Couple's unique love story opens the DOXA film festival
Shannon Walsh is the first to admit that a filmmaker couldn't ask for a better subject for a documentary than Alan St. George and his late wife Adrianne Blue Wakefield St. George.
The duo is the focus of the B.C. documentarist's film Adrianne & the Castle, which opens the DOXA Documentary Film Festival at the Vancouver Playhouse on May 4 at 7 p.m.
When Adrianne notes that “reality is for those who lack imagination,” she backs it up with proof in the form of a life lived large and in vivid colour. And it's all there to see in the film, which visits the pair's rural Illinois home, Havencrest Castle, that St. George built and now maintains as a shrine to his late spouse of 30 years.
From the ornate-but-fake decor, to the giant closets of clothes and costumes the two would employ while making homemade narrative films such as the Day the Queen of Cold Got a Face Lift, nothing about the subjects is bland. The fact that the magnificent illusion St. George crafted for his late wife is funded by an international mascot-manufacturing firm he founded over a half-century ago just adds to the layers.
Employing a time-travelling vignette technique where actors cast as Adrianne and a younger version of Alan re-enact moments the couple shared in life, the film attains a cinematic eccentricity that matches its subjects.
From the first time St. George spotted his future wife through the window of a city bus to tripped-out musical numbers, Adrianne & the Castle is certainly unique. That the film fails to delve into the backstories of its subjects only reinforces its surreal elements.
“It was a filmmaker's dream to discover Alan and Adrianne's fantasy world,” said Walsh. “My best friend, co-writer and co-creator of the film, Laurel Sprengelmeyer, grew up in a nearby town, and her sister had told (her about) the twice-yearly public openings of Havencrest. Laurel told me I had to see it because there was definitely a story there. The rest is history.”
Development of the documentary started during COVID-19 with epic, three-hour-long Zoom calls with St. George.
Guarded and very protective of both Adrianne's legacy and the world the two reclusive lovers had built around them, the first time he and Walsh met in person was only two months after the director's father had died.
Their shared grief helped propel the project's creation.
“Alan says that Adrianne was the head, he was the hands, and between them they had the heart. But that downplays what an incredible artist he is,” said Walsh. “When you see this working man's attempt at creating continental European grandeur in the rural U.S., from fake marble and wood to so much more, it is absolute magic. Pouring all that into something you only experience with one other is incredible.”
By the time the final credits roll on Adrianne & the Castle, the deep bond between a woman who described herself as a mix of Elizabeth Taylor-meets-Phyllis Diller and her adoring and devoted partner is what really remains. It's a love story for the ages.
DOXA programming manager Sarah Ouazzini notes that Adrianne & the Castle is a perfect example of the challenge of documentary filmmaking paying off.
“A documentary film depends on real life, on your antagonists, rather than being a controlled fiction,” said Ouazzini.
“The story in Adrianne & the Castle is one of love and also grief, and working through it. It's not easy to make a film about someone who has left the world, and it is fascinating how Shannon was able to recreate this truly extravagant life story.”
Ouazzini notes that Adrianne & the Castle benefits from the involvement of Ina Fichman, considered one of the best producers in documentary film, who will also be attending DOXA with Walsh.
FIVE FILMS TO SEE AT THE DOXA DOCUMENTARY FILM FESTIVAL
Now in its 23rd year, the festival packs in a total of 82 films of different lengths and incredibly varied subject matter.
Add in additional industry and audience events, and it doesn't take long to realize there really isn't enough time to see everything.
Here then are five documentaries screening at the festival, listed in alphabetical order, that are mustsee choices.
For information on screening times/dates and tickets, visit doxafestival.ca.
1 Any Other Way: The Jackie Shane Story
The closing film of the festival traces the career of transgender R&B artist Shane. Shane came up in rock `n' rolling 1950s Nashville before becoming a mainstay on the Toronto music scene in the 1960s. Then, Shane vanished.
Why you should see it: Music history is a mainstay of the documentary genre because everyone loves a light shined on underappreciated talent.
2 Plastic People: The Hidden Crisis of Microplastics
Directed by Ben Addelman and co-director Ziya Tong, the former host of Discovery Channel's Daily Planet, Plastic People dives into the devastating and destructive impacts of people's addiction to plastics.
The film looks at the dangers to life caused by plastic breaking down into microscopic particles permeating everything.
Why you should see it: To stop the destruction of our world requires rethinking everything about packaging and plastics.
3 Tea Creek
Dene director Ryan Dickie showcases Indigenous food sovereignty activist Jacob Beaton, who transformed his family farm into Tea Creek, a training centre with a mission to “bring back the abundance that once defined Turtle Island.” It's an uphill battle.
Why you should see it: Indigenous agriculture is likely to play an important role in preparing for the climate catastrophe's food scarcity.
4 The Anarchist Lunch
Director Rachel Epstein documents a group of Vancouver radicals who have met weekly at Lin Chinese Cuisine and Tea House on West Broadway to discuss topics of the day for the past 35 years. It's a refreshing fly-on-the-wall view of people who are still inspired to fight for change well into their senior years.
Why you should see it: It's hard to believe idealism is alive and well today, but this film serves as a reminder that it does indeed exist.
5 We Don't Care About Music Anyways
Cédric Dupire and Gaspard Kuentz explore the sonic frontiers of Tokyo's musical avant-garde with artists ranging from Otomo Yoshihide's off-the-hook turntablism to Numb's laptop zaniness.
Why you should see it: There is something deeply endearing about Japan's pioneering music radicals defying convention.