Queen of the Desert
When a lonely long-haul trucker picks up a young Black hitchhiker, an encounter with the police forces them to push through their prejudices to find a connection as human beings.
Interview with Writer/Director Mary Ann Rotondi
Congratulations! Why did you make your film?
QUEEN OF THE DESERT grew out of my interest in exploring the presence of the Confederate flag in northern states - particularly my home state of Montana, where there are few Black Americans, and also few people whose ancestors fought for the south in the Civil War. I wanted to understand the attraction of this powerful symbol, and as a I explored that question, I was struck by the loneliness and isolation so many people feel today. When so much of the national dialogue seems aimed at pitting people against one another, QUEEN OF THE DESERT aspires to create a situation where lonely people might find a way to talk and make room for one another's shared humanity.
Imagine I’m a member of the audience. Why should I watch this film?
In the past few years, everyone has been struggling with isolation and discord as the biases woven into the fabric of our society have come to light. QUEEN OF THE DESERT seeks to highlight human connection in the face of those challenges.
How do personal and universal themes work in your film?
Through Gus and Livy we focus on the need to humanize those who we may have judged too quickly, and seen as "other" - in the night blooming cereus, a cactus which blooms just one night a year, we see a symbol of hope.
How have the script and film evolved over the course of their development?
QUEEN OF THE DESERT began in a writing room, where I worked to combine two powerful symbols that fascinated me - one is the Confederate flag, the other the night blooming cereus, the cactus which blooms just one night a year, and which brings people to the desert for that one night to watch it bloom. It took awhile to find a storyline to unite those two threads. Another challenge was finding a TRUCK to shoot the film in. I was lucky that my amazing DP Denver native Luke Akselson knew a friend who had a truck we could use. And so we shot most of the movie in a parking lot outside of Denver. It was super visual and fun.
What are you looking to achieve by having your film more visible on www.wearemovingstories.com?
The timing of the release of this film is important - we are hoping QUEEN OF THE DESERT contributes to the visibility of more stories featuring Black female characters. We are also hoping to contribute to the current dialogue about challenging topics like racism with a story that address racism in what we hope is a healing and non-divisive way.
Who do you need to come on board (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists) to amplify this film’s message?
I would absolutely love interest from producers, sales agents, buys, distributors, film festival directors and journalists. We are just getting Queen of the Desert out into the world, but the message of the film is important to us, and we'd love to see that message be amplified and grow.
What type of impact and/or reception would you like this film to have?
I would like this film to spark conversations about listening and kindness.
What’s a key question that will help spark a debate or begin a conversation about this film?
Can we put aside angry rhetoric and make room for one another as human beings? Can we look beyond our differences and talk? Can we find room in ourselves to listen and to hear what people who aren't like us might need?
What other projects are the key creatives developing or working on now?
MARY ANN ROTONDI is turning QUEEN OF THE DESERT into a feature-length script and she is in final stages of editing on a feature-length documentary about a murder in Montana. Producer JEANETTE BONNER is creator and producer of a new animated series A SINGLE MOMENT that uses real podcast audio to animate real life dating stories.
Interview: October 2021
We Are Moving Stories embraces new voices in drama, documentary, animation, TV, web series, music video, women's films, LGBTQIA+, POC, First Nations, scifi, supernatural, horror, world cinema. If you have just made a film - we'd love to hear from you. Or if you know a filmmaker - can you recommend us? More info: Carmela
Queen of the Desert
Length:
14:30
Writer/Director
MARY ANN ROTONDI, Montana native, New York resident, passionate about both places, wrote QUEEN OF THE DESERT to help encourage connections and communication in a difficult time.
Producer
JEANETTE BONNER is an award-winning actor and producer in NYC working in narrative film, theater, digital content, and podcast.
Key cast:
Robert Eli, Jade Radford, Andrew Keller, Michael Angelo Hodge
Looking for:
sales agents, distributors, film festival directors, producers, buyers, journalists
More info: