Bird's Eye View

H2Oil: An Interview with Director Shannon Walsh

Shannon Walsh is a Montreal-based filmmaker and writer. Her first feature documentary, H2Oil, traces the human and environmental costs of Alberta’s oil sands. Birds Eye View caught up with her to talk about it.

ES: The film shocks with an accurate and precise numbers of studies and examinations. Was it difficult to collect this information?

SW: Absolutely, it was really hard to talk to the government and oil industry and to get past the spin doctors and several layers of smoke and mirrors. It was a very challenging research project on all levels.

ES: And did you feel any restraint in the process, or were you daunted by the challenge?

SW: No. Making this film was a learning process for me as I hope watching it is for the audience. I was doing my PhD at the same time (on health and access to housing), and the H2Oil project was just as much work.

ES: Having completed the film, do you feel more positive about the actions taken to protect the area of Alberta, Canada, and its people?

SW: The film was only finished a year ago and already there has been an overwhelming public response to the oil industries in Norway, Canada and other regions. Audiences are really understanding the situation at a grassroots level, which was our aim when making the film.

ES: In H2Oil there is a lot of pain, anger and frustration. How do you think it is possible for the government and big oil companies to continue to suppress the voices of small communities like Fort Chipewyan?

SW: Through a collective denialism to continue on this path to destroy us and the planet.

ES: How did you decide to direct this film about the serious concern of pollution issues of Alberta, Canada?

SW: Two of the main people in the film, the couple Aaron and Cathy, are friends of mine. I saw their concerns and they pressed me to visit them and see the situation in person. I was compelled to tell the story, and this is now the first feature documentary on the issue. My personal connection started a chain reaction, and the documentary is the latest link in the ongoing debate.

Director of H2Oil, Shannon Walsh

ES: You describe a devastatingly vicious circle of life, prosperity, technology and desire. The animation and birds’ eye view shots are heart-rendingly effective. Do you feel that you have made a difference in the lives of these people and their surrounding nature?

SW: The film has begun to make a small difference but there is still a long way to go.

ES: This is your first feature. How did you get into the business?

SW: I have spent several years working in and with activist communities, teaching workshops using film, and using film as an educational resource. I’ve worked in participatory video workshops and schemes in South Africa and Canada for eight years and made a number of shorts on social issues including HIV prevention (Fire and Hope, 2004 ), new social resistance movements in Durban and across South Africa (Inkani, 2006  ), and a portrait of an Iranian refugee living in Charles de Gaulle airport, Paris (Sayeh, 2003).

ES: And what are you working on next?

SW: I am currently part of a project that involves 12 directors and a community in Montreal. We are documenting 24 hours in the lives of the community.

ES: Shannon, thank you for talking to us and good luck with the release of H2Oil. We’ll look forward to following your future work, and hope to invite you to Birds Eye View one day.

BEV Senior Programmer Emily Seed spoke to Montreal-based director Shannon Walsh. Questions by Gergana Barakova.

H2Oil is out on Friday. Show your support for Shannon Walsh and women filmmakers by going to see it. For more information, visit our First Weekenders page.