Colin Archibald Low (July 24, 1926 – February 24, 2016) was a Canadian animation and documentary filmmaker with the National Film Board of Canada (NFB). He was known as a pioneer, one of Canada's most important filmmakers, and was regularly referred to as "the gentleman genius". His numerous honors include five BAFTA awards, eight Cannes Film Festival awards, and six Academy Award nominations. Early life Low was born and raised in Cardston, Alberta, to Gerald and Marion Low, ranchers who were members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The town borders the Kainai Nation (Blood Tribe), which later became the subject of two of his films; his 1960 film Circle of the Sun marked the first time the Kainai Nation's sacred Sun Dance was filmed. Career Low studied graphic design and animation at the Banff School of Fine Arts and then the Calgary Institute of Technology. In 1946, while he was at the latter, the National Film Board of Canada was hiring and put out a call for student submissions; one of Low's teachers suggested that he send in his portfolio and, a week later, he was hired by the prominent NFB filmmaker Norman McLaren. McLaren placed Low under the tutelage of George Dunning, who would act as his mentor for five years. To hone his animation skills, he was also put to work with NFB animator Evelyn Lambart. Low was recognized as a filmmaker in 1949. In 1950, he was appointed Head of the Animation Unit. From 1972 to 1976, he was an executive producer for the NFB’s Studio C; in 1976, he became Director of Regional Production. He would stay with the NFB for the rest of his life, making 203 films and acting as a researcher and advisor on many others. He officially retired in 1997, but continued to write about animation and large-format film, and to work on film projects. Influence on Stanley Kubrick and Ken Burns Low's 1957 documentary City of Gold made use of slow pans and zooms across archival photos and has been cited by Ken Burns as a key inspiration for the so-called 'Ken Burns effect'. In 1960, Low and Roman Kroitor co-directed Universe, capturing the attention of Stanley Kubrick, who was preparing to make 2001: A Space Odyssey. Low was invited to work on 2001: A Space Odyssey but had to decline because he was making In the