Rose McGowan Reaches for Oscar With Short Film Directorial Debut

ROSE MCGOWAN'S DIRECTORIAL DEBUT

DAWN

TO HAVE OSCAR © QUALIFYING RUN IN LOS ANGELES

"Best be described as Douglas Sirk-meets-David Lynch" - Chris O'Falt, THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER

"Provocative...slowly seductive" - Betsy Sharkey, LA TIMES

 

Read The Hollywood Reporter Exclusive HERE!

 RSA/Black Dog Films announced today that after the critically acclaimed world premiere at Sundance Film Festival, the taut directorial debut from Rose McGowan, DAWN, will have an Oscar © qualifying run in Los Angeles at the Downtown Independent startingSeptember 19th.  As mentioned in The Hollywood Reporter, which you can see here, throughout the week the short film will be accompanied by seven features, one per night, curated by McGowan at the first annual "Dawn Festival".

"I'm curating a festival of directors that have given their lead women a strong voice.  These stories could have been told with men in the title characters, but these directors showed us what happens when you break stereotypes.  They have inspired me as a woman, as a director and as a person", said Rose.

Realizing that her passion lies in filmmaking, Rose McGowan's breakthrough directorial debut, DAWN, is a disturbing tale of a young girl's budding sexuality and one's desire to experience the unknown.  Dawn (Tara Barr) is a quiet young teenager living in Kennedy era America who longs for something or someone to free her from her sheltered life. When she strikes up an innocent flirtation with the boy who works at her local gas station (Reiley McClendon), she thinks that he is perhaps the answer to her teenage dreams. Though when she invites the boy and his friends into her otherwise cloistered world, she gets a lot more than she bargained for.  

Carefully chosen by McGowan, the films that will accompany DAWN feature iconic performances by actresses that prove rich, complex and layered roles can and should be written for and by women.  The following films will screen with Rose McGowan and special guests in attendance:

SAFE - "Todd Haynes directed Julianne Moore in a haunting study of a woman's life."

THELMA & LOUISE - "Ridley Scott directed two substantial actresses in two substantial, inspiring roles."

HAROLD AND MAUDE - "Hal Ashby directed Ruth Gordon.  Two creatives on a creative journey."

SIXTEEN CANDLES - "John Hughes directed Molly Ringwald.  He made a teen's hopes and hurts real."

ROSEMARY'S BABY - "Roman Polanski directed Mia Farrow in a virtuoso breakdown performance."

SILKWOOD - "Mike Nichols directed Meryl Streep and Cher.  They showed us women can change the world by finding their voice."

THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS - "Jonathan Demme directed Jodie Foster.  She showed us what a person can do when they go forward despite their fear."