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CROSSING THE RIVER

a short film WRITTEN & DIRECTED BY EMILIE MCDONALD


http://crossingtheriverfilm.wordpress.com

CONTACT Emilie McDonald blythe17@gmail.com (Sales/Distribution) Kyna Morgan kynamorgan@gmail.com (Publicity)

Transcending hate is an act of revolution


LOGLINE Inspired by a true story, CROSSING THE RIVER is a narrative short film about a young boy who is persuaded to commit a hate crime against a biracial girl. SHORT SYNOPSIS Inspired by a true story, CROSSING THE RIVER is a short narrative film about a modern-day cross burning, told from the point of view of both the victim and perpetrators. Seeking to understand how such a thing could still happen in this day and age, the film explores themes of racial tolerance and forgiveness. MEDIUM SYNOPSIS Inspired by a true story, CROSSING THE RIVER is a narrative short film about a modern day hate crime. White teenage brothers Grant and Shawn, estranged from their mother, find the connection they are seeking with a racist older man. Michaela, an innocent 13 year old from an interracial family, is new in town. After tensions in the boys' lives escalate, a cross is burned on Michaela's lawn. The film explores the points of view of both the victim and perpetrators, and seeks to reveal how someone can be influenced to do something morally unspeakable.

DIRECTORS STATEMENT In 2010, I met my friend Marthas grandsons Tyler and Landon in South Carolina, and immediately felt that they would be compelling onscreen. A short time later, I received an article from a friend of my familys who runs a civil rights watch group in western North Carolina. The article was about white teenagers who were accused of burning a cross on an interracial familys lawn, and how the family was affected, especially their 13 year old daughter. I was very moved by the story, and especially by how it was apparent that the girl truly believed that people were good and wanted to continue to believe it despite her experience. When I later read that the two boys turned to the family in court and apologized, it gave me hope. The seed of an idea for a powerful short film quickly developed. We shot CROSSING THE RIVER on location in Camden, South Carolina March 15-18, 2012 on the Arri Alexa. We had an incredible cast and crew working dedicatedly on the project, each bringing a high level of professionalism. The goal was to capture improvisational moments with the young actors, while at the same time maintaining a visual quality that fully captured the beauty and tension of the South Carolina landscape. After reading a statistic from the Southern Poverty Law Center that 40-50 cross burnings happen every year across the U.S. and Canada (not only in the South, but all across the U.S.), I was startled and saddened. The film is inspired by a true story so of course I knew they still happened, but not to that extent. Most Americans assume that cross burnings are part of the U.S.s past. This lack of awareness is partly because these crimes are rarely reported nationally. I feel its urgent to get the word out about this. Another fact we discovered while doing research on cross burnings is that this hateful act often targets interracial families. The perpetrators intention is to send a message to the families that they are unwelcome in the community. This act terrorizes families in their own homes and has a lasting psychological impact on its victims. CROSSING THE RIVER is being made to bring to light the importance of putting an end to this hate crime. I feel that the antidote to ignorance and hate is knowledge and love, and that a parent, teacher or mentor can have a more positive effect on vulnerable young people than they could ever know. Through the film, I hope to emphasize how the personal choice one human being makes to change for the better can have a significance and ripple effect far beyond what they imagined. And I hope to spread this message beyond the screen.

PRODUCTION NOTES There was no dry eye in the room when Desiree Ross (who played Michaela) performed her monologue at the audition about her mothers experience of a hate crime as a child. Later, we found out that it was true: in the late 1970s in a NYC suburb, Desirees mother and grandparents were the victims of a hate crime which included the burning of their family boat and a threatening racist sign in their lawn. Halfway through the shoot, we found out that a cross burning had occurred about 40 miles away from where we were filming. An African-American family was targeted, and there were no suspects, only a few beer cans and a Wendys receipt. It happened on the very night we were shooting the cross burning scene for the film. It was chilling to say the least. On May 9th, we were informed that another cross burning had occurred in western North Carolina. Four to five juvenile boys were accused of placing a small burning cross on the lawn of an interracial family, purportedly targeting a young man in the family. Even though CROSSING THE RIVER is inspired by a true event that occurred in 2010, I was still shocked and saddened by these stories. When hearing about the film, many people thought it was set in another era. Thats one of the reasons I wanted to make it, not only to spread knowledge that these hate crimes still happen, but also to somehow through that awareness, create change.

KEY CAST/CREW BIOS CAST TYLER WILLIAMS (Grant) Tyler is a native South Carolinian. He enjoys baseball, football, riding dirt bikes and working out at the fitness center. He is in the 105th division of wrestling at his school and came in 4th in the state. He is also learning to play the guitar. CROSSING THE RIVER is his first film and after the experience he thinks acting would be a fun career. He looks forward to keeping in touch with all the friends he made through the film. DESIREE ROSS (Michaela) Desiree began asking about becoming an actress at the age of three. After asking for several years she finally began acting during the fourth grade. Her first large project was playing a lead role for a series of ten health videos for ETV. Next she landed a supporting role for a pilot show called Home by New Daydream Films. Her first dramatic lead is playing Michaela for a short film written and directed by Emilie McDonald surrounding the issue of cross burnings, which brings light to a topic her own mother had experienced in her youth. When not auditioning, filming or practicing her craft, Desiree likes to hang out with her friends and shop. In middle school she is an honor roll student, cheerleader and soccer player. At church she is a lead singer for the youth band and volunteers frequently to help with her little brothers ministry. She just enjoys living life to the fullest. BRUCE SMOLANOFF (Ted) Bruce Smolanoff has been acting professionally for over 20 years. His one-man show My New York had a long run in both NYC and Los Angeles, and was an L.A. Weekly Pick of the Week. He has worked with many directors including Reggie Rock Bythewood, Gary Winick, Alan Rudolph, Robert Wise, and Melvin Van Peebles. He has appeared on several television shows including Law & Order, Law & Order SVU, Law & Order Criminal Intent, New York Undercover, Third Watch, and was the first guy to get whacked on The Sopranos. He also appears in the upcoming Nathan Silver film SOFT IN THE HEAD. MICHELLE MILLS (Jemmalou) Michelle Mills is an actor and writer from Charleston, South Carolina. She was a personal trainer and martial arts instructor for most of her life before diving into acting and writing seven years ago. She has trained in both South Carolina and Los Angeles and recently became a member of SAG. She has appeared in several short films, commercials, and three feature films.

LANDON WILLIAMS (Shawn) Landon is from South Carolina. He is a boy scout and enjoys football, baseball, wrestling, riding dirt bikes, and is learning to play the drums. He was in a stage production of Alice in Wonderland and was initially supposed to be a tree, but ended up playing one of the jurors. CROSSING THE RIVER is his first film. He enjoyed meeting the crew, especially 1st AD Dessa Vanderhorst. PRODUCTION TEAM EMILIE MCDONALD (Director/Writer/Producer) Emilie McDonald is an NYCbased filmmaker, writer and actor who graduated from Vassar with a BA in film and drama. She wrote and directed the short narrative film OTHER PEOPLES HOUSES in 2010 (Big Apple Film Festival, NewFilmmakers, Blue Sky Film Festival & Flicks in the Garden) and was co-writer and producer of the short MY ELENA in 2008. She is currently in a development on a feature film based on the true story of a doctor she knew as a child, a Bronx-born Jewish doctor who relocated to rural South Carolina in the 1950s (semifinalist Tribeca All Access 2010; semifinalist Creative Capital 2011). Emilie was Director of Development of Feature Films at Milk & Honey Films (L.A.), where she worked on developing Leonard Cohens Beautiful Losers into a feature, and Creative Director at Filmmakers Alliance (L.A.), an independent filmmakers collective. TAMMY ARNSTEIN (Co-Producer) Tammy Arnstein has directed and produced several short experimental and fiction films that have screened at film festivals across the U.S. and has contributed to documentaries that have aired on television nationally (P.O.V.s Waging a Living) and internationally (Americas Ration System on CNN-IBN). In addition to being a filmmaker, she has worked in a number of fields including immigrants rights policy and advocacy, higher education administration, museum and media education, and public television administration. MATTHEW WOOLF (Director of Photography/Associate Producer) Born in England, Matthew Woolf is a world-traveled Director of Photography. He has been shooting commercials, music videos, documentaries and films since 1995. Inspired by the magic of cinema as a child, Matthew has a passion for bringing stories to life through collaboration and hard work. Before leaving the UK, Matthew had shot THE INBETWEENERS, the first digitally shot movie to receive national UK distribution. He also built a successful career shooting commercials and music videos and today enjoys continued success on numerous commercial campaigns with heavy hitting production companies

and directors. Comfortable shooting on all formats both film and digital, he has lensed multi-award winning films such as COURTING CONDI and THE CRIMSON MASK, and heartfelt and impactful documentaries. Matthew's work has been featured in cinematography publications including The International Cinematographer Guild Magazine. In this ever-changing world of cinematography, Matthew, always at the forefront, constantly strives to be challenged. MATT SARNO (Editor) Native New Yorker Matt Sarno graduated from Carleton College in Minnesota and has been working in the film and television business for the past ten years. In addition to numerous television credits for networks such as MTV, Bravo and National Geographic, he edited SIDE BY EACH, an independent comedy feature starring Blythe Danner and Larry Bryggman. ERIN FISHER (Music) Erin Fisher attended North Carolina School of the Arts and College of Santa Fe, where she focused on editing and directing features, shorts, and documentary films. During this time, she also worked on THE FOOT FIST WAY as an art director with Danny McBride and soon afterwards co-wrote and starred in Aaron Katz's 2008 Independent Spirit Award Nominated feature, QUIET CITY. In 2010, Erin worked as an editor on a feature documentary, WORDS, about a non-profit organization that introduces teenagers to the lifestyle and beauty of India through service work. She was also assistant editor on Bruce Smolanoff and Emilie McDonalds MY ELENA. Erin has worked on a number of reality television shows including Jersey Shore II, Secret Millionaire, and Momster of the Bride. She is continuously filming and editing the documentary A LONG TIME LATER, a series of personal portraits of a struggling family in southern North Carolina and is currently pursuing a music career in Nashville. DAVID ENGLE (Composer) David is an active member of the music scene in his hometown of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Performing in and recording numerous bands and performance ensembles, his passion for music is insatiable. As a writer and producer David has composed music for feature film, television shows, and hes even penned a few radio hits as well. As a remix artist performing under the moniker Dog Du Jour, David has remixed tracks for Snoop Dogg, Metric, OK-GO, and Yo-Yo Ma, amongst others. David co-founded a recording studio and music production company in Toronto called Toy Piano Music, which focuses on writing services as well as music licensing, voice recording, and broadcast direction for commercial productions. You can read more about David at www.toypianomusic.com.

KYNA MORGAN (Publicist) Kyna Morgan is a publicist, PR practitioner and marketing professional focused on independent films. She is motivated and inspired by the power of film to help move the world forward, and is passionate about working on empowering and visionary projects which have the potential to create positive change in the world. She is founder and editor of the Her Film blog and global project to build audiences for films by, for & about women, and has worked on the award-winning documentary film THERE ONCE WAS AN ISLAND about some of the worlds first environmental refugees, as well as the award-winning short film NANUQ, a stop motion animated and live action film which retells an ancient Eskimo myth. Also a film researcher, her work on African American women filmmakers of the silent and early sound eras of cinema is part of the Women Film Pioneers Project at the Center for Digital Research and Scholarship at Columbia University. Kyna has written a narrative short film about the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina which she plans to direct in 2013.

SOCIAL ACTION CAMPAIGN Part of our integrated strategy to foster discussion and engage the public around resisting and counteracting hate crime, as well as working in the larger antiracist movement, is to carry out a social action campaign. Through our campaign, we are forging partnerships with like-minded organizations and community groups to connect our film's followers and audience to opportunities to participate in the movement against racism on a national, state and community level. We offer partner organizations a variety of ways to further their message by connecting with film audiences interested in antiracism, including linking to partners' websites from our own, as well as incorporating partners' logos; routinely sharing information on our website about action alerts, volunteer opportunities, special events, workshops and other opportunities available through partner organizations; interacting and engaging with partner organizations on social media, including retweeting/sharing messages on Twitter and Facebook and linking to/from partners social media pages; offering interviews with our partners' leaders and providing them the chance to write a guest post for our blog; and including useful information and links in our newsletter. We are open to discussing and developing with our partner organizations other creative ways to share and disseminate information to engage the public. The social action campaign details will be available online, accessible through our website. Other crucial components of the campaign include the following, which will also be listed on our website: Practical ways to become involved in working toward an antiracist society on a daily basis Resources such as videos, guides to organizing, etc. Key petitions and action alerts to sign and forward to friends, and much more.

PRESS FOR CROSSING THE RIVER: The Camden Chronicle-Independent (4/18/12): http://www.scribd.com/doc/93068807/Evil-amp-Good-Article Indiewire (12/19/11): http://www.indiewire.com/article/project-of-the-day-a-short-takes-on-ahate-crime-in-crossing-the-river#.UABqeGDPVD4 Queens Mamas (12/18/11): http://www.queensmamas.com/queens_mamas/2011/12/mamas-spotlightemilie-mcdonald-queens-mama-filmmaker.html Her Film (12/15/11): http://www.her-film.com/2011/12/15/emcdonald/

FULL CAST & CREW: CAST Grant Tyler Williams Shawn Landon Williams Michaela Desiree Ross Ted Bruce Smolanoff Jemmalou Michelle Mills Caroline Ann Lukens Ed Vanzell Haire Sue-Ellen Patricia Garvin Mrs. Stepanik Jane Brutto Cheryl Casey Gibson Lana Pamela Brown News reporter Leslie Vicary Customer Cecil Owens News cameraman Cyril Samonte PRODUCTION TEAM Writer/Director/Producer Emilie McDonald Co-Producer Tammy Arnstein Director of Photography/Associate Producer Matthew Woolf Editor Matt Sarno Associate Producers Natasha Giliberti, Carolyn Mohan, Janice Erlbaum, Bruce Smolanoff Unit Production Manager Megan Fleming Composer David Engle Additional music by Erin Fisher, Channing Lee & Quinn Mathews Casting Director Chie Morita Art Department Head Taylor Glazier Art Department/Set Photography Andrew Callicott Art Department Clayton Tilley Wardrobe Supervisor & Makeup Hayley Swinson Wardrobe Assistant & Makeup Cherelle Guyton Location Manager Martha Schreiber 1st Assistant Director Dessa Vanderhorst Production Sound Will Salley Boom Operator Eddie Wilson Post-Production Sound Design Robert Kennedy Post-Production Sound Design & Sound Editor Gabriel Gutirrez Arellano Supervising Sound Editor & Sound Re-Recording Mixer Oscar Zambrano

Color Correction Karla Carballar 1st Assistant Camera Zachary Breitengross 2nd Assistant Camera George OKeefe Gaffer Tyler Ilgen Swing Grip Michael Horton Grip Ryan Briggs Office PA Kae Benton Office PA Viesha Floyd Marketing Director Andrea Rose Communications Specialist KatyAnna Johnson Graphic Designer Kacie Rodriguez Publicist Kyna Morgan

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