One of the pioneers of animation at the National Film Board of Canada and learned his craft working with Norman McLaren. In founding the French Animation Studio in 1966, he adopted McLaren's animator/director model favouring an artisanal approach with an emphasis on exploration, experimentation and personal expression. Several years later, it was on Jodoin's initiative that the Studio undertook the first computer-animated films, METADATA and HUNGER (winner of the Special Jury Award at Cannes in 1974), both directed by Peter Foldès. Jodoin has produced 39 NFB films and directed 18. The NFB has devoted a boxed set in its Mémoire collection to Jodoin. Entitled L'œuvre de René Jodoin; the set features films he directed, films he produced, a portrait of the filmmaker and a booklet containing articles by Pierre Hébert, Norman McLaren and Marcel Jean. In November, 2001, Jodoin received the Albert Tessier Award for Cinema at the presentation of the Prix de Québec. The Albert Tessier Award, the Government of Quebec's highest honour in the field of cinema, is granted to an individual whose career and work have contributed significantly to the reputation of Quebec film. Jodoin thus joins the list of NFB filmmakers -- Norman McLaren, Maurice Blackburn, Anne Claire Poirier, Pierre Perrault, Jacques Giraldeau, Colin Low and Georges Dufaux -- who have received this award over the years. Jacques Bensimon, Government Film Commissioner and NFB Chair, said, "René Jodoin is a visionary who provided a solid foundation for the development of animated filmmaking so that the type of animation now practised at the NFB is cited as an example around the world."  Nominated for Short Films (Animated Films) 1974: HUNGER - Producer (w. Peter Foldès)  Nominated for Short Films (Animated Films) 1975: MONSIEUR POINTU - Producer (w. Bernard Longpre & André Leduc) 2 nominations