Pocahontas Returns
2025
Video, Digital cinema 4K, 79 min
Performance, 25 min, mixed media
Project Status: In Post-Production – to be finished by 2025
Pocahontas Returns (79 min.) is an experimental film weaving performance art, documentary, and fiction. It delves into decolonial introspection through a love story interlaced with cultural tensions. Structured into seven episodes à la a Telenovela, the whimsical and surreal film contrasts the pulsating energy of hypermodern New York with the neo-baroque, laid-back charm of Santa Cruz, Bolivia. As it converges on the search for meaning and values our contemporary Western world often overlooks, this HERstory champions a global shift, a new female self-awareness, the renaissance of indigenous cultures, and an examination of postcolonial conditions. It celebrates love as a transformative power, bridging seemingly irreconcilable opposites:
“In the heart of Bolivia nestles the tropical Santa Cruz, home to Bolivian architect, Leonardo, and his dynamic team. 6,000 km away, Natascha, a German artist lost in New York City’s hyper-digital frenzy, yearns for a connection to an ancient world. She travels to Santa Cruz, where she meets Leonardo. During a trip through the jungle, love blossoms between them. However, their budding romance is overshadowed by the gruesome discovery of a lynched indigenous woman. Distraught, Natascha orchestrates a rebellious performance in Santa Cruz’s main square, rallying indigenous Chola women with their babies to challenge the societal elites. Torn, Leonardo witnesses the conflict, and must choose between his professional stature or his heart.”
Project Status:
In Post-Production – to be finished by 2025
Credits:
Producer, Director, Writer & Executive Producer: Nadja Verena Marcin;
Co-Producer: Fernando Schrupp Rivero; Director of Photography: James Strosahl (New York), Adèle Perrin (Bolivia); Production & Costume Designer: Sarah Steffens (New York), Andrea Sarabia (Bolivia); Costume Designer (Bolivia): Monique Machicao y Priemer Ferrufino; Editor: Nik Doka (New York), Manu Aguilera (Bolivia); Composer: Sally Gates (New York), Pablo Killombo (Bolivia); Music & Visual Effects Supervisor: Nadja Verena Marcin: Visual Effects Producer: Pedro Picarelli; Casting Director & Production Assistant (New York): Ayanna Reyes-Dawson; Casting Director: Mariana Alpire (Santa Cruz, Bolivia), Yara Gutierrez (La Paz, Bolivia); Lead Cast #1 Natascha: Nadja Verena Marcin; Lead Cast #2 Leonardo: Fernando Schrupp Rivero; Associate Producer: Javier Aguirre (New York), Maria Jose Vera (Bolivia); Line Producer (Bolivia): María Guzmán, Catherine Antezana; Unit Production Management (New York): Holly; First Assistant Director (New York): Maddy Oliver; First Assistant Director & Production Coordinator (New York): India Davis; First Assistant Director (Bolivia): Lenn Lucht;
Add’l Cast #1 Carolina: Fernanda Jordan Suarez; Add’l Cast #2 Antonio: Frederick Kelley Martinez; Add’l Cast #3 Marta: Maria Montserrat Cabanach Limpias; Add’l Cast #4 Miguel: Miguel Angel Galvan Navarro; Add’l Cast #5 Jose Luis: Julio Cesar Aponte Vaca; Add’l Cast #6 Beatriz: Raquel Schwartz; Add’l Cast #7 Adriana: Natalia Camacho Guitierrez; Add’l Cast #8 Veronica: Vivian Michelle Colombo Menacho; Add’l Cast #9 Sonia: Litzi Soledad Coronado Flores; Add’l Cast #10 Gonzalo: Camilo Garcia Díaz; Add’l Cast #11 Ricardo: Xavier Flores Gonzales; Add’l Cast #12 Eddy: Pierre Michel Baptiste; Add’l Cast #13 Eddy 2: Carlos Bazan Rojas; Add’l Cast #14 Raul: Jose Maria Castedo Paredes; Add’l Cast #15 Angel: Walter Herrera Arredondo; Add’l Cast #16 Camila: Litzi Garcia Pereira;
Add’l Cast #17 Beatriz Daughter: Antonella Carbone Unzueta; Add’l Cast #18 Cecilia Adulta 1: Eliana Rosemary Siles Rojas; Add’l Cast #20 Cecilia Nina: Raffaela Roca Parada; Add’l Cast #22 Tia de Cecilia: Emi Chavez Rios; Add’l Cast #23 Cesar: Luis Andres Zankis Saucedo; Add’l Cast #24 Director of the University: Jorge Antonio Urquidi del Rio; Add’l Cast #25 President of the University: Paul Richard Sarmiento Vasquez;
Assistant Camera (New York): Will Fortune, Andy Dailey; Assistant Camera & Drone Pilot (Bolivia): Fabricio Guardia; Camera Operator (Bolivia): Angel Sandoval; Drone Pilot (Bolivia): Leonardo Rodríguez; Still Photographer (New York): Kristen Williams; SteadiCam Operator (New York): Qianzhi Shen; Gaffer: Justin Van Wi, Luke Carquillat; Gaffer & Driver: Javier Soliz; Key Grip: Chris O’Keeffe, Konstantinos Davaros; Lightening Assistant: Marcos Hernandez Mago, Peggy Tseng; Production Sound Mixer (New York): Evan Robinson, James Simmons, Darius Green; Production Sound Mixer (Bolivia): Luis Villagomez; Art Director: Nadja Verena Marcin; Prop Master (New York): Ayanna Reyes-Dawson, Sam Hood; Assistant Prop Master: Beby Assistant; Hair & Makeup Department (New York): April Anguiano, Annette Bragas; Hair & Makeup Department (Bolivia): Michelle Mansilla; Location Scout & Production Assistant (New York): Martina Bovet; Location Scout & Production Assistant: Manglio Agreda (Santa Cruz, Bolivia), Pholak Rios (La Paz, Bolivia); Location Scout: Chatrine; Script Supervisor: Alisa Traskunov; Production Assistant (New York): Alex Podrizki, Kseniya Matiko, Kristen Williams, Sam Hood; Production Assistant: Marcos Hernandez Mago, Peggy Tseng; Research Assistant (New York): Sarah Sloan, Ayanna Reyes-Dawson, Martina Bovet; Research Assistant (Bolivia): Monique; First Assistant Editor: Martha Westermann; Sound Designer: Thorsten Hoppe;