Documentary''' Sundance Film Festival *'''Audience Award''' Philadelphia International Film Festival *'''Audience Award''' Vancouver International Film Festival *'''Audience Award''' Thessaloniki Documentary Film Festival *'''Audience Award''' FIC Brasília International Film Festival *'''Audience Award''' (1st runner-up) Calgary International Film Festival *'''Audience Award''' (1st runner-up) Toronto International Film Festival *'''Insight Award for Excellence''' National Association of Film and Digital Media Artists, US *'''Best Documentary''' The Genie Awards, 2005 *'''Genesis Award for Outstanding Documentary Film''' United States Humane Society *'''Audience Award for Best Feature Length Film''' Ecocinema International Film Festival, Rhodes *'''Best Feature Documentary''' Environmental Media Association Awards *'''Reel Room Audience Award for Best Documentary''' Sydney Film Festival *'''Joris Ivens Special Jury Award''' International Documentary Festival, Amsterdam *'''NFB Best Documentary Award''' Calgary International Film Festival *'''Best Feature Length Documentary''' Ecocinema International Film Festival, Rhodes *'''Top Ten Films of the Year''' Toronto International Film Festival Group *'''Best Documentary Program or Series - History/Biography/Social/Political''' Leo Award *'''Best Direction in a Documentary Program or Series''' Leo Award *'''Best Screenwriting in a Documentary Program or Series''' Leo Award *'''Best Picture Editing in a Documentary Program or Series''' Leo Award *'''Best Overall Sound in a Documentary Program or Series''' Leo Award *'''Best Sound Editing in a Documentary Program or Series''' Leo Award *'''Best Documentary (1st runner-up)''' Seattle International Film Festival *'''Special Jury Mention''' Montreal New Film And Video Festival '''Awards for Manufacturing Consent''' *'''Golden Sesterce (Grand Prize)''' 1992 [Visions du Réel](/source/Visions_du_R%C3%A9el) documentary film festival, [Nyon, Switzerland](/source/Nyon%2C_Switzerland) *'''Special Mention, FIPRESCI International Press Jury''' 1992 [Visions du Réel](/source/Visions_du_R%C3%A9el) documentary film festival, [Nyon, Switzerland](/source/Nyon%2C_Switzerland) *'''Special Mention, Public Jury''' 1992 Nyon International Documentary Film Festival *'''Federal Express Award for Most Popular Canadian Film ''' 1992 Vancouver International Film Festival *'''Gold Hugo (Best Social/Political Documentary) '''1992 Chicago International Film Festival *'''Special Mention, Unanimous Jury Award''' 1992 Toronto International Festival of Festivals *'''Special Jury Award '''1992 Atlantic Film Festival *'''Public's "Most Loved" Documentary''' 1992 Sydney International Film Festival *'''Gold Apple '''1993 National Educational Film and Video Festival *'''Honourable Mention '''1993 American Film and Video Festival *'''Director's Choice Award '''1993 Charlotte Film and Video Festival *''' Voted "Best of the Festival" by Public ''' 1993 Edmonton Global Visions Film Festival *'''Gold Conch (Grand Prize ex-aqueo) '''1994 Bombay International Documentary Film Festival *'''Critics' Award '''1994 Bombay International Film Festival *'''Grand Prize- Best Political Documentary''' 1994 Canadian Documentary Film Festival *'''Prix de la Critique Internationale/FIPRESCI Fédération Internationale de la Presse Cinématographique Festival de NYONE''' *'''Distinguished Documentary Achievement ''' 1994 [International Documentary Association](/source/International_Documentary_Association) === Nominations or semi-finalist for ''Manufacturing Consent'' === *'''Yamagata International Documentary Film Festival''' *'''International Documentary Association Awards''' *'''Blois International Film Festival''' *'''Quinzaine du cinéma québécois''' *'''The Orwell Award''' *'''Best Documentary of the Year - New Internationalist Magazine''' ==References== {{Reflist}} == External links == *Achbar's production company is [https://www.ihpi.ca Invisible Hand Productions Inc.] *{{IMDb name|0009788}} *[http://brooklynrail.org/2004/07/express/the-beast-with-no-name "The Beast with No Name: Mark Achbar and Joel Bakan with Williams Cole"] ''[The Brooklyn Rail](/source/The_Brooklyn_Rail)'' (Summer 2004) {{Authority control}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Achbar, Mark}} Category:Film directors from Ottawa Category:Film directors from Quebec Category:Film directors from British Columbia Category:Canadian documentary film directors Category:Syracuse University College of Visual and Performing Arts alumni Category:Living people Category:Directors of Genie and Canadian Screen Award winners for Best Documentary Film Category:1955 births Category:Sundance Film Festival award winners Category:Producers of Genie and Canadian Screen Award winners for Best Documentary Film --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Mark Achbar](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Achbar) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Achbar?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.