NYWIFT Industry Screening + Q&A: Once Upon A River
Join us for a virtual screening of Once Upon A River and a Q&A with Director Haroula Rose, Star Kenadi DelaCerna, and DP Charlotte Hornsby.
Based on the best-selling novel by Bonnie Jo Campbell, Once Upon A River is the story of Native American teenager Margo Crane (Kenadi DelaCerna) in 1970s rural Michigan who after enduring a series of traumas and tragedies, sets out on an odyssey on the Stark River in search of her estranged mother. On the water, Margo encounters friends, foes, wonders, and dangers; navigating life on her own, she comes to understand her potential, all while healing the wounds of her past.
See trailer here.
Moderated by NYWIFT Board Member Amenya Makuku.
Watch the film: Any time between Friday, January 8th through Monday, January 11th
Join the Q&A: Monday, January 11th at 4PM ET
Cost: $5 for NYWIFT members; $7 for non-members
Panelists
Haroula Rose (Director) works in both fiction and nonfiction filmmaking. Her directorial debut Once Upon A River was named one of the “most anticipated films” by Filmmaker Magazine, and will be released with Film Movement in October 2020. Rose’s pilot Lost & Found premiered at Tribeca, and her most recent short film starring Maya Hawke premiered on Nowness. Her other acclaimed short films include Wedding Dress, Baby Crazy, Diana’s Electric Tongue and Our House of Glass. Rose’s work has been supported by a Fulbright Fellowship, Warner Media, Nantucket Screenwriters Colony, Tribeca’s All Access, and Warner Brothers Directing Workshop. Rose is currently developing her second feature film. She was born in Chicago and when she isn’t writing or directing, Rose makes music that is released via Thirty Tigers in Nashville. She has toured in the U.S., Canada, Europe and Asia. Her songs can be heard in many series and films.
Charlotte Hornsby (Director of Photography) is a New York-based cinematographer. After graduating from NYU as a Tisch Scholar with Honors in Film & TV, Charlotte moved to New Orleans where she worked with the artist Solange Knowles and filmed her songwriting process for her album A Seat at the Table. She went on to shoot Solange for New York Magazine’s Life in Pictures, and shoot and direct Beyonce for the 2015 September issue of Vogue. Charlotte has since gained recognition for her work on narratives, commercials and music videos and her work has been featured in The New Yorker, Rolling Stone, Pitchfork, Nylon, The Fader, MTV and on The Today Show. The four international commercial spots Charlotte shot for Adidas aired during the 2016 Grammys and 2016 Oscars. Her work has been screened at Sundance, SXSW, Cucalorus, lndie Memphis, The Maryland Film Festival and The Woodstock Film Festival. Lucia Before and After, a short film Charlotte shot for director Anu Valia, won the Jury Award for U.S. Short Fiction at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival.
Kenadi DelaCerna (Actor) got her start in a local community theater in Jacksonville, Florida; from there she worked her way up and trained at Douglas Anderson School of the Arts in Florida and then the New York Conservatory for Dramatic Arts in New York; where she is still currently based. Right after graduating the conservatory Kenadi landed her first lead role (Margo Crane) in a feature film, Once Upon A River, written and directed by Haroula Rose. Since then, she has gained representation with SMS Talent and also continues working with other local artists creating shorts and music videos. Kenadi hopes to write and direct a work of her own in the future.
Amenya Makuku (Moderator) is an independent producer and the new Head of Development for Wilderness Films, with previous tenures at Edward Norton’s Class 5 Films (Thanks for Sharing) and FilmNation Entertainment (Room, Arrival). Her in-depth development background is reinforced by an education in production legal, acquisitions and international pre-sales. Amenya co-produced director Josephine Decker’s Sundance smash Madeline’s Madeline (Berlinale 2018, BAM 2018). She recently produced the TV-length pilot for web-series Addie & Addy. Amenya is in development on a number of film and TV projects including collaborations with Debra Granik, Anne Rossellini, and Joy Goodwin. She is the Film and TV Advisor for The Playwright’s Realm (2017 Pulitzer Finalist The Wolves).