Triumph of the Wall

As meditative as it is hilarious. TRIUMPH OF THE WALL is a documentary film that begins as a chronicle of the construction of a 1000-foot dry-stone wall by a novice builder on a large property in rural Quebec. The builder, Chris Overing, sets out on September 11th, 2001 to complete the stone structure within eight weeks. The filmmaker, Bill Stone conceived of this film as a straightforward telling of this laborious yet creative task, but both projects evolved into something altogether different. Almost immediately, the neophyte stonemason realizes he has woefully underestimated the time and energy required to complete his task. After years of frustration, filming is wrapped. At that moment the wall is less than two-thirds complete. During the preceding eight years, Bill ’s expectations for his film project unravelled as Chris’ expectation for his building project were challenged and revised. During this process, their respective artistic projects confront them like monstrous children grown out of proportion, threatening their sense of personal identity and their sense of creative effectiveness.