Clea H. Notar graduated from McGill University with a BA in English Literature and a minor in Art History. She acquired an MA in Media Studies from University of Sussex in England. Clea has taught Film Studies and Media Studies at the pre-university level in both England and Canada. She has designed and facilitated Creative Writing courses for adults at a cancer support centre in Canada and at a minimum security men's prison in England. She has worked in Canada and England for CBC national radio, for the NFB and has written on film and the arts for various print media as well as having worked for Canada's first international film festival, The Festival du Nouveau Cinema. Her area of specialization is American independent cinema and the anti-Hollywood aesthetic. Clea has been teaching at John Abbott since 2002.