‘Rosie’s Rescue’: Indie film with local ties wins awards

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Eric Olson and Tia Link as Curley and Rosie in “Rosie’s Rescue,” available now on Amazon Prime. submitted

Imagine Tia Link’s delight when — upon moving to Indiana from New York City — she discovered that her career as a film actress was not over. And that her first role in her Hoosier film career would be the title character in a short film called “Rosie’s Rescue.”

Indiana does indeed have soybeans, basketball and auto racing, but it also has a growing movie industry. The casting call came through Link’s agent at Talent Fusion, an Indianapolis-based agency, but as a member of the Screen Actors Guild and American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) union, Link wasn’t allowed to work on a non-union project.

“There was something special there,” Link said, so she reached out to see if director Terry Marsh would be willing to make it a SAG-AFTRA production — and for the right people, he was.

The story involves, Rosie, a young girl, who was saved from an auto accident by a mysterious stranger. Years later, as a tough decision looms on her horizon, she sets out to find the man who changed the trajectory of her life.

Written and directed by retired physician Terry Marsh, filming on “Rosie’s Rescue” began in October of 2019. Marsh and his crew, on location in Henry County, finished filming in just four days. And then things slowed down to a crawl.

“What should have taken two or three months,” Marsh said, “took eight or ten.”

Employing the services of an editor in Michigan, the back and forth of the editing process took a long time. Normally, Marsh explained, editing would have taken place with the director and the editor in the same room, but the film finally premiered — virtually, of course — on Sept. 19, 2020. With more than 1,000 people tuned in to watch, marketing director and Greenfield resident Brandon Lavy organized the online viewing party.

Link — who also starred in the movie — took charge of submitting it for competition, sending the film to more than 50 film festivals. And the accolades came pouring in. “Rosie’s Rescue” was a semi-finalist at the Chicago Indie Film Awards, an honorable mention from the Night of Drama Shorts Film Festival, the best narrative short film at the Istanbul Film Awards and was the monthly winner of the best international film at the Reale Film Festival. Link even took home a best actress award at the Montreal Independent Film Festival.

For Link, who decided 10 years as an attorney to add to her life experience by becoming an actress, is excited to be able to continue her career in Indianapolis. In New York City, she trained at the Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute and the MN Acting Studio. She found success with roles on the stage and as recurring characters in several television series, but she found she enjoyed film acting most of all.

“My passion lies in the film industry rather than the theater,” Link said. “It’s just so challenging in so many unique ways. I love that scenes are shot out of order. It requires you to be very focused and have a clear idea of where your character is at any given moment to bring consistency to that character.”

Link was thrilled to be involved in “Rosie’s Rescue.”

“To have a film like ‘Rosie’s Rescue,’” she said, “with such a talent crew, I can’t express how grateful I was to find a project like that here in Indy.”

The film is available now on Amazon Prime.