While struggling with loss and change in her personal life, the journeys and encounters of author Willa Cather begin to inspire her next great novel.

Shadows on the Rock is a film about survival,
told through the eyes of three compelling women across time.

In 1928, at the height of her illustrious career, Willa Cather is faced with the devastating loss of her father and eviction from her cherished home in Greenwich Village. Together with her partner Edith Lewis, she embarks on a richly creative journey to reinvent and save herself.

The resulting novel – Shadows on the Rock – is a testament to her genius. A brilliantly visual and heartfelt story of Cecile Auclair, a twelve year old girl in 1697 Quebec who struggles to endure and thrive in the remote colony of New France.

This now almost forgotten novel, like a message in a bottle, is discovered by Maeve Dunkley, a spunky 15 year old living in a small town on the Hudson in 2023. In reading the book and researching Willa’s life, Maeve is able to find the courage to make her own way in the world.

Cecile and Maeve make their passage into the adult world just as Willa Cather steps back into her own genius. All of them – Willa, Cecile and Maeve – come of age into the now where they belong.

The road is all.

Willa Cather

“What was any art but a mold to imprison for a moment the shining elusive element which is life itself- life hurrying past us and running away, too strong to stop, too sweet to lose.”

Willa Cather

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