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SURRENDER AS PROCESS

An immersive 16mm Artist Workshop

Cape Breton Island | Sept 21–28 | 10 participants

APPLY NOW

We are inviting applications for Surrender as Process, a six-day immersive artist retreat taking place on Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia. Led by Cape Breton born filmmaker Jacquelyn Mills and hosted by VISIONS, with co-facilitator Benjamin R. Taylor.

This intensive workshop offers 10 selected artists the opportunity to explore a radically embodied approach to the creative process. This retreat is a process-led immersion, rather than focusing on technical instruction, outcomes, or fixed goals. We invite participants to allow intuition and collaboration with the living natural world to guide their work.

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All photos are hand-processed in wild raspberry, white sage and rosehips

Within Cape Breton’s forests, waters, mountains, and night skies, participants will experience:

  • Knowledge-sharing from local Indigenous perspectives 
  • Stream-of-consciousness writing, free-thinking practices, dream work
  • Sensory perception exercises
  • Underwater and nighttime creative explorations
  • Sound hunting and field recording (using experimental microphones)
  • 16mm workshop with Bolex (filming with limitation and intuition)
  • Eco-friendly hand-processing 16mm film using locally foraged plants
  • 16mm projection of hand-processed film
  • Collective viewing and discussions of inspiring cinema works
  • In-depth shared discussion of the participants’ personal work

The ultimate intention of Surrender as Process is to offer participants a way of seeing their own personal practice from an alternate, fresh, and expanded perspective. Set within Cape Breton Island’s remarkable natural landscape and rich heritage shaped by Mi’kmaq culture, Gaelic traditions, strong musical presence, and resilient coastal communities, it serves to foster new relationships between artists and place. 

We welcome applications from creative practitioners working across disciplines and at all stages of work. We strongly encourage applications from under-represented, under-funded and rural communities. A small jury of established artists will select the cohort of 10, aiming to bring together emerging and established artists from Nova Scotia (5) and across Canada (5), fostering lasting collaborations and creative risk-taking. 

This workshop approaches creative engagement with place as something that extends beyond the artistic. It is essential that this work be situated by local Indigenous knowledge holders. As the Mi’kmaq have lived in Unama’ki (Cape Breton) for millennia and hold deep ancestral knowledge of the land and its interconnected ecosystems, we are grateful for this guidance, which supports respectful exploration rooted in co-creation.

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“I would never have guessed that this one-week class would become a defining moment in my career as an artist and in my life. I would recommend it to anyone who has even a slightly creative approach to life.”

Mirkö
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“We learned how to develop our own images using native plants we collected. It was an extraordinary, mind-blowing discovery! It was as if the land was expressing itself. I feel privileged to have been able to experience this unforgettable week. My only regret is that the time flew by so quickly.”

Danielle
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“Jacquelyn’s sensitivity to the natural world infused every aspect of the workshop, opening up new perspectives and ways of seeing.”

Chadi
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“A pivotal moment of the residency was our encounter with a guardian of Mi’kmaw culture. His teachings on Netukulimk, a way of understanding life grounded in reciprocity between humans and the natural world, resonated deeply with our artistic practices.”

Participants
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“A week devoted to listening, observing, and engaging deeply with this territory between sea and mountain… offering both clarity of craft and a profound sense of collaboration.”

Participants

MEET THE TEAM

JACQUELYN MILLS 

Filmmaker Jacquelyn Mills, from Cape Breton Island and based in Montréal, creates immersive, sensorial works guided by the natural world. Her films have garnered over 50 awards worldwide, including three at the 72nd Berlinale and top prizes at Hot Docs, Jeonju International Film Festival, West Lake International Documentary Festival, Vancouver International Film Festival, and Mar del Plata for her feature documentary Geographies of Solitude (2022). 

Her works have screened at leading festivals and institutions including IDFA, TIFF, AFI, BFI, Visions du Réel, Cinéma du Réel, Camerimage, Lincoln Center, Centre Pompidou, MoMI, Harvard University and was named a New York Times Critic’s Pick. Mills is a Sundance Documentary Fund Alumni and was awarded the Outstanding Artistry in Filmmaking Prize (2023) at the Smithsonian. She was the recipient of the Toronto Film Critics Association’s Company 3 Luminary Award (2026). She also mentors, teaches and collaborates regularly as consultant, editor, sound designer and cinematographer.

BENJAMIN R. TAYLOR

Benjamin R. Taylor is an independent artist with work exhibited in international festivals and cinemas. He is also an independent film curator, programmer and facilitator. He is the founder and facilitator of VISIONS. Since 2014, VISIONS has championed alternative approaches to cinema through presenting over 1,300 films by more than 900 artists to tens of thousands of audience members in Montreal and beyond. He is a cofounder and caretaker of la lumière collective, a microcinema and artist studio in Montréal, Québec, Canada.

JURY

The jury includes local artist Kathleen Broyles, who has worked with the Sundance Institute for over 30 years and currently serves as Program Coordinator and Casting for the Sundance Film Feature Program Director’s Lab. She was previously a founder and director of the Milagro Initiative and Robert Redford Scholarship Program in New Mexico. Mary Louise Bernard, former Chief of Wagmatcook First Nation and recipient of the Indigenous Tourism Champion Award (2018), brings extensive Mi’kmaq cultural expertise and leadership, and will also serve as guide of ceremonial and land-based knowledge protocols for the workshop; alongside co-facilitators Jacquelyn Mills and Benjamin R. Taylor.

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Mary Louise Bernard_Juror
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Benjamin R. Taylor - Facilitator
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FINANCIAL DETAILS

Scholarship: This scholarship-supported program covers tuition, core materials, 16mm film equipment, analogue processing, and professional facilitation throughout the residency.

Funding partners: VISIONS, Canada Council for the Arts, and community partners are supporting this program to improve accessibility for under-resourced artists and under-funded communities.

Travel: Travel expenses are the responsibility of participants; some coordination support and a shuttle from a nearby airport or pick-up point may be available depending on need.

Fee: $1,600 due within 10 days of acceptance. This fee covers accommodation and a portion of meals for each participant.

DATES OF THE WORKSHOP

Arrival: Afternoon of September 21 (welcome 3-course supper at 7 p.m.)

Workshop dates: September 22 to September 27 (9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily)

Departure: Before 11 a.m. on September 28, 2026

LOCATION AND ACCOMMODATION

The workshop will take place at The Intervale, a cliffside lodge in the natural wilderness of Judique, Cape Breton, Nova Scotia. Participants will stay on-site at The Intervale, each in a private queen bedroom with an ensuite bathroom. Activities will take place in shared indoor spaces and the surrounding natural environment. Healthy meals are prepared on-site by a chef using local ingredients.

Address: 134 Stoney Brook Road, Judique, Nova Scotia, B0E 1P0, Canada

CANCELLATION POLICY

Applications are free for all.

For selected and confirmed participants:
A non-refundable administrative fee of $150 applies.

Registration fees are refundable as follows:

  • Up to August 1, 2026: 100% refundable (minus $150 administration fee)
  • From August 1 to September 1, 2026: 50% refundable
  • After September 1, 2026: non-refundable

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION

surrender.as.process@gmail.com

APPLICATION TIMELINE

  • Applications Open: May 11, 2026
  • Applications Close: June 11, 2026
  • Jury Deliberation: June 11–30, 2026
  • Announcement of 10 Selected Participants: July 1, 2026
  • Participant Confirmation and Payment Deadline: July 10, 2026
  • Workshop Dates: Arrival September 21, Departure September 28, 2026

REGISTRATION 

Applicants will be asked to provide contact details, a brief overview of their creative practice, a one-page statement of motivation, a short bio, CV, and work samples.

APPLY HERE

We acknowledge the support of the Canada Council for the Arts