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Shirley Vercruysse announces retirement from the NFB after a distinguished career championing Western, Northern and Indigenous filmmaking. Will remain with the NFB through September 2025 to complete ongoing projects.

PRESS RELEASE
23/04/2025

Shirley Vercruysse. Photo by Myriam Fernette

April 23, 2025 – Montreal – National Film Board of Canada (NFB)

Shirley Vercruysse is retiring from the National Film Board of Canada (NFB) after an 11-year term as Executive Producer of the NFB’s Western Documentary Unit.

A Vancouver-based producer, Shirley will remain with the NFB to complete her ongoing projects, work with producers and filmmakers across the unit’s vast territory and onboard her successor, before retiring from the NFB at the end of September 2025.

The NFB will be posting the job opening for Executive Producer in the coming days, as it seeks to fill this important position for Western, Northern and Indigenous documentary storytelling.

“It was with great emotion that we learned of Shirley’s plans to retire. Her passion for great storytelling and commitment to amplifying underrepresented voices have enriched the NFB. We’re delighted that she will be with us until the fall to ensure a smooth transition with the new executive producer. Shirley is leaving the Western Documentary Unit in excellent shape, and I can’t thank her enough,” said Suzanne Guèvremont, Government Film Commissioner and NFB Chairperson.

“I’ve had the privilege of working closely with Shirley for over a decade. Her dedication to the filmmaking community and commitment to storytelling from every region have made her an exceptional executive producer and ambassador for the NFB. She will leave the NFB with an incredible collection of powerful films and deeper ties to communities. I look forward to collaborating with Shirley in the months ahead to support a seamless changeover in leadership for the Western Doc Unit,” said Stéphanie L’Écuyer, Assistant Director General of Programming – Creation.

The Western Documentary Unit works with documentary creators across British Columbia, Yukon, Northwest Territories, Alberta and Saskatchewan, with offices in Vancouver and Edmonton. Its producers Teri Snelgrove (Vancouver), Coty Savard (Edmonton) and Chehala Leonard (Edmonton) are in development and production on more than a dozen new documentaries, directed by filmmakers from across the West and North. For more information, visit the NFB’s production website.

A career devoted to Western and Indigenous creation

Shirley first joined the NFB in 2014, taking over for Tracey Friesen as executive producer at what was then known as the BC & Yukon Studio, in Vancouver.

As a producer and executive producer with the NFB, Shirley has been a tireless champion of films by Western Canadian and Indigenous storytellers. Her award-winning documentaries include the features The Magnitude of All Things, The Whale and the Raven, The Road Forward, Incandescence and The Stand. Projects from Yukon include Sovereign Soil, Voices Across the Water and Northlore.

In animation, her credits include the shorts I AM HERE, The Mountain of SGaana, Shop Class and The Zoo, as well as the feature Window Horses. Shirley’s youth-themed productions include True North: Inside the Rise of Toronto Basketball, Beauty and Anything for Fame.

Prior to joining the NFB, Shirley served in Canada’s arts and cultural industries for almost three decades, working in film and television production and the non-profit cultural sector. She was based in Calgary for 14 years, where she produced such acclaimed independent works as waydowntown and the Genie Award-winning NFB co-production Radiant City.

Shirley will be at Hot Docs in Toronto shortly for the world premiere of the Western Documentary Unit production Siksikakowan: The Blackfoot Man, directed by Sinakson Trevor Solway—where she looks forward to meeting with creators and colleagues.

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French version here | Version française ici.

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