# Gordon Henderson (filmmaker)

Gordon Henderson is a Canadian documentary film producer, director, writer, and chairman of his production company, 90th Parallel Productions. Henderson has directed, written, or produced hundreds of films over his career. His films have been nominated for 10 Geminis, winning two, and In 2023 he received the Canadian Screen Award for Best Factual Series. Henderson has a reputation for running one of Toronto's most successful production houses.

## Career

Henderson began his career as a Global TV parliamentary correspondent. He went on to produce documentaries for CBC and was the senior field producer at CTV's W5. He has directed many documentaries with Lloyd Robertson and worked closely with Bill Cameron. Henderson was the senior series producer for Canada: A People's History for which he won a Gemini award. Mark Starowicz wrote, "The series would have been totally impossible without Gordon Henderson, his respect for the human story, and his sense of wonder at Canadian history.” In 1987 Henderson founded his own production company, 90th Parallel. Henderson credits the 1994 film "The Choirmaster" with putting 90th Parallel on the map and John Haslett Cuff of the Globe said of the film, “This is an intelligent, restrained, and thoughtful film that poses a number of difficult questions about the case.” International broadcasters soon picked it up despite its local focus. 90th Parallel is respected throughout Canada as a premier high-end documentary production house. Henderson has been involved in the production of many films, including Inconvenient Indian, Bipolarized, Nahanni: River of Forgiveness, and The Skin We're In (film).
Henderson has authored or co-authored three books:
* Man In The Shadows: A Novel. Published by HarperCollins in 2014.
* Sandy Mackenzie, why Look So Glum?: Rhymes and Pictures about Our Prime Ministers. Published by Deneau and Greenberg in 1980.
* Don't Go That Way Mr. Baffin. Published by Deneau Publishers in 1986.
For over a decade, Henderson was an instructor in the journalism department at Ryerson University in Toronto.

## Awards

Henderson was won two Gemini awards and has been nominated 8 times. His films have won awards in New York, Chicago, Houston, Columbus, Yorkton, Telluride, Banff, China, and Paris.

### Awards and nominations

| Year | Ceremony | Category | Film | Result |
| 1998 | 13th Gemini Awards | Best Science, Technology, Nature and Environment Documentary Program | Superbugs | Nominated |
| 2000 | 15th Gemini Awards | Best History/Biography Documentary Program | Ambition: The Life & Times of Ted Rogers | Nominated |
| 2000 | 15th Gemini Awards | Best Performing Arts Program or Series, or Arts Documentary Program or Series | Tall Tales From The Long Corner: The Life and Times of Ronnie Hawkins | Won |
| 2001 | 16th Gemini Awards | Best Documentary Series | Canada: A People's History | Won |
| 2001 | 16th Gemini Awards | Best Performing Arts Program or Series, or Arts Documentary Program or Series | The Life & Times of Alex Colville | Nominated |
| 2002 | 17th Gemini Awards | Best Science, Technology, Nature, Environment or Adventure Documentary Program | The Cold Embrace | Nominated |
| 2005 | 20th Gemini Awards | Best Biography Documentary Program | The Life and Times of Peter C. Newman | Nominated |
| 2005 | 20th Gemini Awards | Best Sports Program or Series | The Hockey Nomad | Nominated |
| 2006 | 21st Gemini Awards | Best History Documentary Program | The Secret Mulroney Tapes | Nominated |
| 2007 | 22nd Gemini Awards | Donald Brittain Award for Best Social/Political Documentary Program | Faith Without Fear | Nominated |
| 2007 | 22nd Gemini Awards | Best Science, Technology, Nature, Environment or Adventure Documentary Program | Light at the Edge of the World | Nominated |
| 2009 | 24th Gemini Awards | Best Documentary Series | The Adventurers | Nominated |
| 2011 | 26th Gemini Awards | Best Cross-Platform Project - Non-Fiction | We Will Remember Them | Nominated |
| 2011 | 26th Gemini Awards | Best Documentary Series | Geologic Journey | Nominated |
| 2014 | 2nd Canadian Screen Awards | Science or Nature Documentary Program or Series | Wind Rush | Nominated |
| 2017 | 6th Canadian Screen Awards | Social/Political Documentary Program (Donald Brittain Award) | The Skin We're In (film) | Nominated |
| 2019 | 8th Canadian Screen Awards | Best Feature Length Documentary | Invisible Essence: The Little Prince | Nominated |
| 2020 | 9th Canadian Screen Awards | Science or Nature Documentary Program or Series (Rob Stewart Award) | The Nature of Things | Nominated |
| 2023 | 11th Canadian Screen Awards | Best Factual Series | We’re All Gonna Die (Even Jay Baruchel) | Won |

## Personal life and family

Henderson is the son of Canadian Lawyer Gordon F. Henderson and Joan Parkins. He is married and has three grown children, including Stuart Henderson, who works alongside him at 90th Parallel.
He has sat on multiple volunteer boards, including Face the Future, Opera Atelier, and Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra.