The DOC Institute held its annual Honours Celebration on Wednesday (Dec. 11) to honour filmmakers Anne Pick and Millefiore Clarkes.

Veteran doc producer Pick was the recipient of the Rogers-DOC Luminary Award, which honours an industry veteran. She has worked in the industry since the 1970s, producing CBC’s early documentary series. She produced Canada’s first copro with Australia in 2000 and helped launch the Life Network (Now Corus Entertainment-owned Slice) with the series Harrowsmith Country Life, based on the lifestyle magazine. She was given the Don Haig Award by Hot Docs in 2015 and won a Gemini in 2005 for the documentary series Ronnie Hawkins ‘Still Alive and Kickin.’

Clarkes was honoured with the BMO-DOC Vanguard Award, given to an emerging creative talent. The P.E.I. filmmaker has a varied resume, working on long and short-form documentaries, as well as music videos, experimental shorts and installations. Her National Film Board of Canada doc The Song and The Sorrow won best short documentary at the FIN Atlantic International Film Festival in 2018.

The BMO-DOC Vanguard Award comes with a $1,000 cash prize from the Bank of Montreal and $40,000 worth of in-kind services from Sim-International.

The DOC Institute is a program hub for documentary filmmakers in Canada, offering professional development and networking opportunities. It is an initiative of the Ontario chapter of the Documentary Organization of Canada.

Last year’s DOC Institute winners were cinematographer Zoe Dirse and filmmaker Amar Wala.

Image (L-R): Millefiore Clarkes, Anne Pick