Ellen McIlwaine
Sound
Known For
This personal documentary is the story of Teresa Marshall, who grew up on a British Columbia ranch. Every child needs a demon, and Teresa took battle against rattlesnakes. In the dry interior of B.C., the south Okanagan and Similkameen valleys form the bio-region known as Canada's "pocket desert." As settlers' dreams of creating an agricultural Eden erase fragile desert lands that support a breathtaking array of wild species, the narrator and her snake-hunting neighbours are forced to examine their environmental attitudes.
Pocket Desert: Confessions of a Snake Killer

Celebrates the legendary – and largely forgotten – Canadian musician who fought for her right to play the slide guitar, a male-dominated instrument in a male-dominated world. Eight months after arriving in Greenwich Village with no prospects, she found herself opening for the biggest blues legends in the world, like Odetta, Richie Havens, and Mississippi John Hurt. But it’s the six magical nights that Ellen ignited the stage with Jimi Hendrix that changed the course of her life.