THE BRIDGEMASTER'S DAUGHTER - Key Persons
Elisa Stone Leahy and Matthew Leahy studied documentary filmmaking in Vancouver, BC. Together they formed Noonday Films in 2006, filming and producing documentaries and commercial videos. They are now based in Columbus, Ohio.
Internationally renowned writer and speaker Fernanda Rossi has collaborated in more than 500 fiction scripts, documentaries, proposals and fundraising samples. Two documentaries were nominated for the Academy Award®, and another was nominated for Best Script for the Wildscreen Panda Awards. Many others screened and were awarded at festivals such as IDFA, Hot Docs, Sheffield Doc/Fest, Sundance, DOCNYC and broadcast on PBS, HBO and BBC. The treatments she has written won funding from ITVS, NYSCA and the National Film Board of Canada.
Fernanda Rossi has given her signature seminars on story structure, proposals and demos in more than 15 countries for over 40 film organizations, festivals and markets. In addition, she is a trainer and mentor for special programs and a grant evaluator for foundations. Her book Trailer Mechanics: How to Make Your Documentary Fundraising Demo (2nd Edition) is, according to industry professionals, the bible on demo production.
Under her downturned dark eyes and her meek exterior, Victoriano's teenage daughter has a fiery nature. When Ruth Laurita was young, her mother and stepfather sent her to the city to work in a juice shop. After two years of verbal and physical abuse, the resourceful 12-year-old hopped a bus back to her remote village and moved in with her father. Victoriano was overjoyed and immediately enrolled her in school, where she has been studying hard to make up for lost time. She has built a life here, yet her fierce spirit bristles at the limitations that surround her. Ruth Laurita knows that in spite of being the only one of his children to stay by Victoriano's side, the mountain spirits would never allow a woman to weave the bridge. This simple farm has been a haven for Ruth Laurita the last few years, but can it offer her a future?