The Cast
Elisa Stone
Producer / Director / Cinematographer
Elisa is a Peruvian-American independent filmmaker who was raised in Peru. She studied film in Vancouver, B.C. where she co-founded Noonday Films. Her company has produced award-winning documentaries about guerrilla gardening in Vancouver, B.C., children with HIV/AIDS in Honduras (Crystal Heart Award, Heartland Film Festival), and elderly activists in the United States (DER Award, Hot Docs Festival).
The Bridge Master’s Daughter was born out of Elisa’s deep love of Peru and her passion for the stories of her people. As a Peruvian women Elisa has been allowed access to a significant aspect of Andean culture, which has been reflected in the intimacy of the shooting for this film.
In 2014, Elisa produced a video on the Qeswachaka bridge for the Smithsonian’s exhibition, “The Great Inka Road: Engineering an Empire.” Her bridge footage has been broadcast on Discovery Science and TVPERU.
Matthew Leahy
Producer / Director / Editor / Writer
Matthew studied film in Vancouver, BC and is now based in Columbus, OH. His company Noonday Films has been filming and producing documentaries and commercial video for 8 years.
The documentary he produced, directed and edited, MONTAÑA DE LUZ (a film about a home in Honduras for children with HIV/AIDS) won the Crystal Heart Award at the Heartland Film Festival and is currently being distributed by Icarus Films. His short documentary OLD RADICALS premiered at the Hot Docs festival in Toronto and won the DER Award in the International Documentary Challenge. It was also broadcast on the Documentary Challenge.
Matthew has been working on The Bridge Master’s Daughter for the last three years with his partner and co-director, Elisa Stone Leahy.
Fernanda Rossi
Writer
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.
Naomi Rossman
Colorist
Naomi Rossman is an award winning graduate of Columbus College of Art and Design. With her degree in Cinematic Arts Naomi has versatile skill sets in lighting, color grading, and post production.
Adam Rich
Sound
Adam Rich is an audio engineer working in Athens, Ohio.
Bestor Cram
Northern Light Productions / Co-Producer
Northern Light Productions is one of New England’s premiere film and video production companies. Its productions include include motion picture installations for museums and visitor centers, work for broadcast and independent projects. Our client list includes the Smithsonian Institution, National Park Service, NASA, International Spy Museum, New England Aquarium, History Channel, WGBH, Jimmy Carter National Historic Site and many others. Presentations include audio/video environments for the Smithsonian’s African Voices Exhibit and Minuteman National Park, as well as critically acclaimed documentaries for Guildford County Courthouse in North Carolina, the Johnston Ridge Observatory at Mount St. Helens, the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historic Site in Atlanta, and the El Portal Tropical Forest Center in El Yunque, Puerto Rico. Our productions have been broadcast on public and cable television, including PBS’ American Experience.
