Interview with Filmmaker Allison Walisser
“He walks into a room, and he's everyone's friend. He's that kind of guy,” Allison Walisser said, speaking fondly of Kevin Brooks, the man in the spotlight of her first documentary film, Wiggle Your Toes.
Allison initially met Kevin when he came to visit her high school. He rolled into the auditorium with a soulpatch and a mohawk as a hush fell over the students, then, from his wheelchair, Brooks confessed to an audience of strangers about that final night he climbed into his car under the influence, killing his friend Brendon, and forever losing the use of his legs. It's a story that he will continue to tell, again and again, and it's a story that has not only changed lives, but saved them.
I asked Allison what it meant to her. I wanted to understand why she decided to make the film, when Kevin has had such a profound and lasting impact on the world around him, turning tragedy into hope, that people have decided not to commit suicide after hearing him speak. She told me that she had only just begun to drive when she met Brooks, and that his passion stayed with her over the years. She said, “I always thought he was a great speaker, and that he could come across well on film. He's really energetic. He stands by everything he says.”
Wiggle Your Toes began as a six week class project through BCIT (British Columbia Institute of Technology) in Vancouver. Brooks, who lives in Cloverdale, has a Facebook page, and writes a blog, so she sent him an email. “He was so enthusiastic. The response I got was unbelievable,” she gushed.
Allison named her production company, Bellatrix, in honor of the despicably dark Harry Potter character, Bellatrix Lestrange, played by Tim Burton's wife, Helena Bonham Carter. She's a fan of the books. She also admires Peter Jackson, and the New Zealander's work with the Lord of the Rings trilogy. It was an interest in the “production side” of movies that once began as some of her favorite novels, that led to twenty-one-year-old Walisser's own desire to work in the industry. She's also passionate about marine biology, and has volunteered at the Vancouver Aquarium.
Allison isn't currently working on anything new, but when I asked what would fulfill her wildest dream, she said it would be to someday work with BBC in creating their "Blue Planet" nature documentary series, to travel around the world. She's staying busy in the meantime, planning trips to fill up her passport, with a possible jaunt to New Zealand on this year's horizon.
But back to Brooks. Kevin's blog reports that he's currently some twenty thousand words into writing his memoir about the crash, and his life in the aftermath. It's a venture he has undertaken before, but this time is determined to finish. He said, “Regret is for people who can't learn lessons. Regret's a stagnant thing. You sit there. You regret, but you're not doing anything. You're not making anything any better... I love life so much. Life is about choices. Why not rise above it?”
And that's what he's done, and continues to inspire countless others to do, rise above.
— Piper Tyler |
