Year: 1983
Language: English
Format: 16mm Colour
Runtime: 25 min
Director: Don McBrearty
Producer: Janice Platt, Seaton McLean
Writer: Joe Wiesenfeld, Alice Munro
Cinematographer: Alar Kivilo
Editor: Seaton McLean
Sound: Stuart French, John Megill, Tom Hidderly
Music: Louis Natale
Cast: Wayne Robson, Clare Coulter, David Fox, Winnie Farrell, Ian Heath, Megan Follows
Production Company: Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Atlantis Films

Set in the forties, Boys and Girls (which was produced for the CBC television anthology series Sons and Daughters) explores the critical period in a young girl’s life when she first realizes the implications of traditional gender-role stereotyping. Thirteen-year-old Margaret (Megan Follows) enjoys helping with the labour on her parents’ fox farm in Southern Ontario, but discovers that her responsibilities will soon be shifting indoors once her brother is old enough to take over. This effective, well-produced short film boasts strong performances and won several awards, including an Academy Award® for Best Live Action Short Film and the Canadian Film and Television Association’s Best Film honour.

Although not the first drama produced by Atlantis Films, it represented a key development for the then-emerging filmmaking group of Michael McMillan, Seaton McLean and Janice Platt.