Moulin des Libellules, Bretagne
In the middle of a lush forest, where a water stream plays base to the chorus of birds and the occasional operatic solos of foxes, there is a stone house with six tiny rooms. Since ancient times, the place has been frequented for its fountain. This stone house was once a water mill, grinding out the local hemp. During the wars, soldiers hid ammunition in the bread oven. Then it all crumbled and a tree grew among the ruins. In 1993, a mustachioed man with a marked resemblance to Asterix lovingly restored it, using only vintage and original materials. Today the house proudly stands to host artists and foster creativity. Our closest neighbor is a softly rolling river transforming into “the devil’s rocks” with mysterious, giant boulders lower down. Yet the village is a few minutes away, where bakeries, festivals, potion makers, and folkloric curiosities abound.
During the residence, artists release the pressures and the noise of their lives, fall into the rhythm of nature, learn to make fire, cook with us, and feed the sheep. Long walks in the forest crossed with creative discussions help clarify the vision and intention of their projects, while quiet moments at the large table advance the work. I am there every step of the way, advising, challenging, and encouraging.
HOSTS:
Anita Doron
Anita Doron is an award-winning Canadian-Hungarian writer, director and story editor. She was born in Transcarpathia, a little known land of nomadic ghosts, barley mush and apricot brandy. She was one of the youngest published poets in the former USSR and grew up in a family of high altitude mountaineers. At 12, Anita’s first film – an environmental protest piece – raised the ire of Soviet bureaucracy and set her on a path to cinema.
Anita’s movies have screened at the Toronto International Film Festival, SXSW, the International Film Festival Rotterdam and the Future of Cinema Salon at the Cannes Film Festival. As writer and director, her feature films include, The End of Silence, Late Fragment, Europa East, Mystico Fantastico! and The Lesser Blessed. The Lesser Blessed received a Canadian Screen Award nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay.
Anita wrote the screenplay for the Academy Award and Golden Globe nominated animated feature film, The Breadwinner. Anita was nominated for an Annie Award, a Humanitas Prize, and won a Canadian Screen Award for her work on the screenplay.