Fonds - Sol Dworkin Fonds

Sol Dworkin was born and raised in Winnipeg, MB, to a Russian-Jewish immigrant family. By 1930, his father was forced to relocate the family to Ottawa where Dworkin attended high school. The family spoke Yiddish, and chose to continue to live in a primarily Jewish neighborhood.

Dworkin attended the Ontario Agricultural College in Guelph, ON, returning to Ottawa after graduation. He worked for the National Research Council, but his love for photography led him to take a position at the National Film Board in 1943. At the NFB, he began working in the stock shot library, finding various footage requested. He also put together news compilations that he pieced together from foreign news reels about the war. It was here where he learned about film production and editing. Dworkin became a director the same year when other directors were too busy and NFB wanted an agricultural film. He, with a very small crew, made Farm Front. In 1945, he followed up with Just Weeds.

After World War II, Dworkin moved to the United States and obtained a Master Degree in Education from Indiana University and PhD in Education from Syracuse University. After working as an independent documentary film maker for many years in the US, he eventually moved back to Canada to teach at Sheridan College.