Dan Fallshaw

Walkley Award-winning filmmaker, producer and interaction designer. Co-founder of United Notions Film.

Now he engineers and designs Yakumama, a robotic whale.

Choose a character, or scroll down.

Films

Documentaries made with Violeta Ayala at United Notions Film. Dan produces, shoots and edits them.

A frog-like character with a tall hair spike and its hands in the air. It says: Films in here.Frames of La Lucha: a man with a flag across his back walks along the highway with a crutch.La Lucha
Poster of La Lucha: a man in a wheelchair is lifted above a crowd beside a Bolivian flag, under the title in yellow.

La Lucha

2023. Feature documentary. 95 minutes.

People with disabilities march across the Andes to La Paz to demand a pension.

Producer, director of photography, editor

  • World premiere at BlackStar Film Festival, Philadelphia, 2023.
  • NYWIFT Award for Excellence in Directing.
  • Premiered in the plazas of Cochabamba, La Paz and Potosí in 2024.
  • Aired on PBS in 2024.

Watch on sala.videoLa Lucha at United Notions Film

Protesters in wheelchairs raise their arms by a wire fence, under an embroidered banner.Play the trailer of La Lucha
Poster of The Fight: a man shouts in front of police shields, with the title in white.

The Fight

2017. Short documentary. 29 minutes.

The short film of that same march.

Producer, director of photography, editor

  • Released worldwide by The Guardian.
  • Walkley Award for camerawork, 2017.
  • Nominated for Best Short at the IDA Documentary Awards, 2017.
  • Finalist at the Rory Peck Awards, 2017.

Watch at The Guardian

A man carries a wooden cross and a Bolivian flag on a hill above a city.Play the trailer of The Fight
Poster of Cocaine Prison: a young woman in profile against a dark background.

Cocaine Prison

2017. Feature documentary. 82 minutes.

Filmed inside San Sebastián prison in Cochabamba, in part by the inmates themselves.

Producer, director of photography, editor

  • Premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival.
  • Audience Award at Cinelatino in Toulouse.
  • Aired on the PBS WORLD Channel and picked up by Amazon Prime.

Watch on sala.video

A crowded prison courtyard seen from above.Play the trailer of Cocaine Prison
Poster of The Bolivian Case: three portraits of young women over a patterned painting.

The Bolivian Case

2015. Feature documentary. 80 minutes.

Three Norwegian teenagers are arrested in Bolivia with 22 kilos of cocaine. The film follows how the media shaped each of their cases.

Producer, director of photography, editor

  • Premiered at Hot Docs.
  • Shortlisted for the Premios Platino and the Premios Fénix.
  • Distributed across Latin America.
  • Self-distributed by United Notions Film on sala.video.

Watch on sala.videotheboliviancase.com

A round brick building at dusk, with a van parked in front.Play the trailer of The Bolivian Case
Poster of Stolen: a young man covers part of his face with his hand, above the title in red.

Stolen

2009. Feature documentary. 76 minutes.

A documentary on slavery in the Sahrawi refugee camps.

Co-director, producer, director of photography, editor

  • Premiered at the Sydney Film Festival and the Toronto International Film Festival.
  • Screened at 80 festivals and won 16 awards.
  • Aired on PBS.

Watch on sala.video

Three figures walk along the crest of a sand dune.Play the trailer of Stolen
DVD cover of Between the Oil and the Deep Blue Sea, a film by Violeta Ayala and Dan Fallshaw.

Between the Oil and the Deep Blue Sea

2007. Short documentary. 30 minutes.

An investigative short documentary about corruption in the oil industry.

Editor

  • Violeta Ayala and Dan Fallshaw work together for the first time on this film, in Mauritania in 2005.

XR

A robotic whale, virtual reality, augmented reality, AI installations and a live performance from United Notions Film.

A frog-like character in a yellow checked shirt. It says: XR over here!Frames of Prison X: a golden jaguar walks out of the dark.Prison X
A 3D model of a whale floats above a grid under a blue sky.

Yakumama

2026. Robotic whale installation.

A robotic whale installation in the making at United Notions Film.

Engineering and design

  • Set to premiere at MozFest 2026 in Barcelona.
A translucent 3D-printed whale glows orange on a workbench, beside wires and a power supply.
Poster of Prison X, The Devil and The Sun: animated characters in masks and feathered costumes.

Prison X

2021. Virtual reality.

A virtual reality experience set in a Bolivian prison. Chapter 1: The Devil and The Sun.

Producer

  • Premiered at the Sundance Film Festival.
  • Selected for Cannes XR, Games for Change and SIGGRAPH.
  • Released on Steam in 2024.
  • Directed by Violeta Ayala.

Get it on SteamVisit prisonx.red

A character in a feathered mask stands in a grey prison yard.Play the trailer of Prison X
Pictures from Prison X
Crowds fill the walkways and the courtyard of a prison block several storeys high. From Prison X.A watercolour drawing of a prison courtyard ringed by balconies. From Prison X.A grey 3D model of a prison building with laundry hanging from it. From Prison X.A coloured 3D model of the prison courtyard, seen from above. From Prison X.A road leads through green fields to a yellow building, in a 3D landscape. From Prison X.A wall painted with a large face, lit by a lamp at night, in the virtual prison. From Prison X.A beam of light falls into a dark courtyard of the virtual prison. From Prison X.A figure in a feathered mask holds a broom in a grey prison yard. From Prison X.
Poster of Las Awichas: an Andean grandmother surrounded by robotic animals, in black and white.

Las Awichas

2024. Augmented reality installation.

Eight AI-generated Andean grandmothers, each with a robotic animal spirit.

Producer

  • Best Interactive / Immersive Documentary, AIDC Awards 2025.
  • Shown at King's College London, on the Strand.
  • Las Awichas VR premiered at Surreality, HKUST (Guangzhou), in 2025.
  • Created by Violeta Ayala. 3D animated characters by Brian Condori Marza.

Visit koa.xyz

A woman in black stands in a gallery between large black-and-white portraits of Andean grandmothers.Play the trailer of Las Awichas
Three visitors stand before a screen showing a golden jaguar, inside a white tent with lit plinths.

Huk the Jaguaress

2025. AI installation.

An AI installation created at the Mila Québec AI Institute residency.

UX and the TouchDesigner system

  • Premiered at CPH:DOX in Copenhagen.
  • Shown at NewImages Festival in Paris.
  • Part of Huk, an ongoing project.

Meet the jaguaress

A golden jaguar sits among amber dunes and bare branches.Play the trailer of Huk the Jaguaress
Two figures wrapped in red woven cloth crouch on a yellow and black checked floor.

Todo Nace Desde Lo Pequeño

2025. Live performance.

A live performance where Andean cosmology meets AI. Four dancers embody Earth, Water, Wind and Jaguar.

Systems designer, director of photography

  • Premiered at El Martadero, Cochabamba.
  • Dan films the dancers live. Violeta transforms that image with AI.

See the performance

Camera

Dan is director of photography on four feature films and one short.

A frog-like character in a black hoodie and a cap. It says: Director of Photography down here!Frames of Cocaine Prison: the crowded courtyard of San Sebastián prison, seen from above.Cocaine Prison

In 2017 The Fight wins him the Walkley Award for camerawork.

Stills from Cocaine Prison
A crowd stands around a table football game in a prison courtyard, seen from above. Still from Cocaine Prison.A small boy looks out of a doorway beside a metal staircase in an orange room. Still from Cocaine Prison.A prison courtyard at night under yellow light, its tables empty. Still from Cocaine Prison.Crowds fill the walkways and the courtyard of a prison block several storeys high. Still from Cocaine Prison.Laundry hangs from a red balcony where a man stands. Still from Cocaine Prison.Dancers in bright costumes perform in a prison courtyard while a crowd watches from the balconies. Still from Cocaine Prison.People climb a narrow stairway behind bars in a dim corridor. Still from Cocaine Prison.A young woman tries on pink sunglasses with the tag still on. Two men stand behind her. Still from Cocaine Prison.Riot police line up in front of a building whose roof is crowded with people. Still from Cocaine Prison.A family sits at a table in a small room crowded with people. Still from Cocaine Prison.A young man in a blue top sits in a small kitchen beside a red fridge. Still from Cocaine Prison.A man holds up a small camera to film. A man in a red cap sits beside him. Still from Cocaine Prison.A young woman sits in the shadow of a blue wall. Still from Cocaine Prison.Two young men sit in a dim room lit by a window. Still from Cocaine Prison.A hazy city below a hill with a statue on its summit. Still from Cocaine Prison.A young woman and a young man sit at a wooden table with plastic cups. Still from Cocaine Prison.A street vendor's cart and a white car in a busy city street. Still from Cocaine Prison.A man in a pink shirt holds a mop at the foot of a staircase. Still from Cocaine Prison.A man plays the guitar while another man sits and listens, in a room with a pink wall. Still from Cocaine Prison.Two men stand talking in a prison courtyard below crowded balconies. Still from Cocaine Prison.A man in a yellow shirt sits alone at a table in a room with a red wall. Still from Cocaine Prison.A young woman in a white top stands in a small room full of shelves. Still from Cocaine Prison.A young man sits on the floor of a dark cell, his chin on his hand. Still from Cocaine Prison.A man dances in a small room while a man in a yellow shirt sits and watches. Still from Cocaine Prison.A person in green trousers stands on a red rocky ridge above deep valleys. Still from Cocaine Prison.A person carries a large bundle on their back across a dry hillside. Still from Cocaine Prison.A man in sunglasses sits at the open door of a small green and white plane. Still from Cocaine Prison.A cameraman films out of an open plane door above the clouds. Still from Cocaine Prison.Clouds over green mountains, seen from the air. Still from Cocaine Prison.A camera points out of an open plane door into the clouds. Still from Cocaine Prison.
Stills from The Fight
Marchers in wheelchairs and on foot fill a wide road under a dusty sky. Still from The Fight.A long line of marchers in wheelchairs moves along a highway across the altiplano. Still from The Fight.A man carries a wooden cross and a Bolivian flag on a hill above a city. Still from The Fight.A woman in a pink hat shouts into a megaphone among protesters. Still from The Fight.A man pushes a wheelchair up a steep street, a green flag behind him. Still from The Fight.Protesters in wheelchairs raise their arms by a wire fence, under an embroidered banner. Still from The Fight.A smiling man in blue sunglasses and a woolly hat stands in front of police shields. Still from The Fight.A crowd fills a narrow street at dusk, facing a line of police shields. Still from The Fight.A man shouts through a wire fence at night. Still from The Fight.Protesters on crutches and in wheelchairs gather in a street at night. Still from The Fight.A man in a wheelchair and a hard hat shouts and stretches out his arm in a street at night. Still from The Fight.A person carries a wooden cross along an empty road between green fields. Still from The Fight.Protesters lie on the ground at night among handwritten signs. Still from The Fight.A woman in a wheelchair, wrapped in a pink blanket, waits in a street at night. Still from The Fight.Protesters in wheelchairs gather in a street below a tall glass building, a Bolivian flag raised. Still from The Fight.A man in a wheelchair raises his arms in a sunny street. Still from The Fight.Police with shields block a street where protesters in wheelchairs wait. Still from The Fight.A man in a woven jacket shouts with his arms wide open at night. Still from The Fight.Protesters push against a line of riot police. Still from The Fight.Three men smile at a table covered with a woven cloth. Still from The Fight.People in wheelchairs move along a city street. Still from The Fight.Protesters gather behind a large Bolivian flag on a road below a bridge. Still from The Fight.A woman holds a cardboard sign on a mountain road as marchers pass. Still from The Fight.A man in a red checked hoodie looks at the camera in front of a bus. Still from The Fight.A group of marchers in wheelchairs rests on the altiplano. Still from The Fight.A person in a hand-powered wheelchair crosses a wide plain as a truck passes. Still from The Fight.A woman wrapped in a pink blanket sits in a wheelchair on a hillside. Still from The Fight.Three people pose with their wheelchairs beside a highway. Still from The Fight.A person holds a Bolivian flag alone on a dry plain under a big sky. Still from The Fight.Marchers walk with a cross and wheelchairs along a highway. Still from The Fight.
Stills from The Bolivian Case
A round brick building at dusk, with a van parked in front. Still from The Bolivian Case.A dancer in a carnival costume, with a mask and white feathered wings. Still from The Bolivian Case.Three young women sit on a sofa beside packed bags. Still from The Bolivian Case.A young woman looks to one side in a room with a painting behind her. Still from The Bolivian Case.A young woman in a hospital gown stands beside a baby in an incubator. Still from The Bolivian Case.A woman in a blue dress waves outside a prison wall painted with lettering. Still from The Bolivian Case.A woman in a pink towel faces a round mirror in a dark bathroom. Still from The Bolivian Case.A photograph of two young women in hoodies, pinned up beside a crucifix and flowers. Still from The Bolivian Case.A young woman sits at a courtroom table, her hands clasped. Still from The Bolivian Case.A wall of black-and-white police photographs. Still from The Bolivian Case.A young woman drives a car with a small fluffy dog on her lap. Still from The Bolivian Case.A young man with a shaved head smiles across a table. Still from The Bolivian Case.A young man speaks into a microphone at a courtroom table. Still from The Bolivian Case.A young man in glasses and a vest shows a tattooed arm. Still from The Bolivian Case.A young man with a cigarette and a young woman stand in a lift lit green. Still from The Bolivian Case.
Stills from Stolen
Three figures walk along the crest of a sand dune. Still from Stolen.A woman in a green and yellow veil stands in front of a refugee camp in the desert. Still from Stolen.A young man covers part of his face with his hand, under a blue sky. Still from Stolen.

Editing

Six films carry his editing credit. The showreels follow.

A frog-like character in a red jacket and a purple skirt. It says: Editor over here.Frames from the showreels, two from each shot: a robotic whale, a dancer, buses at night, a robotic bird, a march, ants carrying leaves.Showreels
Editing credits
FilmYearLength
La Lucha202395 min
The Fight201729 min
Cocaine Prison201782 min
The Bolivian Case201580 min
Stolen200976 min
Between the Oil and the Deep Blue Sea200730 min

Showreels

Here's a collection of trailers and videos. Watch as much or as little as you like. Thanks. D.

Cocaine Prison 2:33
Prison X 3:32
Las Awichas 2:12
La Lucha 2:43
Extras, animation 1:55

Sound

Music and sound design by Dan, with pieces by the musicians of the productions he works on.

A frog-like character in a pink top with a tall hair spike. It says: Sound in here.Frames of an animated dancer in front of a wall of graffiti.Extras
  1. QuenachArrangement by Dan Fallshaw. Quena by Israel Donaire.
    5:50
  2. DD HouseMusic by Dan Fallshaw.
    2:29
  3. Gold PlatedMusic by Dan Fallshaw. Voice and lyrics: Steve Erwin.
    1:02
  4. AmazonaFrom Prison X. Sound design by Roly Elias.
    8:15
  5. AtahualpaFrom Prison X. Music by Kalamarca. Remix by Xny Wolf. Sound design by Roly Elias.
    7:23
  6. La Lucha 01Music by Hankel Bellido. Sound design by Dan Fallshaw.
    1:33
  7. La Lucha 02Music by Hankel Bellido. Sound design by Dan Fallshaw.
    0:35
  8. La Lucha 03Music by Hankel Bellido. Sound design by Dan Fallshaw.
    1:08
  9. La Lucha 04Music by Hankel Bellido. Sound design by Dan Fallshaw.
    1:45

MetaSonic

MetaSonic is a long form audio immersive piece in development, inspired by my filmmaking and VR experience, that features sound and music woven into an immersive opera, designed to provoke a physical reaction in the listener. The soundscape will be created using a variety of techniques such as layering, looping, and effects processing of ambient sounds in a 3D audio environment to immerse an audience completely. The idea is to take the audience on a journey through space using sound waves.

My interest is to simply experiment with sound, to see how you can inspire an audience.

The first step towards building this immersive audio experience, will be to develop the musical and sound design elements over the coming months, to then take them into a 3D audio immersive studio, to craft and hone the work bringing the elements together to work in a complete and immersive way; and then migrate the work into a public performance space.

My intention is to build something that will draw an audience in take them on a journey, allowing them to experience audio all around them, just as you would in real life, only this is designed and curated to create a physical response in the audience. Is it possible to lead an audience to the point where they believe they're flying?

The work presented here is a palate of ideas and inspiration, some of it my music, along with some examples from other musicians on productions I've been involved with.

Play

Extras, design and play.

The Etchies, one after another.Etchies

The Etchies

Sixteen of them. Seven more lead you around this page.

An Etchie with a turquoise face, a printed top and a teal skirt, on blue. One of the Etchies by Dan Fallshaw.An Etchie with a green face and a red crest, in a pink top and a striped skirt, on orange. One of the Etchies by Dan Fallshaw.An Etchie in purple round glasses and a white coat, with a cigarette, on blue. One of the Etchies by Dan Fallshaw.A yellow-faced Etchie in a white tutu, on magenta. One of the Etchies by Dan Fallshaw.An Etchie in rainbow glasses and a white coat, on blue. One of the Etchies by Dan Fallshaw.An Etchie in a black jacket and a rainbow skirt of many layers, on blue. One of the Etchies by Dan Fallshaw.An Etchie with spiky black hair, rainbow glasses and a black shirt covered in prints, on magenta. One of the Etchies by Dan Fallshaw.An Etchie in a black cap and rainbow glasses, with a pink top and a striped skirt, on blue. One of the Etchies by Dan Fallshaw.An Etchie with a pink crest, a yellow T-shirt and white trousers, on blue. One of the Etchies by Dan Fallshaw.An Etchie in a yellow coat over a pink top, on blue. One of the Etchies by Dan Fallshaw.An Etchie with a red crest, in a dark coat and a purple skirt, on blue. One of the Etchies by Dan Fallshaw.A blue Etchie in purple glasses and a white coat, on grey stone. One of the Etchies by Dan Fallshaw.An Etchie in purple glasses, a white coat and checked trousers, on magenta. One of the Etchies by Dan Fallshaw.A dark blue Etchie in a pink T-shirt and pink trousers, on blue. One of the Etchies by Dan Fallshaw.A purple Etchie in a black coat covered in badges, on blue. One of the Etchies by Dan Fallshaw.An Etchie with a green face and a pink crest, in a pink vest and grey trousers, on orange. One of the Etchies by Dan Fallshaw.

Flower Queans

A book of poems.

A white page with a large number 1 in its lower corner. From Flower Queans.A white page with a short poem set narrow at its right edge. From Flower Queans.A thin orange and green flower on a white page. From Flower Queans.A poem whose lines curve down a white page. From Flower Queans.A red flower hangs from its stem on a white page. From Flower Queans.A single column of words runs down a white page. From Flower Queans.A purple and blue flower on a long black stem. From Flower Queans.Lines of text spread out like rays across a white page. From Flower Queans.A small pink flower at the top of a long stem. From Flower Queans.Lines of text fall down a white page like rain. From Flower Queans.A yellow flower on a curved stem. From Flower Queans.A poem set in two spirals. From Flower Queans.A red-orange flower with a dark stem. From Flower Queans.A poem in centred lines on a white page. From Flower Queans.A pale pink flower bud on its stem. From Flower Queans.A poem winds across the page in one looping line. From Flower Queans.A black flower on a white page. From Flower Queans.Lines of text climb a white page on a slant. From Flower Queans.A small red and yellow flower on a long thin stem. From Flower Queans.Short lines of text scattered at angles across a white page. From Flower Queans.A blue flower head on its stem. From Flower Queans.A poem in scattered lines down a white page. From Flower Queans.A violet flower on a black stem. From Flower Queans.A few short lines of a poem on a white page. From Flower Queans.A deep red flower on a thin stem. From Flower Queans.A single thin stem on a white page. From Flower Queans.A poem beside a long stem that runs down the page. From Flower Queans.A wilted yellow flower hangs upside down. From Flower Queans.A short block of text in the middle of a white page. From Flower Queans.A dark purple flower with crumpled petals. From Flower Queans.A line of text traces the shape of a cloud on a white page. From Flower Queans.A small faded flower on a white page. From Flower Queans.A white page, empty apart from a few words in its lower corner. From Flower Queans.A white page with the number 2 and three dots. From Flower Queans.

Sydney Bus

Typography.

Specimen of the typeface Sydney Bus: the alphabet, numbers and signs in red capitals.A black bus destination roll with white names: Coogee Beach, Dover Heights, Eastgardens, North Bondi, Watsons Bay.

KOA.xyz gallery

The virtual gallery of koa.xyz in Voxels.

Visit the gallery

Bio

A green frog-like character in a white coat. It says: Bio over here...Photographs from the bio, one after another.Photographs

Dan Fallshaw is a Walkley Award-winning filmmaker, producer and interaction designer. He co-founded United Notions Film in 2006 with Violeta Ayala.

Dan designs systems while editing a film or building a robotic whale, a craft he learned as a child.* He engineers and designs Yakumama, the robotic whale set to premiere at MozFest 2026 in Barcelona. For Huk the Jaguaress, the AI installation shown at CPH:DOX in Copenhagen, Dan created the UX and built the system in TouchDesigner. In the live performance Todo Nace Desde Lo Pequeño he is systems designer and director of photography: he films the dancers live, and Violeta transforms that image with AI. He created and coded sala.video, the distribution system for all his films, and built the infrastructure of sala.red.

Dan co-directed Stolen. His producer credits include The Bolivian Case (Hot Docs), Cocaine Prison (TIFF), La Lucha, the virtual reality experience Prison X (Sundance, Cannes, SXSW) and the augmented reality installation Las Awichas.

He is director of photography and editor of the films. In 2017 The Fight wins Dan the Walkley Award for camerawork. The film is nominated for Best Short at the IDA Documentary Awards and is a finalist at the Rory Peck Awards.

He is a Master's candidate in Human-Computer Interaction at the University of Technology Sydney, where he researches how humans create with AI. Dan studied at Central Saint Martins in London. He holds a Bachelor of Science, a Diploma of Education and a Bachelor of Design, and is a qualified science teacher. He is bilingual in English and Spanish.

* Dan's father, Neil Fallshaw, was the principal systems analyst at the satellite company AUSSAT.

IMDbWikipediaInstagramXDan at United Notions Film

A man in sunglasses and a blue jacket stands in front of an AIDC backdrop.A man in sunglasses laughs at the open door of a small green and white plane.Three people speak on a stage under a large screen with the Hot Docs logo.A person carries a film camera on a tripod across a dry plain.Three people pose in front of a TIFF backdrop.Two people stand at a lectern marked Rory Peck Awards.Three people sit in a television studio in front of a large screen. A CNN logo is in the corner.A man raises a microphone and opens his arms on a stage. A full cinema sits behind him.

United Notions Film

A pink frog-like character in a striped top. It says: UNF down here.The posters of the works of United Notions Film, one after another.The works

United Notions Film is an award-winning film and creative technology studio based in Bolivia and Australia, founded in 2006 by Violeta Ayala and Dan Fallshaw.

We make documentaries, virtual reality experiences and cinematic installations. We run a lab that develops cinema systems, AI and robotics.

In 2026 UNF launches sala.red, investigative tech journalism from Bolivia, and sala.video, independent film distribution. Dan made the infrastructure of both.

UNF is creating Yakumama, a robotic whale installation. It is set to premiere at MozFest 2026 in Barcelona.

unitednotions.filmsala.redsala.videokoa.xyz

For press and work, write through the press page of United Notions Film. The press page

The home page of unitednotions.film: the name of the studio in large white letters above a maze of photographs.Visit unitednotions.film