STANDSTILL SHORT by Katia Shannon
Katia Shannon shot by Sadie Wiarda @lorangeriephotog
English (available with French, Spanish and English subtitles)
A fight to get through the gridlock becomes a fight for survival for Amanda as her body comes to a standstill.
On the cusp of starting a new life with her boyfriend, Amanda is driving with her goldfish to their new home. Excitement turns to panic. As her body comes to a standstill, Amanda must expose her deepest vulnerabilities in order to survive while seemingly no-one is willing to help.
Director’s Note
by Katia Shannon
Growing up in a family of documentary filmmakers, I saw films conceived, debated and edited with a persistent desire to hone in on the truth of each story. That trait has carried into my filmmaking and shaped a love for wild stories anchored in reality. Impressionistic and visceral, Standstill exposes the fine thread that people living with diabetes navigate on a daily basis to stay alive. It’s an atmospheric thriller rooted in the fears and sensations that I live with every day, since I was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at age 15. Globally, there are an estimated 317 million people living with diabetes, and 1.6 million who die from it each year. Society carries many assumptions about it and most of those reveal a profound misunderstanding of its impact. Although diabetes may seem invisible, its physical, psychological and emotional consequences are not. Without warning, low blood sugars threaten to end a life in just a few moments. Their remedy is ironically simple: sugar. However, this seemingly accessible solution contributes to the generalised misbelief that low blood sugars are more of an inconvenience than a threat. Standstill asks questions and challenges those preconceptions. At first, Amanda seems like she is about to take life by storm, but circumstances force her to expose her vulnerability. Although she is surrounded by people, help is not easy to find. As Amanda tries to assert her voice in the face of a crowd, Standstill delves into the harrowing isolation that comes with being misunderstood.
Determined to take her family to Walt Disney World, Katia took her first plunge into film aged 9. Targeting the grand prize of 500$, she wrote the winning script for a national contest run by the CBC (Radio-Canada). Produced in 35 mm, Un accident inoubliable opened the Carrousel international du film de Rimouski.
Katia later graduated from Concordia University in Montréal with a BFA in Film Production and an award for outstanding achievement in filmmaking. Fuelled by a love for passionate stories of human endeavour and inspired by the worlds of photography, painting and dance; Katia’s films, have been selected at numerous festivals including the Festival du Film Étudiant de Québec, Air Canada EnRoute Film Festival and Fastnet Film Festival. Her latest film, Standstill, is premiering at the 2019 Calgary International Film Festival.
Last night was so great. Had the best time celebrating 4 years of work with a Q&A hosted by programmer @brennantilley at Standstill’s last screening at @calgaryfilm. There’s nothing like seeing people experience it on the big screen. I think it stirs something in people that they aren’t used to talking about.
Flyer Films is a production company dedicated to showcasing groundbreaking points of view from new and established artists. Founded in 2018 with bases in Montreal and London, Flyer Films specializes in the creation of artist driven visual media with a focus on short and feature length cinema.