When a teen prodigy composer is squelched by her overprotective dad, she creates a new style of music with a vivacious singer and her psychic dog, in a battle to claim her ancestral roots.
Undiscovered prodigy harmonica composer Natalia is a Latina outsider in her rural white town and within her white family. Living in self-imposed silence with her non-Latin dad and step sister, she can hear and see musical inspirations all around her, just as her Latina mother could - and taught her to see as sacred. But music is a non-starter for Nat's single dad. He's unable to forgive Nat's mom for choosing her own music career over mothering. Natalia's life reaches a figurative dead-end just as free-spirited singer Annie and her psychic dog arrive to rent their empty lot next door. Annie has chosen to flee her own stalled music career. The two meet over a stolen iPod and decide to make amends and privately jam together. They combine their unique sounds, and by accident and fate, create a completely new style of music using a mashup of their two very distinct styles. They go viral and are discovered by a young female record producer who takes a chance on this unknown duo. When Nat's dad finds out, she's presented with a make or break choice over which of her cultural identities to embody and pursue - even if it means breaking up with the family she has known until now.
Donna is a film and stage director and writer whose focus is stories about women with unusual and heroic skills, humanity, or insights. She explores cultural silencing, ancestral powers, and isolationism, versus community. Her projects are Nicholl SFs, Gotham No Borders, Slamdance Labs, Austin Film Fest, and MIPTV/Cannes Series selects, among others. Her family-mockumentary-mystery, Death of a Saleswoman, about glass ceilings faced by high-achieving women, took home wins from international festivals, sold at Cannes/ AFM/ Berlin markets, and streams globally on multiple platforms. Her short film, The Girl Next Door, about a voiceless harmonica virtuoso, screened at 56+ international and U.S. festivals. She's developing the feature version, Natalia Rising, in addition to other feature projects. Donna created and leads the #MentorLatinaDirectors Fellowship for Latina and Indigenous TV and Film Directors via Alliance of Women Directors. She also directs theatre, and is a member of Los Angeles Female Playwrights Initiative. She develops her works with support from Film Fatales, Alliance of Women Directors, Stowe Story Labs, CA Center for Cultural Innovation, Sundance Collab, Reel Sisters/African Voices, PageCraft, and Women in Film. She's a former skydiver, rock climber, and experienced off-road driver. She has both science and legal backgrounds as well. Updated Comedy/Dramedy Reel: https://vimeo.com/manage/videos/978561720/8afb75910e
Stowe Story Labs 2021, 2022
Sundance Institute Workshop for Screenplay and Directing
DTLA Film Festival 2019 - Best Screenplay
Executive Producer - Forrest Murray
Casting Director - Sunday Boling
Writer - Donna Bonilla Wheeler
Director - Donna Bonilla Wheeler
