Official selection
SXSW 2024
Hot Docs 2024
DOXA Documentary Film Festival 2024
Director
Shannon Walsh
Producer
Ina Fichman
Writer
Laurel Sprengelmeyer, Shannon Walsh
Cast
Alan St George
contact
Intuitive Pictures
ADRIANNE & THE CASTLE uses magic, music, and mystery to bring us into the world of Alan St-George after the loss of his wife, Adrianne. While together, they built a fantastic castle in Illinois, and throughout the documentary, we will be pulled into their unusual shared life. Larger than life, Adrianne’s loss represents an intense rupture in Alan’s world, but through the power of art, his love lives on. As one of Canada’s foremost documentarians, director Shannon Walsh builds on techniques of creative nonfiction she established in films like THE GIG IS UP and ILLUSIONS OF CONTROL. By telling such a simple and intimate story, she further blurs the line between fiction and reality to fully express Alan and Adrianne’s transcendent love affair. The approach means that the film, while ostensibly about grief, becomes a work of incredible joy, demonstrating that whimsy and magic exist for those who seek it.
Part fever dream and part fairy tale, ADRIANNE & THE CASTLE gives voice to Alan’s love. It’s a movie with a singular vision that captures the life of two unusual, passionate and artistic people who found each other despite the odds. A testament to creativity as a form of adoration and devotion, Walsh’s documentary allows the viewer to explore the couple’s castle, a marvel of imagination, through joy and celebration. The film also features many wonderful little archival videos they made together, capturing their intimacy and complicity as loveable weirdos. Rarely has a movie of any kind so wonderfully captured the idea that you don’t need to compromise who you are to be adored completely. For the lovers and the dreamers, ADRIANNE & THE CASTLE becomes a powerful cinematic tribute that will ensure that Adrianne and Alan’s love will live long after death. – Justine Smith
Showings
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