Alison began her career as a published poet, inspired by family tales and the oral traditions of British Columbia where she grew up. Discovering theatre in Ireland, she soon after wrote and directed music-theatre works which toured Canada and Europe.

The success of her commission to write a TVOpera, inspired Alison to make her first film, Second Sight (2008), an award-winning mid-length film. BBC commissioned two versions of Second Sight. Ghostman of Skye (BBC2 2009) was “Pick of the Day” or “Critics Choice” in every major UK newspaper. CIELO, Alison’s award winning first feature, premiered at the New York Film Festival in October 2017, and was released in its final version in 2018. Presented at over 400 international film festivals and cinemas, CIELO has been critically acclaimed by Variety, The Village Voice, The Globe and Mail, Le Devoir and named as “One of the best documentaries of 2018” by Esquire and “The best films of 2018…that you didn’t see” by The Guardian.

perfectly a strangeness, Alison’s first short film, had its World Premiere at the Cannes Film Festival, Official Competition 2024, followed by TIFF, IDFA “Best of Fests” and over 100 international film festivals, playing in 34 countries, winning 24 awards. perfectly a strangeness has been nominated by the Academy Awards 2026, Best Short Documentary Film, and nominated by Cinema Eye Honors, Best Nonfiction Short Film 2026.

A 2021 Guggenheim Fellow, Alison is currently working on her first feature-length fiction film and a feature-length hybrid documentary.