About this project
CROSSING THE RIVER is a narrative short film about a modern-day hate crime. Teenaged 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 a mixed-race family, is new in town. After tensions in the boys’ lives escalate, a cross is burned on Michaela’s lawn. The film will explore the points of view of both the victim and perpetrators, and seeks to reveal how someone can be influenced to do something morally unspeakable.
A year ago, I met my friend Martha’s 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 family's who runs a civil rights watch group. The article was about teenagers who were accused of burning a cross on a family’s 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.
I plan to shoot CROSSING THE RIVER on location in Camden, South Carolina March 14-17, 2012. The film will be shot on high-quality digital HD, providing the ability to capture improvisational moments with the young actors, while at the same time maintaining a visual quality that will fully capture the beauty and tension of the South Carolina landscape.
We have an incredible team lined up to work on the film: Producers Tammy Arnstein (P.O.V.’s Waging a Living), Natasha Giliberti (Journeyman), and Robyn Mackenzie (Act Zero Films); Editor Erin Fisher (co-writer and lead actress of the Independent Spirit Award-nominated Quiet City; http://movies.nytimes.com/2007/08/29/movies/29quie.html); Marketing Director Andrea Rose (former Managing Director of IFP Market); Sound by Robert Kennedy (Superdoll); and Bruce Smolanoff (The Sopranos; http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0810554/) in the role of Ted. See full bios under the "Project By" section on the bottom right.
A little bit more..
The cast will be a combination of seasoned professionals and real people, including local residents from South Carolina. Check out our tumblr page for visual references: http://crossingtheriverfilm.tumblr.com/
We are looking for participation to help bring this important story to life and to raise awareness about this pressing issue. You can support us in a variety of ways:
DONATIONS: We will need funds to pay crew, for travel to South Carolina including airfare, car rental, lodging, and food, as well as production insurance, equipment, catering, post-production costs, festival entry costs, and the percentage we need to pay to Kickstarter and Amazon (around 10%).
SPREADING THE WORD: Spreading the word makes all the difference to a Kickstarter campaign. As many of you know, Kickstarter is an all or nothing platform, meaning if we don’t reach our funding goal by the deadline, we don’t raise ANY funds (all pledges returned to the donors). So it is especially important to share this NOW if you are able. We really appreciate it! (more info on how Kickstarter works here: http://www.kickstarter.com/help)
EDUCATION: I am working with a team to create an educational distribution component of the film, including a curriculum and teacher guide for educators to incorporate the film into their lesson plans, hopefully at colleges and high schools around the country and Canada. We are interested in working with anti-racism and social justice teaching organizations such as Teaching Tolerance and Facing History and Ourselves, and will target film festivals that make a difference such as Media That Matters. The film’s website will also link to anti-racism advocacy efforts happening all over the U.S.
Please check out our rewards section on the right to see some of the cool perks we are offering, including an exclusive screening in NYC, downloads of CROSSING THE RIVER, Associate or Executive Producer credits, an educational screening in your own community, and a Skype conversation with a community organizing expert.
If you live in South Carolina and think you may have some resources to help with the film, please let us know this also. Frequent flyer miles would be a huge help as well!
Thank you so much for your support!
FAQ
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Emilie McDonald has a guest post on HerFilm: http://herfilm.wordpress.com/2011/12/15/emcdonald/
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Absolutely not! If the goal isn't reached, no one's credit card will be charged.
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Yes, look for a blue "manage your donation" button on our campaign page. Click it and you can enter a new amount or choose a new incentive. Thank you!!!
Have a question? If the info above doesn't help, you can ask the project creator directly.
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Funding Successful
This project successfully raised its funding goal on December 20.
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Our utter gratitude, plus access to email updates about the project's progress
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All of the above, plus a thank you in the film's credits
Pledge $50 or more Pledge $50 or more
All of the above, plus a digital download of "Crossing the River" once completed
Pledge $100 or more Pledge $100 or more
All of the above, plus an invitation to an exclusive NY screening of "Crossing the River"
Pledge $250 or more Pledge $250 or more
All of the above, plus an invitation to a wrap party in NYC (transportation not included)
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all of the above, plus a digital download or DVD of "Other People's Houses" (Emilie McDonald's 2010 short film)
Pledge $500 or more Pledge $500 or more
All of the awards up to $250, plus the "Crossing the River" team will organize an educational screening in your community - at a local school, religious institution, community center, park, or anyplace where your community can come together to discuss this important issue and learn how to get involved in social and racial justice advocacy efforts
Pledge $500 or more Pledge $500 or more
All of the above, plus a "Crossing the River" movie poster with the director's signature and a plate of homemade "acceptance cookies" (which feature prominently in the film)
Pledge $1,000 or more Pledge $1,000 or more
All of the awards up to $250, either the movie poster and cookies or educational screening, plus a handmade collage by the director and a Skype conversation with the director and producer(s) and Monroe Gilmour of WNCCEIB (Western North Carolina Citizens for an End to Institutional Bigotry) about the community organizing subject of your choice
Pledge $2,500 or more Pledge $2,500 or more
All of the awards up to $250, either the movie poster and cookies or educational screening, a handmade collage by the director and Skype conversation with the director and producer(s) and Monroe Gilmour of WNCCEIB about the community organizing subject of your choice, plus an Associate Producer credit on the film and IMBD credit
Pledge $5,000 or more Pledge $5,000 or more
All of the awards up to $250, either the movie poster and cookies or educational screening, a handmade collage by the director and Skype conversation with the director and producer(s) and Monroe Gilmour of WNCCEIB about the community organizing subject of your choice, plus an Executive Producer credit on the film and IMDB credit
Project By
Connected as Emilie McDonald (632 friends)
Emilie McDonald, writer/director of CROSSING THE RIVER, is an NYC-based filmmaker, writer and actor who graduated from Vassar. She wrote and directed the short narrative film OTHER PEOPLE'S HOUSES in 2010 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 Bronx-born Jewish doctor in rural South Carolina in the 1970’s. Emilie was Director of Development at Milk & Honey Films (L.A.) and Creative Director at Filmmakers Alliance (L.A.).
Tammy Arnstein (Producer) 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 (AMERICA'S 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.
Natasha Giliberti (Producer): Fresh out of NYU's Tisch school of the Arts, Natasha is an NYC-based producer. During her time at NYU Natasha spent six months in Paris working in international sales at Les Films du Losange which has produced most of Eric Rohmer, Barbet Schroeder and most recently Michael Haneke's films. Natasha has also interned at United Talent Agency, Avy Kaufman Casting, and HBO Films. Since graduation this past May, Natasha has produced various short form projects and has worked as Production Coordinator on features, commercials and shorts. Her life goal is to produce projects with high levels of artistic integrity that make people happy.
Robyn Mackenzie (Producer): Originally from Toronto, Canada, Robyn has recently relocated to New York City. In Toronto, she attended Ryerson University for Radio and Television Arts. Although her studies were in television broadcasting, Robyn has been involved with film for the past 4 years. In her beginnings in the film industry she spent time interning everywhere from The Weinstein Company to William Morris Endeavor talent agency, which took her to both The Cannes Film Festival and the Toronto International Film Festival. Most recently Robyn has been working in production for music videos, short and feature films.
Erin Fisher (Editor) attended NC 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. Erin has worked on a number of reality 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.
Robert Kennedy (Sound Designer) has contributed soundtrack music and sound design to a number of film and theatrical productions including SUPERDOLL and is a lapsed professional rock musician and producer. During the daytime he works for the New York City Department of Small Business Services.
Bruce Smolanoff (role of Ted) has been acting professionally for over 20 years. He has worked with many directors including Reggie Rock Bythewood, Gary Winick, Alan Rudolph, Robert Wise, and Melvin Van Peebles, and has appeared on several television shows including LAW & ORDER, NEW YORK UNDERCOVER, THIRD WATCH, and was the “first guy to get whacked” on THE SOPRANOS.
Andrea Rose (Marketing Director) is an alumna of NYU’s Broadcast Journalism School. Early in her career she worked as a talent assistant at CAA and as a casting associate for shows on NBC, Sci-Fi Channel, CBS, and NBC and did post marketing on Disney's UNBREAKABLE and 102 DALMATIANS. In 2003 she was the Managing Director for the IFP Market (Independent Feature Project) The films entered into the Market that year included BORN INTO BROTHELS and MARIA FULL OF GRACE. Andrea had the pleasure of promoting the IFP Market films at the 2004 Sundance Film Festival. Andrea's has digital sales experience at Forbes Magazine and NYTimes.com. Andrea is excited to be part of this powerful film and is enjoying spreading the word about CROSSING THE RIVER.
