- Women
Past Coordinator of the NB Film Co-op Passes Away
By Tony Merzetti, NB Film Co-op Executive Director
On Tuesday April 10th, David W. Clarke died unexpectedly in Montreal as the result of a massive heart attack. He was 50 years old.
Between 1981-1986, David was the Coordinator of the NB Film Co-op. I joined the Co-op in the fall of 1983 and David was my first contact. I drove from Saint John to learn more about the organization and to try to break into filmmaking. When I arrived, the studio space was empty and the door was wide-open. I stood by the bulletin board reading about activities when David arrived about 15 minutes later. David had an easy-going manner and was soft-spoken and the open door at the Film Co-op seemed to reflect his welcoming approach at the Film Co-op.
He spent a couple of hours talking to me about the Co-op and about Charles MacLellan, a Saint John native who had pointed me in the direction of the Co-op earlier in the week. (Charles was the first Production Manager of the Co-op between 1979-1981 and passed away recently as well). David introduced me to some Film Co-op members, Heinz Gloss, Kevin Matthews and Kevin Holden, and I could see that the Film Co-op was a great place to meet filmmakers and network.
Over the next few months, I would commute daily between Saint John and Fredericton and David would get me spots on film shoots doing slate, sound and other jobs. He even connected me with local commercial filmmakers like Fred Clark (Fiddlehead Films) and I got some paid work in film. It was a great learning experience and I marveled how David cared that people at the Film Co-op were involved and given opportunities to learn. He had a genuine concern for the welfare of the organization and it's members.
Soon I was in a routine at the Film Co-op. I would pick David up at his house in the morning and we would get the mail and arrive at 51 York Street. There was always something new and exciting happening every day. It could be a film shoot, a visiting filmmaker in town to give a workshop or planning a film shoot with other Co-opers. It was fun and exciting to see new people becoming part of the Film Co-op and to see the growth in the filmmakers.
David would involve me in the dreaded writing of the Canada Council operating grant application and take me to the accountants to go over the books as I had a business background. This would prove important later.
David had a real talent for bringing people together and being the diplomat and his contribution to the growth of the Film Co-op is immeasurable. He worked with Eric Emery to produce a series of Bicentennial Vignettes for New Brunswick's 200th birthday. Together David and I approached the NFB to fund the Film Co-op's first half-hour drama, The Spectre of Rexton. The film brought together the largest crew ever assembled for a Film Co-op film and became an important milestone for the organization. Since then, the level of activity has grown along with the size of the membership.
David left the Film Co-op in 1986 after a cutback in our operating grant from the Canada Council. Before he left. He spoke to me about becoming Coordinator. Since I had helped out on the grants and the books and knew the equipment, he felt I would be a good successor. I was honoured that he felt that way and accepted the job.
David took the year off to follow his passion for sailing. He fixed up an old sailboat he had purchased and spent the year on the water. Next, he moved to Montreal where he set up a very successful lighting and grip company called Cinepool with Denis Paquet, and he and Denis would come back to New Brunswick with the companies gear to work on features shot here.
I had not spoken to David in a number of years when he called out of the blue a couple of weeks back to discuss a lens collimator at the Co-op. His voice had the familiar warmth and humour that I had remembered and it was fun catching up on where the Co-op had grown and how things had been going with him. A week later, a mutual friend Kevin Matthews, called to let us know that David had had a fatal heart attack. It has been a sad week filled with many reminiscences. My consolation is that David has had a tremendous impact on what the Film Co-op is today and that the organization is part of his legacy to filmmaking in the province.
Our thoughts go out to David's family and friends.
Thank you David and goodbye my friend.
2007. New Brunswick Filmmakers' Co-operative. all rights reserved