“THIS IS A CAREER-CHANGING FILM FOR ME,” proclaims filmmaker Shannon Walsh while reflecting on her new documentary Adrianne & the Castle (2024). An award-winning filmmaker, author, and educator known for her films that cover a range of topics that span from climate change to the dangers of a gig economy, Walsh explores themes of love and grief in bold new ways with her latest work. After years of driving within the familiar guardrails that documentarians are often expected to follow, she is now veering down exciting roads that bring her closer to her true creative self. “I really think there is a before [the film] and an after,” she continues. “A lot of it is having met Alan and being in their world.”
The “Alan” Walsh refers to is Alan St. George, the owner of Havencrest Castle in Savanna, Illinois. A talentedand a limitless canvas for the couple’s creative expression. Everything from the murals on the ceilings to the sculptures in the doorways to the various themed rooms was done by St. George himself.
