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Shannon Walsh is a 2023 winner of the Governor General's Awards in Visual and Media Arts.

Video directed by Rami Katz.

A presentation of the Canada Council for the Arts and the Independent Media Arts Alliance.

The Canada Council for the Arts is a federal, arm's-length Crown corporation created by an Act of Parliament in 1957 (Canada Council for the Arts Act) "to foster and promote the study and enjoyment of, and the production of works in, the arts."

For more information, visit: https://en.ggarts.ca

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Transcript:

For me, the exciting thing about documentary is that it‘s not just a technical endeavour, it’s one of being a human in the world. You’re working with real people and their lives, and you’re carrying them through a journey.

What is the role that you’re meant to play to help bring that story to light and help broaden empathy and the way that people may perceive the world around them?

I started making films when I was in high school. I remember still sitting in the library in London, Ontario, watching Godard films on VHS tapes and making copious notes about the French New Wave, and I was really interested in filmmaking as an art form from a young age.

Documentary really emerged out of my activism. I was already working in visual mediums, but I was also more and more involved in social movements. And so, I was picking up a camera to tell those stories that were happening right around me that felt really urgent.

I think the job of the director… it’s of course, things like creating the visual language, the beats of the story, what are the parameters of the story, but it’s also really about what happens behind the camera.

This constant ethical engagement, and that begins when you first start asking the question, “Am I the right person to tell this story? How do I think about responsibility? How can we shape the stories in such a way can really feel powerful and give dignity and respect to the people that have shared their lives with us?” Those are questions that are often on my mind.

I think documentary these days gives us so many opportunities to be creative and to experiment.

The artistic directions, formally and stylistically, within documentary have always been really interesting to me. But it’s always paired also with an idea of wanting to make change in the world and thinking, “How can films make impact?”
I’ve often thought that it’s my body of work overall where you’ll see who I am. They reflect periods of my life, my own curiosities and journeys that I’ve taken.

I think we ask of our stories and the stories we tell to give something powerful to the world. And I hope that I’m able to bring that into the films that I make.