A short documentary that tells the story of Carol Pilon, a fearless woman who walks on the wings of vintage biplanes for a living.
Combining my passion for filmmaking and aviation, Throttle It Up is a documentary about the life of Carol Pilon, a fearless wing walker who performs in airshows across the country. This is my senior thesis project at SUNY Purchase College and is the culmination of all that I have learned over the past four years. Although my thesis will be a short film, it will be used to pitch a feature-length documentary version to film foundations which, if funded and submitted to festivals and distributors, could be the project that jump starts my career!
Named after Carol’s catchphrase, Throttle It Up tells the story of the first and only Canadian wing walker, Carol Pilon. She first saw wing walking in a television commercial advertising a local air show. It was love at first sight and she knew that her path in life was to be a wing walker. She has been a professional wing walker since 2000 and has broken many wing walking records. Ultimately, Pilon founded Third Strike Wingwalking, a company that provides aerial stunt work and entertainment for airshows, television, and movies as well as mentoring for up-and-coming wing walkers.
This film explores the history of wing walking with a focus on Carol and her team. Through interviews and vérité footage, Carol’s passion for wing walking and desire to be in the sky is shown. The film captures rehearsals with Carol and her pilot as well as all the preparation that goes into making her routine a success. The film also addresses the danger of wing walking, the decision to continue performing despite the risk, and the strong bond which Carol and her team have formed through their shared experiences. In addition to Carol’s wing walking, the film also focuses on her off-season job: running her family owned grocery store in Masham, Quebec to support her summer airshow life.
Regardless of how much is fundraised, this film will be made. However, if the project is not funded completely certain elements of the film will have to be cut, such as the trip to capture Carol performing in an airshow. This is such an essential aspect of the story that I want to tell and without it the film would no longer be a thorough realization of my vision. If I am able to reach my fundraising goal I will be able to take this film farther than anything I’ve ever made and create a work that will help me get to the next level of my career.