Shannon Walsh is a Canadian filmmaker, writer and scholar. She has directed the feature documentaries The Gig Is Up,[1] H2Oil ,[2] À St-Henri, le 26 août,[3] Jeppe on a Friday[4] and Illusions of Control.[5][6][7] She has also directed music videos for the Montreal based artist Little Scream.[8]

Shannon Walsh
Born
EducationPhd, McGill University; MA, Concordia University; BFA, Concordia University.
Occupation(s)Film director, Associate Professor
Years active2008–present
AwardsGuggenheim Fellowship; Governor General's Award in Visual and Media Arts; Wall Scholar Peter Wall Institute for Advanced Studies

Walsh, who was born in London, Ontario, is also an academic, and teaches film production at the University of British Columbia in the Department of Theatre and Film. She is the author of The Documentary Filmmaker's Intuition: Creating Ethical and Impactful Non-fiction Films. She is also the co-editor of the books Ties that Bind: Race and the Politics of Friendship in South Africa, and In My Life: Stories from activists in South Africa 2002-2022.[9][10]

She was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship in 2020[11] and awarded a Governor General's Award in Visual and Media Arts in 2023.

Filmography

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Feature films

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Short films

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  • 2002: Revisit (experimental fiction) directed with Rawi Hage
  • 2003: Sayeh (medium-length documentary) directed with Kaveh Nabatian and Nicolas Rutigliano
  • 2003: Fire & Hope (documentary)
  • 2004: Close-Up (experimental)
  • 2006: Inkani (documentary) with Heinrich Bohmke
  • 2007: The Space In Between (short fiction) starring Rich Terfry and Elizabeth Powell
  • 2012: Niger Delta Remix: Last Rights Niger Delta (video installation for the Johannesburg Workshop on Theory and Criticism)
  • 2014: Under the Umbrella (documentary)
  • 2018: Disappearance: Hong Kong Stories (360 VR documentary)
  • 2019: Matsutake Hunters (documentary)
  • 2022: This Phantom Pain, Letter #1 (experimental short)[14]
  • 2022: In Relation, Letter #2 (experimental short)

Bibliography

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Books

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  • The Documentary Filmmaker's Intuition: Creating Ethical and Impactful Non-fiction Films (Routledge, 2024)

Edited books

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  • Ties That Bind: Race and the Politics of Friendship in South Africa with Jon Soske (Wits University Press/New York University Press, 2016)
  • In My Life: Stories from Young Activists in South Africa 2002-2022 with Claudia Mitchell and Mandla Oliphant (Jacana Media, 2022)

Screenplays

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Awards

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Awarded the 2023 Governor General's Award in Visual and Media Arts for Artistic Achievement.[15]

Film awards

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Year Category Festival Film Result
2009 Quebec/Canada Best Hope Award Rencontres internationales du documentaire de Montréal H2Oil Nominated
2009 Eco-Camera, Honorable Mention Rencontres internationales du documentaire de Montréal H2Oil Won
2010 Grand Prize Festival de films pour l'environnement H2Oil Won
2011 Best Feature Documentary CRiterio Ambiental Film Festival H2Oil Won
2014 Audience Award Black Movie Film Festival Jeppe on a Friday Nominated
2015 Best Documentary Indie Karoo Film Festival Jeppe on a Friday Won
2017 Best Screenplay, Quarter-Finalist Shore Scripts Feature Film competition Unidentified Minor Won
2017 Best Low-Budget Screenplay Toronto Female Eye Film Festival Unidentified Minor Won
2018 Top Ten Feature Film Scripts Cinequest Film Festival Unidentified Minor Won
2018 Best Screenplay, Top 10 selection Vancouver International Women in Film Festival Unidentified Minor Nominated
2019 Best Canadian Doc Hot Docs Illusions of Control Nominated
2019 Best Canadian Doc, Honourable Mention Calgary International Film Festival Illusions of Control Won
2021 Big Screen Doc Award Millennium Docs Against Gravity The Gig is Up Nominated
2021 Best Canadian Documentary Hot Docs The Gig is Up Nominated
2021 Truth Award Nominee DokuFest International Film Festival The Gig is Up Nominated
2021 F:ACT Award CPH:DOX The Gig is Up Nominated
2021 Old Oak Audience Choice Award Forest City Film Festival The Gig is Up Won
2022 Best Editing (Sophie Farkas Bolla) Canadian Screen Awards The Gig is Up Nominated

Other awards

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References

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  1. ^ K.J. Yossman. "'The Gig Is Up' Director Shannon Walsh on How the Gig Economy Is Coming for All Our Jobs". Variety.
  2. ^ "Un documentaire activiste". radio-canada.ca/. Retrieved September 7, 2020.
  3. ^ "Une journée complète " À St-Henri, le 26 août "". radio-canada.ca. Retrieved September 7, 2020.
  4. ^ "Vingt-quatre heures dans la vie de Jeppestown". courrierinternational.com. Retrieved September 7, 2020.
  5. ^ "'Umbrella' filmmaker Shannon Walsh gets starring role at Venice festival". scmp.com. May 3, 2015. Retrieved May 14, 2018.
  6. ^ "Hot Docs review: Illusions Of Control". nowtoronto.com. April 28, 2019. Archived from the original on January 27, 2021. Retrieved September 7, 2020.
  7. ^ "Detah woman's story of growing up next to Giant Mine featured in new film". cbc.ca. Retrieved September 7, 2020.
  8. ^ Holly Gordon. "Watch the video for Little Scream's politically charged new song, 'Dear Leader'". CBC Music.
  9. ^ Mantė Vertelytė and Sarita Fae Jarmack (September 25, 2017). "Book Review: Ties That Bind: Race and the Politics of Friendship in South Africa edited by Shannon Walsh and Jon Soske". lse.ac.uk. Retrieved May 14, 2018.
  10. ^ "15 Recommended Reads on Colonial Histories, Colonial Legacies". lse.ac.uk. November 15, 2018.
  11. ^ "Guggenheim Fellowship in 2020".
  12. ^ "Shannon Walsh's Gig Economy Doc "The Gig Is Up" Lands at Dogwoof". March 23, 2021 – via www.womenandhollywood.com.
  13. ^ "SXSW selects '3 Body Problem' as opening night TV premiere, 'The Fall Guy' as centrepiece". January 10, 2024 – via www.screendaily.com.
  14. ^ "Cinépistolaire series Episode 4". October 27, 2022.
  15. ^ "The Canada Council for the Arts Announces the 2023 Winners of the Governor General's Awards in Visual and Media Arts". Canada Council for the Arts. March 28, 2023. Retrieved March 28, 2023.
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