About / Shawn Swanky
Shawn Swanky
Shawn Swanky is a Vancouver based artist, movie producer, director, screenwriter and story creator.
Shawn is currently producing a 90 minute documentary about the B.C. smallpox epidemics of 1862/63, one of the greatest human tragedies in Canadian history. The native population died by the thousands with bodies strewn everywhere as settlers intentionally spread the disease from place to place. The visuals for this work will include a series of original artistic depictions of several key scenes.
A version of the script prepared for this documentary – called The Great Darkening – is available for purchase in our shop. And so are the novella versions from two of Shawn’s original stories, one of them used as the basis of his student feature length production, Golden Streams, Dangerous Dreams.
Shawn believes that drama is a sacred part of the human condition. Drama somehow serves a deep human need and every culture has had it in some form. Movies, or their derivative forms on T.V. or the Internet, are today’s most powerful and pervasive dramatic form.
A life-long fan and student of movies, Shawn says,
When the curtain rises and the title begins to roll, it is then just me and the director. And every time I hope that he or she succeeds. When movies work, wow, the pay off to the audience is far beyond the ticket price. If I could have some part of helping people find enjoyable moments in life, that would be great.
Although they have been around for more than 100 years, Shawn thinks movies are still a very young art form. With many unknown styles and innovations in story-telling yet to come.
Wouldn’t it be great, if there were more and more great movies? The Internet will revolutionize how movies will find audiences. It already has. I am excited to see what happens next. This makes it a good time to review the fundamentals of story-telling through movies, both for fans and movie-makers. With this in mind, I have been studying the work and thoughts of great directors. I will be making more of these available here too. Have you enjoyed a conversation yet with Mr. Bresson or Mr. Kurosawa?
Know any great movies that haven’t received the notice they deserve? Shawn says,
Drop me a line. Sign up for my newsletter or follow me on Twitter to see what I think and keep up with developments here and in my projects. I am grateful for your interest.