SUMMERHILL RESIDENT AND well- known filmmaker Allan Winton King died on June 15 at the age of 79 after a brief battle with a brain tumour, diagnosed in April.
King’s 53-year career included work in news programming, documentary film and television series.
Works specific to Toronto included King’s 2003 Dying at Grace, which followed five patients at the palliative care unit of the Salvation Army Toronto Grace Health Centre, and 2006’s EMPz 4 Life, which explored the racial stereotyping of young black men in Toronto.
“Allan was a Canadian film icon,” said Lisa de Wilde, chief executive officer of TVO. “Allan’s films had a way of illuminating our shared humanity. Through intensely personal stories, he challenged us to consider new perspectives.”
Earlier this spring, TVO honoured King’s career during the week-long Allan King Film Festival. From 1989 to 1999, King served as president of the Director’s Guild of Canada. In June 2008, King was inducted into the Canadian Film and Television Hall of Fame.
