CBC Gem 2020 – Solastalgia
When the panic over global crises threatens to engulf her, Ava embarks on a vision-quest to put things in perspective.
Interview with Writer/Director/Editor Millefiore Clarkes
Congratulations! Why did you make your film?
The word "solastalgia" is a neologism that describes a form of mental or emotional stress due to a changing environment. It is often used in the context of climate change and ecological collapse. Solastalgia is a film born from a very personal place and lived experience, but it is also about a globally shared contemporary condition. This film explores that anguish while evoking a sense of humility and awe in the vast ecosystem of Earth.
Imagine I’m a member of the audience. Why should I watch this film?
Many are dealing directly with destabilization and destruction occurring as a result of climate change. The rest of us are bracing for an uncertain future. Solastalgia springs from a very deeply-held philosophy. It is my attempt to contribute to a conversation about climate change in a way that is not political or polarizing, but personal, poetic, and celebratory. It is a homage to the earth as an awesome life-force. It is a plea to humans to be humble. Solastalgia is one gesture, one voice, in a great global chorus that is rising up to face a very challenging time.
Solastalgia is a film that lies somewhere on the border of drama and documentary - essentially it is an ‘inner landscape documentary’ - a lyrical expression of the director's internal world. It utilizes non-traditional, stock and archival sources for some of its imagery. It is set to the formidable poetic verse of Tanya Davis (former poet-laureate of Halifax) and music by Philip Glass, Russell Louder and Devon Ross.
How do personal and universal themes work in your film?
I have been sensitive to environmental crisis throughout my life. I directed a short lyrical documentary, Island Green, with The National Film Board about organic farming (that also utilized poetry by Tanya Davis) in 2013. My partner is an ecological forester and a modern-day naturalist. He is forever relating to me the intricate, vast, and ultimately unknowable threads of connection within the earth’s ecosystem. What I learn over and over again is just how little we humans actually understand the earth and its systems. I believe that hubris is one of the driving forces behind ecological collapse. We think we can fix it with a gadget. We think we can engineer our way out of this. To be humble in the face of nature’s complexities is, I believe the first step towards stalling this crisis.
I see my contemporaries housed in glass apartment buildings, entirely disconnected from natural systems and food sources. We are numb, we are cut off, we are scared of what we sense is a storm brewing on the horizon.
The future is uncertain. But indeed it always is. With or without human intervention. The earth has been through five mass extinctions and perhaps we are on the brink of another one. Perhaps it is ultimately out of our hands: as human animals can we really be ultimately blamed for our short-sighted actions? Fear and anxiety are not productive, nor are they wise. I have to remind myself that the human story is only part of the boundless universal story. We are part of a web that stretches back and forth through time. We are part of something larger than ourselves. I see this philosophy emerging all over the world, through many channels - artistic, philosophical, spiritual. Perhaps when we turn to face our own mortality - this reaching out for ‘oneness’ and meaning is a natural response.
Solastalgia is not exactly a hopeful film. I’m not trying to tell everyone that it’s going to be OK. Because it very well may not be. But in the meantime, let’s look around, give thanks, be humble, be amazed, and take responsibility for what we can do.
How have the script and film evolved over the course of their development?
This is the first dramatic film script I've ever written. I'm primarily a documentary filmmaker, as well as directing music videos, installations, and experimental work. I had the good fortune to have the brilliant Ashley MacKenzie (director of Werewolf) as my script mentor. She really challenged me to consider the narrative arc, action as a form of expression, and symbolism.
The poetry section (the voice of the universe/earth/god) was written by Tanya Davis who turns everything she touches to sonic gold. She has a way of creating intimacy even with universal themes. Her poetry is the heart of the script - everything else leading toward and away from it.
The film is essentially very simple. The inception of it and its execution are very close to one another. Except that the execution is infinitely better than the concept. Because along the way a team of collaborators contributed their insight and skills to the project. It was very humbling to see how an idea can be put in the hands of a trusted team, and turned into something much bigger than the sum of its parts. From the DP Ray Lavers, the Art Director Kelly Caseley, the Lead Actor Rebecca Parent, and every person on the crew... it was a very rewarding experience in that sense.
What type of feedback have you received so far?
Those who get this film seem to get it deeply - on a visceral level. It seems to reflect the inner landscape of many out there. It seems to provide some kind of catharsis.
Has the feedback surprised or challenged your point of view?
Generally, the feedback has confirmed my suspicion - that we are all operating under a great burden of worry about the future. I hope that Solastalgia can create an avenue by which people can start to talk about these feelings and worries. Perhaps that act of personalizing what is too often a politicized issue can break down some unnecessary borders.
What are you looking to achieve by having your film more visible on www.wearemovingstories.com?
It is wonderful to have new avenues to reach audiences. It is difficult as an independent filmmaker to not only make the film but to promote it as well. We Are Moving Stories is giving this film another portal into the world and hopefully will draw some curiosity.
Ideally, I'd love to have a distributor attached to this film. I live and work in Canada's smallest province - the island of Prince Edward Island. I am not connected to the movers and shakers of the film industry. A distributor would facilitate the process of connecting this film to audiences. Which is, after all, the reason anyone makes a film... to reach the ears, eyes, mind and hearts of others.
Who do you need to come on board (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists) to amplify this film’s message?
Certainly, distributors, film festival directors, journalists would help!
What type of impact and/or reception would you like this film to have?
I would love to see this film used as a discussion piece - to spark and inspire conversation and action around climate change and ecological collapse. Whether that is at film festivals, community screenings, online outreach. The purpose of this film is to reach people and inspire solace, then action.
What’s a key question that will help spark a debate or begin a conversation about this film?
Do humans, as a species, have a reasonable hope of saving ourselves, and the other beings that we share the earth with before it is too late? Is our imminent extinction inevitable?
What other projects are the key creatives developing or working on now?
I am working with the National Film Board on a new short documentary about love in the time of quarantine.
Interview: May 2020
We Are Moving Stories embraces new voices in drama, documentary, animation, TV, web series, music video, women's films, LGBTQIA+, POC, First Nations, scifi, supernatural, horror, world cinema. If you have just made a film - we'd love to hear from you. Or if you know a filmmaker - can you recommend us? More info: Carmela
Solastalgia
When the panic over global crises threatens to engulf her, Ava embarks on a vision-quest to put things in perspective.
Length: 13:00
Director: Millefiore Clarkes
Producer: Emma Fugate
Writer: Millefiore Clarkes / Tanya Davis
About the writer, director and producer:
MILLEFIORE CLARKES is an award-winning filmmaker from Canada’s smallest province, Prince Edward Island. Through her company One Thousand Flowers Productions she produces a variety of media work: short and feature documentaries, music videos, short dramas, experimental shorts, and video installations. She has directed three documentaries for The National Film Board of Canada: The Song and the Sorrow, Blue Rodeo: On The Road, and Island Green. The Song and the Sorrow won Best Short Atlantic Doc at FIN - Atlantic International FF, Best Atlantic Doc at Lunenburg Doc Fest, Best Doc at Silverwave FF, and Best Mid Length Doc at The Scottish Mental Health Arts Fest. She recently received the 2019 DOC Institute Vanguard Award. Her films have screened at festivals across Canada and the US and have been broadcast on CBC and Bravo! Her experimental short December in Toronto is featured on Vimeo’s Staff Picks, and her music videos have won a number of awards.
Since bursting onto the Halifax music and arts scene in 2006, TANYA DAVIS has garnered praise from industry, audience, and peers alike, all the while building an impressive and eclectic resume of music, artistic work and accomplishments. With four albums, two books, numerous collaborations, and countless performances, she has stepped across genre and back again. Her videopoem, How to be Alone – a collaboration with filmmaker Andrea Dorfman – has had more than 8 million hits on youtube, attracting international media and blogger attention, a publishing deal with Harper Collins, and new fans the world over. She tours regularly as a performance poet, musician and public speaker, was the 2011/12 Halifax Poet Laureate and the 2016 Artist in Residence at Dalhousie University’s Faculty of Medicine.
EMMA FUGATE is the owner and president of E Accounting Services and VP Business Development for Onset Communication. Emma is heavily involved with the local filmmaking community through her accounting business and by her involvement as Chair on the Board of FilmPEI, as well as sitting on the boards of Women in Film and Television and The Charlottetown Film Society. She was integral to advocating to the PEI government for support for the film industry, which recently resulted in the PEI Film and Media Fund. She is an emerging director and producer. She recently directed two music videos for the very talented Jill Chandler who is using them to enter the CBC Searchlight competition. In addition, Emma has a short documentary and feature in development.
Key cast: Rebecca Parent (Ava)
Looking for: distributors, buyers, journalists, film festival directors
Facebook: Millefiore Clarkes
Twitter: @MillefioreC
Hashtags used: #Solastalgia
Website: www.solastalgia.ca
Other: Vimeo
Made in association with: FilmPEI / UpStreet Brewing
Funders: FilmPEI / CBC / Telefilm Canada / Kickstarter / Upstreet Brewing
Where can I watch it next and in the coming month? CBC Gem (online streaming service - Canada Only); Yorkton Film Festival (May 2020); ME Film Festival (Nov 2020)