Tribeca Film Festival 2020 – On Falling
Three young women muse on their experiences as professional mountain bikers, offering a meditation on the limits of body and mind.
Interview with Director/Editor Josephine Anderson
Watch On Falling here:
Congratulations! Why did you make your film?
I made On Falling because I live on the edge of one of the world's most renowned mountain biking destinations, but have always been too afraid of falling to take up mountain biking. I wanted to explore how people who are embedded in this extreme sport think and feel about risk, failure and vulnerability. Also, I've seen how treacherous a bike fall can be. A couple of years ago, my sister was in a road bike crash that damaged her face, knocked out several teeth, and gave her a serious concussion. I wanted to understand why mountain bikers are willing to constantly subject themselves to risk.
Imagine I’m a member of the audience. Why should I watch this film?
On Falling explores the inner landscapes of three extreme athletes who are immersed in a subculture where falling is normal. The sound and images of the film can really put the viewer on edge, taking you into the very visceral experience of falling, but it also explores the complex psychology of the characters we see on screen. Their resilience and determination are powerful. Our hope is that On Falling pulls viewers into a quiet, imaginative headspace, to consider the idea of falling in a new way, from the perspective of three of the world's most accomplished mountain bikers.
How do personal and universal themes work in your film?
The film starts from the basic premise of the universal "bike fall" but really we're exploring links between literal, physical falls, and the abstract, psychological experience of falling. What does falling apart or falling in love mean to someone who consistently experiences drastic physical falls? How do we respond when the unexpected happens? By exploring the inner worlds of three professional riders, we wanted to see what common ground there might be between them and people who don't mountain bike. Ultimately the film examines the rush of control that comes from completely letting go.
How have the script and film evolved over the course of their development?
As some of the world's most accomplished pro riders, the characters in our film are frequently filmed. These films usually focus on their extreme physical talent and speed. The topic of crashing is often pretty taboo. It takes a lot of mental fortitude for pro riders to keep pushing their limits and to avoid dwelling on their mistakes. When we began developing On Falling, we knew that we wanted to take a different approach from the action-focused films our characters were used to, instead assembling their very personal reflections into a psychologically layered film. As we got deeper into production, we were able to build trust, and the riders shared some of their most gripping trail falls with us. This helped us expand the film into what it is now, observing their abrupt bike falls through a meditative, contemplative lens.
What are you looking to achieve by having your film more visible on www.wearemovingstories.com?
On Falling was accepted into Tribeca Film Festival for its world premiere. Now that the film festival landscape has completely shifted, with no clear idea of when film festivals will resume, we're trying to build a new path for the film. We're hoping to gain more visibility for the film online, and build a community of audience members who will be eager to see the film when we launch it online in the not too distant future.
Who do you need to come on board (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists) to amplify this film’s message?
We're looking for coverage from journalists, and are also open to interest from distributors, buyers, sales agents, and film festival directors.
What’s a key question that will help spark a debate or begin a conversation about this film?
How much risk are you willing to take? How do you bounce back when you're met with the unexpected?
What other projects are the key creatives developing or working on now?
I'm currently developing a new feature documentary as well as a VR 360 documentary experience. More info on www.josephineanderson.ca.
Producer Joella Cabalu is currently producing her first feature documentary, Back home, with support from the Telefilm Talent to Watch fund.
Interview: April 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
On Falling
Three young women muse on their experiences as professional mountain bikers, offering a meditation on the limits of body and mind.
Length: 14:00
Director: Josephine Anderson
Producer: Joella Cabalu
About the writer, director and producer:
JOSEPHINE ANDERSON is a filmmaker from Vancouver, Canada, who works across documentary and interactive modes to address themes like conformity, deviance, aging, groupthink, performativity, and female perspective. She often collaborates with her documentary participants by inviting them to physically demonstrate their internal experience, blurring the line between documentary and fiction. Josephine’s short films have screened at festivals internationally, on television and online, with support from the Canada Council for the Arts, CBC, and National Film Board of Canada. Her interactive documentary, The Sticking Place, was recognized as an official Webby Award Honoree, won two Pixel Awards, and was nominated for a Digi Award, before being selected for the IDFA DocLab digital platform. Josephine is an alumna of Berlinale Talent Campus and the Canadian Film Centre, where she was a resident with the NFB/CFC Creative Doc Lab. Josephine holds a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature from the University of British Columbia and is a graduate of Capilano University’s documentary production program, where she was honoured with the One to Watch alumni award. She is currently working on a feature documentary and a 360 VR project.
JOELLA CABALU is a Filipino-Canadian documentary filmmaker based in Vancouver. It Runs in the Family (2015) was her first mid-length documentary as a producer and director, receiving Audience Choice Awards at the Seattle Asian Film Festival and Vancouver Queer Film Festival. Since then, she has developed a track record as a creative and collaborative producer working with emerging women directors on compelling short documentaries, including FIXED! (2016), Do I Have Boobs Now? (2017), and On Falling (2019). She is currently producing her first feature documentary Back Home with support from the Telefilm Talent to Watch fund.
Key cast: Miranda Miller, Andréane Lanthier Nadeau, Brittany Phelan
Looking for: distributors, journalists, sales agents, buyers, film festival directors
Twitter: @josephinemash
Instagram: @josephine.anderson.films
Hashtags used: #onfalling #Tribeca2020 #mtb
Website: www.josephineanderson.ca/work#/onfalling/
Made in association with: Produced with support from TELUS
Where can I watch it next and in the coming month? Tribeca Film Festival/Press & Industry private screening - April 15-26, 2020