Malca Gillson (1926-2010) was a Canadian filmmaker with the National Film Board of Canada, and one of the first women to join the NFB in a non-junior position. She was a multi-tasker, acting as composer, sound editor, editor, producer and director. She is best known for her ground-breaking trilogy about end-of-life care: The Last Days of Living, Reflections on Suffering and Time for Caring. Early life Gillson was born Malca Laskin in Yorkton, Saskatchewan, to Bures T. Laskin and Florence Natonson. Hers was a prominent family; her father was a four-term mayor of Humboldt, Saskatchewan; her uncle Saul Laskin became the first mayor of Thunder Bay; her other paternal uncle, Bora Laskin, became the 14th Chief Justice of Canada. Career Gillson joined the NFB in 1955, by which time she was married to NFB cameraman Denis Gillson; they would divorce, but she kept the name for the rest of her life. At the time, most female recruits were negative cutters and secretaries; she was hired as a composer, then placed in the sound department and went on to do the sound and/or music for several notable films, including the BAFTA-winning Buster Keaton Rides Again (1965), and Oscar nominee Helicopter Canada (1966). By 1971, Gillson was a film editor and, in 1975, she began to direct. Her films, including Musicanada (1975), Alberta Girls (1975) and Canada Vignettes: The Music Makers (1975) all involved music and musicians. In 1979, her attention turned to end-of-life issues and she filmed three documentaries at Montreal’s Royal Victoria Hospital: The Last Days of Living (1980), Reflections on Suffering (1982) and Time for Caring (1982). The Last Days of Living, shot at the hospital’s palliative care unit, was the first film to truthfully bring the subject of death to professionals and the public; it is regarded as an essential film for healthcare professionals, volunteers and the public at large. Gillson retired from the NFB in 1980 and died in Toronto in 2010. Filmography Eye Witness No. 88 - documentary short, Grant Crabtree and Hector Lemieux 1955 - music Lobsters Are a Community Affair - documentary short, Donald Fraser 1955 - music Eye Witness No. 98 - documentary short, Tim Wilson and Hector Lemieux 1957 - sound editor Bridge Under the Ocean - documentary short, Raymond Garceau 1957 - sound editor Wildlife of the Rocky Mountains - documentary short, William H. Carrick 1958 - music editor Security: Espionage