Slamdance Film Festival 2020 – A Walk Down To Water
A motel employee awaits the arrival of an ambulance after discovering a guest has passed away in one of the rooms.
Interview with Writer/Director/Producer/Editor Levi Holwell
Watch A Walk Down To Water here:
Congratulations! Why did you make your film?
Thank you so much!! With this film, I really wanted to direct something that had a quality of stillness and was more restrained than anything I had made prior. Aside from that, I really just felt like I absolutely had to. I don't think my life could have moved forward until I made this project, haha. Even though A Walk Down To Water is not autobiographical in any way, it all felt deeply personal and close to me. The themes at the heart of the film are really about fundamental aspects of my outlook on life and I was very much going through a period where those things were being revisited and reevaluated, and writing this film absolutely helped me work through that a bit. Once I latched onto some interesting thoughts and questions that moved me, I just found it impossible to think about anything else.
Imagine I’m a member of the audience. Why should I watch this film?
Well, I hope people find it interesting and moving! Almost everything in the film was born out of a place of uncertainty and by asking questions, so naturally, it asks the audience to do a bit of searching. I think it can lead to interesting discussions afterwards due to the film living in this sort of grey area where it can be hard to pin down. Aside from that our lead Boban Stojanović is absolutely fantastic and the footage I shot in Denmark is my favorite thing that I have ever done.
How do personal and universal themes work in your film?
Of all the projects I've made this one definitely tries to wrestle with some of your most classic/stereotypical themes the most... It opens up with a quote about death and empathy so it's pretty forthright in what it's attempting to get at. The interesting part for me was I don't think I was really making any statements or proclamations of my point of view in this, it felt honest in that it was trying to explore some of these universal themes from a place of curiosity and awe.
How have the script and film evolved over the course of their development?
Wish I had a more interesting answer here but it really didn't change that much! In a lot of ways, the final film came out very close to what it was in the script. I feel like our lead Boban, and our DP Jordan Drake, were really on the same page with me from early on in pre-production and we just tried to go out and execute. To my surprise, it wasn't about making radical changes to anything as we went along, but testing ourselves in a new way where we just tried to get that much more precise with what we were doing. The discovery was always more inwards, trying to find the most eloquent way to do or show something. That was actually the most challenging thing for me and I hope to improve a lot in that area going forward based on what I learned here.
What type of feedback have you received so far?
I think people have responded to the film in a positive way for the most part! I remember when we did our first screening I was super nervous and sitting in my chair thinking "Oh god no, this is not working at all. It's a disaster". But I think a lot of people do find it thought-provoking and moving as I hoped. One of my dearest friends and mentors left the theater a little teary-eyed so I was like wow, some of these abstract ideas are actually finding ground and maybe will resonate with some people.
Has the feedback surprised or challenged your point of view?
Most of the feedback that challenged me immensely came while I was still editing the film. I showed it to a few people who worked on the project for their thoughts and I got some really amazing notes that totally made me question some decisions I made. Editing myself was very difficult, I went through a period of thinking it was fantastic and then a period where I thought it was borderline horrendous. During that time my point of view was very much challenged but since locking the cut and starting our festival run, I feel like I've remained consistent in how I feel about the final result.
What are you looking to achieve by having your film more visible on www.wearemovingstories.com?
I'm working towards writing and directing my first feature in hopefully the next few years but I know I still need to take some important steps as a filmmaker before I feel the time is right. I'm really hoping that more people will watch A Walk Down To Water and hopefully a portion of them will even love it. Meeting other artists and finding new exciting people to work with would be an absolute best-case scenario.
Who do you need to come on board (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists) to amplify this film’s message?
All sound fantastic haha, but I think in particular I want to broaden this film's reach while being able to share the film with a more diverse audience in different parts of the world. Going into my next project is a high priority for me this year and so trying to utilize any success this film finds to make that a reality would be amazing.
What type of impact and/or reception would you like this film to have?
I hope that it can find its way into the hearts of people watching it. Ultimately so much of this film is about a call for empathy and the profound significance of our capacity to feel as human beings. I really believe in that and I think this project has some wonderful things to say about it.
What’s a key question that will help spark a debate or begin a conversation about this film?
Why was the woman all alone out on the beach?
Would you like to add anything else?
I'm so excited and grateful to have this film screening at Slamdance. And thank you to the Alberta Foundation for the Arts for the opportunity to make this film.
What other projects are the key creatives developing or working on now?
I have a script for a short film that I hope to get funding to make later on this year, and immediately after that, the focus will be on directing my first feature.
Interview: January 2020
We Are Moving Stories embraces new voices in drama, documentary, animation, TV, web series, music video, women's films, LGBTQIA+, POC, First Nations, scifi, supernatural, horror, world cinema. If you have just made a film - we'd love to hear from you. Or if you know a filmmaker - can you recommend us? More info: Carmela
A Walk Down To Water
A motel employee awaits the arrival of an ambulance after discovering a guest has passed away in one of the rooms.
Length: 15:35
Director: Levi Holwell
Producer: Levi Holwell, Ingrid Vargas, Behrad Moshtagh
Writer: Levi Holwell
About the writer, director and producer:
LEVI HOLWELL is a filmmaker based out of Alberta, Canada. His films are gentle in spirit and are cultivated through curiosity and nuance. His voice carries a clear vision and he executes it with sincerity and deep conviction. A Walk Down To Water, his most recent work, was an official selection to Slamdance International Film Festival and one of six Canadian short films selected as part of the Telefilm Canada Not Short On Talent Showcase.
Key cast: Boban Stojanović (The Clerk)
Looking for: distributors, journalists, film festival directors
Facebook: Leftside Pictures
Twitter: @leftsidepics
Instagram: @leftsidepictures, @leviholwell
Hashtags used: #indiefilm #abfilm #canadianfilm #yycarts #leftsidepictures #awdtw #shortfilm
Website: www.leftsidepictures.com
Other: Vimeo
Made in association with: The Alberta Foundation for the Arts
Funders: The Alberta Foundation for the Arts
Where can I watch it next and in the coming month? Slamdance Film Festival/Park City, Utah - Saturday, January 25th & Tuesday, January 28th