The Birds of Jade Rock

Based on a true story, only a selfless surrender and the mystical relic, hidden on a looming island, can give this group of daring young girls a chance to save the life of a sister.

This heartfelt tale, stars an all-female cast of actors who were never shown the script. They filmed the scenes in chronological “story order”. They were always in the moment, never knowing what would happen next, bravely improvising one scene at a time as they experienced the unfolding of the story.

  • Ryan Fenson-Hood
    Director
    The Obituary of Jasper James
  • Ryan Fenson-Hood
    Writer
    The Obituary of Jasper James
  • Ryan Fenson-Hood
    Producer
    The Obituary of Jasper James
  • Denez McAdoo
    Producer
  • Bill Mack
    Producer
    The Obituary of Jasper James
  • Isabella Leone
    Key Cast
    "Willow"
  • Ava Valianti
    Key Cast
    "Emmie"
  • Emilia Tagliani
    Key Cast
    "Faye"
  • Katharine Sterling
    Key Cast
    "Iris"
  • Leah Condon
    Key Cast
    "Young Iris"
  • Lisa Boucher Hartman
    Key Cast
    "Mother"
  • Jihyeong Kim
    Key Cast
    "Eve"
  • Abby Zartman
    Key Cast
    "Camp Counselor"
  • Amanda Alba
    Key Cast
    "Nurse"
  • Bonnie Day
    Key Cast
  • Genres:
    Drama
  • Runtime:
    20 minutes
  • Completion Date:
    May 5, 2022
  • Production Budget:
    60,000 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    United States
  • Shooting Format:
    RED
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Digital Cinema Package:
    Unavailable
Director Biography - Ryan Fenson-Hood

With his 2009 win at the Zurich Film Festival, Ryan co-founded the New York based production company, Cinomadic. His work as a writer, director, and editor can be seen on Netflix, Amazon Prime, network TV and at www.cinomadic.com. Ryan's outlandish romantic comedy, "The Obituary of Jasper James" garnered three festival wins for best short as well as many other festival awards.

Ryan grew up in the mystical Colorado Rockies. Since the tiny Durango College he attended didn’t have a film program he created his own student-constructed major in film. It was the 90s. He gained a reputation for his savvy with tape-to-tape editing and shooting extreme skiing. But Ryan yearned to see the world and soon got into a unique writing and directing program at the Academy for Film and TV, Prague, Czech Republic. There, he shot on 16 mm, edited with flat-bed reel to reel systems, and made his first live-action comedies and dramas.

Post-graduation, and several bootstrapped shorts and documentaries later, Ryan found himself at home in New Orleans where he made a Post-Katrina documentary about jazz after the storm. The film won Best Documentary in the Zurich Film Festival and was playing European network TV about the time Ryan moved to Brooklyn. There, he co-founded the boutique creative and production house, Cinomadic, which has served as his platform for commercial and original productions for over a decade.

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Director Statement

“The Holy Site” is a tale akin to “Stand by Me.” But instead of boys it’s a group of girls. They sail to an island of legend in search of a mystical relic that might have the power to heal their friend and save her life.

This coming of age quest was partly inspired by an eerie and magical church I visited as a kid called the Santuario de Chimayo. Crutches were hung all along the Santuario’s adobe walls with the stories of visitors being healed there and leaving their crutches behind as a symbol of the miracle. As an adult, I was equally captivated hearing my wife tell the story of her Aunt Carmen who credits the curing of her childhood polio with pilgrimage to a similar place near her family home in Jalisco, Mexico.

But it was only when I heard the legends surrounding an Island near my new home on the seaside in Massachusetts that all these tales came together to spawn "The Holy Site." I was inspired by a band of girls who could always be seen adventuring down to the beach, barefoot, in summers. These would be our heroes and they would go on the quest of Aunt Carmen and those of the Santuario De Chimayo to find their miracle on the island of Jade Rock.

To make the tale all the more real, our young actors were never shown the script. We filmed the scenes in chronological “story order”. They were always in the moment, never knowing what would happen next, left to bravely improvise one scene at a time and experience the story unfold.

It was an honor to have the chance to make this film and now it is an honor to share these family tales and this magical performance with you. Welcome to the miracle at Jade rock.