Hot Docs / DOXA 2019 – Illusions of Control
A riveting meditation on resilience in the face of disaster, Illusions of Control follows five stories in landscapes irrevocably shaped by human attempts to dominate them.
Interview with Director/Producer Shannon Walsh
Congratulations! Why did you make your film?
After making my first feature almost a decade ago (H2Oil), I was struck by how so many people believed we could find a way out of environmental crises through human control over the world around us. Where has that impulse led us, and why do we hold on so tightly to this false belief? For those living in the wake of those decisions, what does it mean to live on in the ruins?
Imagine I’m a member of the audience. Why should I watch this film?
You will be inspired and transported by these incredible women who build lives and worlds in the ashes of such extreme tragedy.
How do personal and universal themes work in your film?
Each story is both personal and universal. It is a look at the moment we are in now, collectively, as a planet, facing irreversible climate change, but also so personal, at the level of the body, and the questions we must ask ourselves about how we choose to live.
How have the script and film evolved over the course of their development?
I've been working on this film for 5 years and it took many twists and turns as I brought the story together. There are lots on the cutting room floor.
What type of feedback have you received so far?
I have only shown it in test screenings, as we are about to have our world premiere, but programmers and test audiences have loved it.
What are you looking to achieve by having your film more visible on www.wearemovingstories.com?
It's great to have a site like this to collect stories of interesting films being made by people around the world. I'm happy to be part of it.
Who do you need to come on board (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists) to amplify this film’s message?
We are just starting our festival tour with a premiere at one of the biggest doc festivals in the world, Hot Docs, and hope to have more interviews and festival screenings along the way. We are set for a theatrical release in Canada but also look for interest for distributors in other markets, and of course press and other festivals.
What type of impact and/or reception would you like this film to have?
I hope this film really changes the way people think about the moment they are in, and how they might live differently. I hope it provokes conversations that carry on outside the theatre and into our communities. Each story has specific calls for action as well, and I hope we provoke real change and support for the incredible women we profile in the film.
What’s a key question that will help spark a debate or begin a conversation about this film?
What do we hold on to an illusion of controlling the world around us when we have evidence this is not true?
What other projects are the key creatives developing or working on now?
I'm working on a new feature doc on the platform economy, as well as a fiction feature.
Interview: April 2019
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
Illusions of Control
A riveting meditation on resilience in the face of disaster, Illusions of Control follows five stories in landscapes irrevocably shaped by human attempts to dominate them.
Length: 1:27:00
Director: Shannon Walsh
Producer: Andrea Schmidt & Shannon Walsh
Writer: Shannon Walsh
About the writer, director and producer:
SHANNON WALSH is writer and director of the feature documentaries Jeppe on a Friday (RIDM 2013), À st-henri, le 26 août (Hot Docs 2011), and H2Oil (Hot Docs 2009). She recently premiered her first nonfiction VR, Disappearance: Hong Kong Stories (RIDM 2018), and finished a short doc, Matsutake Hunters (AmDocs 2019), for TELUS Originals. Her work has been theatrically released in Canada, the UK and South Africa, and broadcast on Al-Jazeera, CBC, Discovery channel, Netflix and other stations internationally. Her work has screened in over 60 film festivals such as Hot Docs, Visions du Réel, La Rochelle, Full Frame, Rome, and Beijing, as well as in museums including the Pompidou Centre in Paris. She is an assistant professor of film production at the University of British Columbia.
Looking for: journalists, film festival directors, buyers, distributors, sales agents
Facebook: Illusions of Control
Twitter: @IllusionsDoc
Instagram: @illusionsofcontrol
Hashtags used: #IllusionsOfControl
Website: illusionsofcontrol.com
Other: IMDb
Where can I watch it next and in the coming month? Hot Docs International Film Festival/Toronto - April 28, April 30, May 2 ; DOXA International Film Festival/Vancouver - May 6, May 12