Year: 1960
Language: English
Format: 35mm Black & White
Runtime: 29 min
Director: Roman Kroitor, Colin Low
Producer: Tom Daly
Writer: Roman Kroitor
Cinematographer: Wolf Koenig, Denis Gillson
Editor: Tom Daly
Sound: Joseph Champagne, Kathleen Shannon
Music: Eldon Rathburn
Narration: Stanley Jackson
Production Company: National Film Board of Canada

Perhaps the National Film Board’s most honoured production – with twenty-three major awards, including an Academy Award® nomination and a special citation at Cannes – Universe is a marvel of realistic animation that takes the viewer on a trip through the universe from ground zero, Earth, to the farthest reaches of space. The film was made with such mathematical precision that it became required viewing by NASA technicians as they prepared to send a manned space craft to the moon. Universe also attracted the attention of Stanley Kubrick, who used techniques developed by the NFB team (which included production designer Sydney Goldsmith and special effects pioneers Wally Gentleman, Herbert Taylor and James Wilson) in his groundbreaking epic 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968).

At the Canadian Film Awards, Universe was named Film of the Year and co-directors Colin Low and Roman Kroiter received a Non-Theatrical Special Mention. It was awarded a BAFTA for Best Animated Film, received a Jury Prize for Animation at the Festival de Cannes, and was nominated for an Academy Award® for Best Documentary, Short Subject.