''Geographies of Solitude'' is a Canadian documentary film by
Jacquelyn Mills
Jacquelyn Mills is a Canadian documentary filmmaker. She is best known for her films '' In the Waves'' and '' Geographies of Solitude''.
Early life
Mills was born in Sydney, Nova Scotia.
Career
In 2008, Mills' short film, ''For Wendy'', won ...
that was released in 2022. The film is guided by Zoe Lucas, a naturalist and environmentalist who lives on
Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada, located on its east coast. It is one of the three Maritime Canada, Maritime provinces and Population of Canada by province and territory, most populous province in Atlan ...
's
Sable Island
Sable Island (, literally "island of sand") is a small, remote island off the coast of Nova Scotia, Canada. Sable Island is located in the North Atlantic Ocean, about southeast of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Halifax, and about southeast of the clo ...
, where she catalogues the island's wild
Sable Island horse
The Sable Island horse is a small feral horse found on Sable Island, off the coast of Nova Scotia, Canada. It is usually dark in colour. The first horses were released on the island in the late 1700s, and soon became feral. Additional horses we ...
s, and endeavours to preserve its unique ecosystem.
''Geographies of Solitude'' premiered at the
72nd Berlin International Film Festival
The 72nd annual Berlin International Film Festival, usually called the Berlinale (), took place from 10 to 20 February 2022 in person. On 15 December 2021, the first film of the festival was announced.
The festival opened with François Ozon's ...
.
Accolades
At its premiere in Berlin, ''Geographies of Solitude'' won the
Prize of the Ecumenical Jury
The Prize of the Ecumenical Jury () is an independent film award for feature-length films shown at major international film festivals since 1973. The award was created by Christian film makers, film critics and other film professionals. The objec ...
, the CICAE Arthouse Cinema Award, and the Caligari Film Prize.
The film went on to have its Canadian premiere at the 2022
Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival
The Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival is the largest documentary festival in North America. The event takes place annually in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The 27th edition of the festival took place online throughout May and Jun ...
, where it won the
Hot Docs Award for Best Canadian Feature Documentary The Hot Docs Award for Best Canadian Feature Documentary is an annual Canadian film award, presented by the Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival to the film selected by jury members as the year's best Canadian feature film in the fes ...
, as well as The Earl A. Glick Emerging Canadian Filmmaker Award.
''Geographies of Solitude'' was also screened at the 2022
Jeonju International Film Festival
Jeonju International Film Festival (JIFF, ) is an Asian film festival based in South Korea. It was launched in 2000 as a non-competitive film festival seeking to introduce independent and experimental films to the general public and focusing ...
in
South Korea
South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...
, where it was the winner of the International Competition Grand Prize. It also won the award for Best Canadian Documentary Film at the
2022 Vancouver International Film Festival
The 2022 Vancouver International Film Festival, the 41st event in the history of the Vancouver International Film Festival, was held from September 29 to October 9, 2022.Canadian Screen Award
The Canadian Screen Awards () are awards given for artistic and technical merit in the film industry recognizing excellence in Canadian film, English-language television, and digital media ( web series) productions. Given annually by the Academy ...
11th Canadian Screen Awards
The 11th Canadian Screen Awards, presented by the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television, honoured achievements in Canadian film, television and digital media production in 2022.Prix Luc-Perreault The Prix Luc-Perreault, formerly known as the Prix L.-E.-Ouimet-Molson, is an annual Canadian film award, presented by the Association québécoise des critiques de cinéma to a film deemed to be the best film of the year from Quebec, from among th ...
from the
Association québécoise des critiques de cinéma
The Association québécoise des critiques de cinéma (AQCC) is a Canadian organization of film critics from Quebec.
Formed in 1973, the organization currently presents two annual awards: the Prix Luc-Perreault for best Quebec film of the year and ...
after being shown at the
Rendez-vous Québec Cinéma
The Rendez-vous Québec Cinéma (formerly known as Rendez-vous du cinéma québécois) is a festival created in 1982 to celebrate the cinematographic production of Quebec, Canada.
The goal of the festival is to promote the Cinema of Quebec and i ...
. It was also a
Prix Iris
Prix was an American power pop band formed in Memphis, Tennessee, in 1975 by Tommy Hoehn and Jon Tiven. The group ended up primarily as a studio project. Its recordings were produced by Tiven along with former Big Star member Chris Bell, who ...
Prix collégial du cinéma québécois The Prix collégial du cinéma québécois is an annual Canadian film award, presented to a film from Quebec judged as the best of the year by a jury of students in film studies programs at the province's CEGEPs.Léa Carrier"Je m’appelle humain re ...
.Charles-Henri Ramond "Les finalistes du 13e PCCQ" ''Films du Québec'', January 11, 2024.
Mills was awarded Outstanding Artistry in Filmmaking at the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C. (2023). ''Geographies of Solitude'' went on to garner over 35 international awards, was nominated for an IDA as well as a Canadian Screen Award, has a permanent place in Harvard Film Archives and was a Critic's Pick in the New York Times.