Millefiore Clarkes (also called Mille Clarkes), is a Canadian filmmaker from

Prince Edward Island Prince Edward Island (PEI; ) is one of the thirteen Provinces and territories of Canada, provinces and territories of Canada. It is the smallest province in terms of land area and population, but the most densely populated. The island has seve ...

. She has produced music videos, experimental shorts and documentary films, as well as commercials. She also owns and operates One Thousand Flowers Productions. The name of the film production company is derived from her first name, which means "one thousand flowers" in Italian.

Personal life

Mille Clarkes was born in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

and moved to

with her father when she was 11 years old. Her father is Canadian artist and composer Gerard Luther Clarkes, they have worked together on ''Melodies for Max'' (2013) and ''Land Feed the Farmer'' (2015) for the PEI Council of the Arts. She currently resides in

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdo ...

where she lives with her son.

Career

After studying philosophy at King's College in Halifax,

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland". Most of the population are native Eng ...

, she went on a road trip across Canada, the United States and Mexico, and documented her travels. She returned to her home in

with 60–70 hours of footage and taught herself

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at the

Island Media Arts Cooperative The Island Media Arts is a non-profit media organization that began with the Island which was incorporated in 1978 in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Canada. The Island Media Arts evolved in 1982 when the co-op became oriented toward filmm ...

. ''Stalking Love'' (2005) was shown in five film festivals and aired more than 20 times on CBC's documentary channel from 2006 to 2009. According to Clarkes, her experimental documentary is not so much about love as about the people talking about love. She said "If you ask people about love, their answer is very telling about who they are as a person. You can’t lie about love—or, if you do ..that still tells something about who you essentially are". After producing her film, she worked at the

and as an editor and executive director from 2005 to 2008. Her institutional work also includes sitting on the boards of The PEI Council of the Arts and the Women in Film and Television-Atlantic. She is also the curator for The Island Media Arts Festival and one of the founding members of The Island Film Factory. In 2013 she wrote and directed ''Island Green'' (2013), a lyrical short film about organic farming in Prince Edward Island. Produced and distributed by the

National Film Board The National Film Board of Canada (NFB; french: Office national du film du Canada (ONF)) is Canada's public film and digital media producer and distributor. An agency of the Government of Canada, the NFB produces and distributes documentary fi ...

. The 25-minute film is narrated by P.E.I.-born poet,

Tanya Davis Tanya Davis is a Canadian singer-songwriter and poet, based in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Her style is marked primarily by spoken word poetry set to music. Background Born in Summerside, Prince Edward Island, she moved to Ottawa for a time after h ...

. It was first shown at the

Atlantic Film Festival FIN: Atlantic International Film Festival (known as The Atlantic International Film Festival until 2017) is a major international film festival held annually in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada since 1980. FIN is the largest Canadian film festival eas ...

in Halifax for its world premiere. She has sat on the boards of The PEI Council of the Arts and Women in Film and Television-Atlantic. She is a founding member of The Island Film Factory and on the board of IMAC. She is the curator for The Island Media Arts Festival. She also owns One Thousand Flowers Productions where she produces music videos, experimental and documentary shorts, commercials and something she calls pocket-docs (short documentaries for companies). She has worked with the city of

Charlottetown Charlottetown is the capital and largest city of the Canadian province of Prince Edward Island, and the county seat of Queens County. Named after Queen Charlotte, Charlottetown was an unincorporated town until it was incorporated as a city in ...

, Discover Charlottetown and the Art in the Open festival, Prince Edward Island Farm Center,

Confederation Centre of the Arts Confederation Centre of the Arts (french: Centre des arts de la Confédération) is a cultural centre dedicated to the visual and performing arts located in the city of Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Canada. History Construction of Confeder ...

, the

Halifax Jazz Festival The TD Halifax Jazz Festival, formerly known as the Atlantic Jazz Festival, is the oldest jazz festival being held annually since 1987 and largest summer festival in Atlantic Canada. Designated a Hallmark Event by the Halifax Regional Municipality, ...

, the Neworld theatre, the Macphail Woods Ecological Forestry Project and others.

Style

What led Mille Clarkes to filmmaking was "happenstance and serendipity" While studying at King's College, she made a super-8 experimental film, and unveiled a passion for observing that had been present since she was a child.

"I was ..a great lover of ''other people’s worlds''. As a child I used to stay with friends and their families for days on end, absorbing their familial culture, smelling their smells, feeling their rhythms… I always loved entering in and out of worlds. I think these two factors (and a million more) have drawn me to documentary as a form of expression."

Place is a recurring theme in her work and her style has often been described as lyrical. In the analysis of ''place'' in Clarkes' first feature documentary ''Stalking Love'', Darrell Varga said

"The images of the landscape punctuating the film are not to provide a stable sense of place but are linked with the idea of journey and process. Local is mitigated by an idea of the universal in a journey across Canada, through the US, and into Mexico, and includes rich and poor characters, young and old, prostitutes, street people, and priests."

Clarkes is an independent filmmaker and despite the constraints working with a small budget brings, she said:

"There is a great communicative strength in attempting to convey something within the limitations you are given. I think meaning comes from the tension between elements. Many of the amazing new technological tools at our disposal today actually detract, rather than add to a filmic expression. Some of the best moments on film come from what is left out, what is suggested rather than revealed."

She highly values post-production and the editor's role in piecing the work together:

"When a person says they're a director, that can mean so many things, ..it can mean you direct actors or come up with scripts. But for me, the real creative magic happens in the editing suite."

Awards and recognition

* 2011: the Women in Film and Television Atlantic awarded her the Salute Award for her work in the sector. * 2012: Her short documentary ''December in Toronto'' was a Staff Pick on

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and in the Lyrical Category and screened at the 2012 Vimeo Film Festival Awards in New York. * 2013: She was named the 2013 William F. White PEI Filmmaker of the Year and was awarded the 2013 CBC PEI 321 Award with fellow filmmaker Jason Arsenault for their film ''Little Bay Island''. Clarkes won Best Music Video at the Music PEI Awards three consecutive years. In 2012 for

Catherine MacLellan Catherine MacLellan is a Canadian folk singer-songwriter, based in Prince Edward Island. Early life The daughter of Canadian songwriter Gene MacLellan, MacLellan was born in Burlington, Ontario but raised in Summerside, Prince Edward Island. ...

's ''Stealin’'', in 2013 for English Words' ''People I Love'', and in 2014 for

Paper Lions Paper Lions (formerly the Chucky Danger Band) is a Canadian indie rock band, formed and based in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island. They have toured around Canada, and have released several albums, including 2016's ''Full Colour''. History In ...

' ''Philadelphia''."Hiring Practices – One Thousand Flower Productions". '' The Employment Journey on PEI'', September 6, 2015

Filmography

As editor/producer

* ''In Between Spaces'' (2011)

As director/producer

;Films * ''Stalking Love'' (2005) * ''Island Green'' (2013) * ''Islands'' (2014) * ''Blue Rodeo: On the Road'' (2014) * ''The Telling'' (2011) * ''Something in the Water'' (2011) ;Experimental Shorts * ''Crows and Branches'' * ''December in Toronto'' (2011) * ''Once again Toronto'' (2013) * ''L.A. one Day'' (2014) * ''ACROSS America'' (2015) * ''If my Silence'' (video response to The Meantime's song) * ''Land Feed the Farmer'' (2015) ;Music Videos *

's ''Frost in the Hollows'' * Coyote's ''Proof of Life'' * Dennis Ellsworth's ''Hazy Sunshine'' * English Words' ''Go to Bed'' * English Words' ''The People I Love'' * English Words' ''Passmore Radio'' *

's ''The Raven's Sun'' *

Irish Mythen Irish Mythen is an Irish-born Canadian contemporary folk singer-songwriter. In recent years, Mythen has performed with Rod Stewart, Gordon Lightfoot and Lucinda Williams at major festival stages the world over. Mythen's first two full-length albu ...

's ''Wicked and the Wild'' *

' ''Philadelphia'' *

' ''Pull me In'' *

' ''My Friend'' *

' ''Little Liar'' *

's ''Stealin' '' * Becky Siamon's ''Trouble with Hank'' * Meaghan Blanchard's ''A Coat of Many Colours'' * Nudie and the Turks' ''Dear Departed''

References

External links

Filmmaker's website
*
Vimeo account

Facebook page

''Island Green'' on the NFB's website

''Blue Rodeo'' on the NFB's website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Clarkes, Millefiore Film directors from Toronto English-language film directors Canadian women film directors Canadian documentary film directors Living people University of King's College alumni Visual music artists Women experimental filmmakers Canadian experimental filmmakers Year of birth missing (living people) Film directors from Prince Edward Island Canadian women documentary filmmakers