Doc Institute Honours 2
by Staff
(December 12, 2019 – Toronto, ON) The tony Gladstone Hotel was the venue for the 6th annual DOC Institute Honours Celebration last night. Film and documentary industry professionals were hosted by actor, producer and journalist Nicole Stamp, who announced the two 2019 recipients. The BMO-DOC Vanguard Award was given to experimental and emerging filmmaker Millefiore Clarkes, and Canadian documentary trail-blazer Anne Pick was honoured with The Rogers-DOC Luminary Award.
Millefiore Clarkes was born in and grew up on Prince Edward Island. Through her company One Thousand Flowers Productions, she has produced a variety of media work: short and feature documentaries, music videos, drama, experimental shorts, and video installations. Clarkes has directed three documentary films for the National Film Board of Canada, including The Song and The Sorrow, which took home Best Short Atlantic Documentary at FIN – Atlantic International Film Fest, Best Atlantic Documentary at Lunenburg Doc Fest, and many more. Remarking on Clarkes’ work, the jury said she was “highly emotive and visionary.”
“Making art of any kind is an emotional process,” said Millefiore Clarkes. “As a filmmaker, you try to expose yourself, your vision of the world, a little of your soul. You try to communicate. And it’s not always apparent whether you are reaching people or not. Winning this award confirms to me that I have reached some people, at least some of the time – and that is a truly heartening acknowledgement. I have such respect for documentary filmmakers and their struggle to create meaning and empathy in the world – it’s an honour to be recognized by my peers.”
Along with the Vanguard Award, Clarkes will receive $40,000 in in-kind services from Canadian production supplier Sim-International and a thousand-dollar cash prize from the Bank of Montreal.
Anne Pick’s long career as a filmmaker began in 1970’s at CBC. The Rogers-DOC Luminary Award is most fitting given her work over several decades. Pick is a highly regarded, tireless advocate for the Canadian documentary filmmaking community, having lead various boards and committees working to protect and sustain documentary filmmaking opportunities with organizations like DOC, Hot Docs and imagineNATIVE over the past 30 years.
“The Documentary Organization of Canada through its endless advocacy work is essential to the survival of documentary filmmakers in Canada and I am proud to have been a part of it for the past 30 years,” said Pick. “This award is the perfect cap to my career and coming from my friends and colleagues in the doc community it is even more special.”
Among her substantial credits is the creation of a new lifestyle genre with the series Harrowsmith Country Life which launched the Life Network. She also produced Canada’s first official treaty documentary co-production with Australian partners in early 2000. During her career, Pick has been given many accolades including a Gemini Award and the 2015 Don Haig Award at Hot Docs. The jury noted that Pick is a “legendary filmmaker with unwavering passion and dedication.”
The DOC Institute is an initiative of DOC Ontario, the largest chapter of the Documentary Organization of Canada. DOC represents over 800 members across Canada through six regional chapters. Collectively, DOC’s members have produced thousands of documentaries; which have been seen by millions of people; and have been recognized with prestigious awards, including Oscars, Emmys, Peabodys, Geminis, Genies, and Canadian Screen Awards.
The DOC Institute Honours is an annual event. Past winners include Amar Wala, Zoe Dirse, Daniel Cross, Victoria Lean, Alethea Arnaquq-Baril, Marc Glassman, Chelsea Mcmullan, and Hot Docs President Chris MacDonald.
