In 1990, Arnie Gelbart founded Galafilm, a Montreal-based production company. Originally from Brussels but raised in Montreal, he got his start in the film industry working as the Assistant Director on Luis Bunuel’s The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie in 1972. He subsequently honed his talents writing and co-writing various screenplays, including Montenegro, and worked as Assistant Director and Associate Producer of Dusan Makavejev’s Sweet Movie. From 1984 to 1990, Gelbart served as President of the production house Cleo 24, which he also co-founded.
Over the course of the company’s history, Galafilm has produced close to 400 hours of award-winning documentaries, television dramas, youth programming and feature films. Rich in genre diversity and range of evergreen subject matter, these programs have won over 200 national and international awards including a Prime Time Emmy. Galafilm was among the earliest producers to adopt HD in 2005 and much of the library is produced in HD.
Galafilm has produced and co-produced with top Canadian, US and international broadcasters. The company is notable for releasing all of its films in both French and English language versions.