How UNCSA alumni brought the indie feature “Pescador” to the international festival circuit

The indie film "Pescador," recently screened at the RiverRun, Lighthouse and Raindance film festivals, is a testament to the creative community School of Filmmaking alumnus Harry Rossi (B.F.A. ’15) built at UNCSA. Nearly every major contributor to the film, from its lead actor to its cinematographer, production designer, editor, colorist and sound team, was a former classmate or fellow alumnus.

The film is a two-part fable about connection and isolation. It first follows an American scientist searching for a mythical fish amid the rugged beauty of Costa Rica before shifting to a lonely fisherman whose wish for a son brings him into an uneasy bond with a volatile young man found adrift at sea.

As these intertwined stories explore what we sacrifice to remain isolated and what we must risk to truly connect, the film’s journey from a spark of an idea to an international festival premiere unfolded through the trust, generosity and artistic partnerships forged at UNCSA.

Rossi, writer and director of “Pescador,” grew up in Los Angeles, born and raised in the heart of the city’s film culture. His father spent decades working as an assistant film editor before retiring recently. Surrounded by classic Hollywood cinema from an early age, Rossi developed a deep appreciation for film that naturally expanded into an interest in independent and arthouse work.

His mother’s family is from Wilmington, North Carolina, a connection that first introduced him to UNCSA. Rossi spent many summers in Wilmington and grew familiar with the state, which made the idea of studying in North Carolina feel both natural and appealing. By high school, Rossi was already making small films with friends and knew early on that he wanted to attend film school. His familiarity with North Carolina made UNCSA feel like the right fit, ultimately drawing him to enroll in the School of Filmmaking.

Rossi's time at UNCSA coincided with a period of change in the School of Filmmaking, but one outcome proved especially significant: his thesis film was approved unusually early. While still a second-year student, Rossi learned that his fourth-year project, the musical comedy "Just a Body," had been greenlit, allowing him to spend nearly three years developing and producing it. The ambitious project ultimately set a UNCSA record, with 150 people on set and nearly 400 credited overall.

The production also embodied the collaborative spirit Rossi valued most at UNCSA. Students from every conservatory except the School of Dance contributed to the film. Design & Production students handled makeup and costumes, Drama students appeared on screen, and the score was composed by students in the then-Film Music Composition program (now Composition for Film and Visual Media) and performed by a full student orchestra from the School of Music. Even the choreography was created by a Drama student. For Rossi, the project demonstrated the value of bringing artists from across disciplines together to create something larger than any one school could achieve alone.

It’s okay to wait for the right moment rather than rushing into a project just to stay busy. The story has to matter, and the timing has to feel true.

Rossi giving advice to current students

In 2018, while moving from Los Angeles to New York City, Rossi stopped in Wilmington to visit family and experienced a severe medical emergency that left him in a medically induced coma for a week. While unconscious, he had vivid, recurring dreams of the ocean — images of the sea, lighthouses and water that felt both haunting and magnetic. After he recovered, those dreams lingered and inspired him to explore them creatively. The experience ultimately became the emotional foundation for "Pescador." 

Four years later, Rossi and longtime collaborator Isaac Banks (B.F.A. ’15) were leaving a movie theater in New York City when Rossi posed a simple question: "Do you want to go to Central America and make a film?" Banks immediately said yes. The next day, he sent Rossi a budget and a challenge: "Now you just have to write it." Even then, Rossi wasn't convinced the project would become a reality. 

As he developed the story, Rossi knew he wanted to create something rooted in the ocean and the jungle. Two ideas emerged: one about a brash American outsider thrust into an unfamiliar culture and another about a woman searching for a mythical sea creature. Unsure which direction to pursue, Rossi turned to friend and fellow alumnus Jake Kath (B.F.A. ’15) for advice. Kath's response was simple: "Do both." The suggestion unlocked the project, and combining the two concepts became the foundation of "Pescador." 

The relationships Rossi built at UNCSA played a key role in bringing "Pescador" to life. Drama alumnus Spencer Bang was a classmate and frequent collaborator, and Rossi wrote the character of The Son with Bang in mind. When Rossi approached him about filming an independent feature in Costa Rica, Bang agreed before even reading the script. 

Many of the film's key creative collaborators were also UNCSA alumni. Production designer Tori Lancaster (B.F.A. ’15) and sound supervisor and designer Alex Nomick (B.F.A. ’15) studied alongside Rossi in the School of Filmmaking and regularly collaborated on student projects. Colorist Jack Caswell (B.F.A. ’15), co-editor Bryce Woods (B.F.A. ’13), VFX artist Raunak Kapoor (B.F.A. ’20), title designer Quinn Elyse Scott (B.F.A. ’15) and first assistant camera Tyler Harmon-Townsend (B.F.A. ’15) also contributed to the film, underscoring the lasting professional connections formed at UNCSA.

Rossi’s approach to the film grew out of both necessity and instinct. He developed the screenplay over roughly two months in summer 2022. After casting an authentic Costa Rican fisherman to play the title role — a compelling and soulful man who lacked any acting training — Rossi rewrote much of the script to minimize spoken lines, also noting that “the first half of the film was so dialogue-driven, it’d be nice if the second half was less so.”

In October 2022, Rossi and Banks traveled to Costa Rica for preproduction, scouting locations, navigating language barriers and gaining firsthand insight into the impacts of gentrification. Those experiences helped shape the film’s themes of Americans out of place in a community they do not fully understand.

A tropical storm stranded the pair in a hostel, where a chance encounter led them to Costa Rican filmmakers who became key collaborators. The resulting production evolved into a crew of American and Latin American filmmakers living and working together in the jungle for a month.

Casting continued during production, including a Zoom audition with Alex Wanebo for the role of Young Woman, held on what Rossi described as their most difficult shooting day. He later asked if she could arrive in just over a week, and she agreed immediately.

Additional storms damaged the location for the film’s final scene in an unpopulated natural area, forcing the crew to return to the United States to raise additional funds. They came back nearly a year later to complete filming. Postproduction took another year before the film began building festival momentum.

 

 

 

 

 

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Rossi learned in summer 2025 that the International Film Festival of India was interested in “Pescador,” and after months of awaiting programming selections, the film was officially accepted, leading to a red-carpet, sold-out world premiere and a full press conference with dozens of reporters. That momentum helped the film enter additional festivals such as RiverRun Film Festival, where he was awarded Best Director, the Lighthouse Film Festival in New Jersey and Raindance in London.

Rossi credits longtime UNCSA collaborators for making the film possible, alumni who worked for far below standard rates and whose generosity he repays by supporting their projects in return. He emphasized that the film’s high production value came from this tight-knit network.

Looking ahead, Rossi hopes for limited theatrical runs in New York and Los Angeles, eventual streaming distribution and continued festival submissions. He is also finishing "De Novo," a dark romantic comedy shot with a 360-degree camera, which he co-directed with his wife, Annie Rasiel, and features Spencer Bang, with Isaac Banks serving as cinematographer.

Despite the challenges of independent filmmaking, Rossi remains focused on moving the work forward, saying persistence, including writing to programmers, resubmitting films and advocating for projects, is often what leads to festival breakthroughs.

Rossi was able to speak with current UNCSA Filmmaking students while in Winston-Salem this past spring for the RiverRun Film Festival. He reminded eager students that “Pescador” wasn’t completed until 2025, ten years after he graduated. His advice to them was simple: “It’s okay to wait for the right moment rather than rushing into a project just to stay busy. The story has to matter, and the timing has to feel true.” He also urges students to stay close to their classmates, because the relationships built at UNCSA become the creative community that will carry them forward.

Rossi’s work on "Pescador" earned him a nomination for Best Director of a Debut Feature at the Raindance Film Festival in London, a milestone in a festival run still building momentum for the film and its cast and crew.

By Rebecca Burkeen

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