Filmmaker Melody C. Roscher makes her debut as both writer and director of a feature-length film with “Bird in Hand.” (Photo by Julianne Tripp Hillian)
The latest work by Richmond filmmaker Melody C. Roscher has been accepted into this year’s Tribeca Film Festival. “Bird in Hand” is her first feature-length picture as both writer and director.
Roscher is not new to the movie festival circuit. She’s toured many times as a producer; in 2021, the short feature “White Wedding” she wrote and directed premiered at the Sundance Film Festival, where it was nominated for Best Short Film. Its plotline about a biracial bride who confronts her estranged father was the jumping-off point for “Bird in Hand,” a full-length companion piece that plays on some of the same themes and characters.
“[‘Bird in Hand’] took years to put together,” Roscher says. “I was working on the script, casting, raising the financing, scouting locations — you have to wear every single hat in every capacity when trying to make an independent film. You really are the engine inside of the ship. Producing is hard, but with directing, everything lives and dies whether or not you’re showing up emotionally and physically.”
The film stars Alisha Wainwright, known for the Netflix series “Raising Dion,” alongside Academy Award-nominated actor Christine Lahti. In the intimate dramedy, Bird, the bride-to-be, visits home looking for the perfect wedding venue, but ends up in search of something much more meaningful. Just like the old proverb referenced in the title, “it’s a movie very much about people trying to choose between an easy decision and a hard time,” Roscher says.
A still from “Bird in Hand” (Photo by Matt Clegg)
The movie was shot during July 2024 in several areas around Richmond, including Hopewell, Bon Air and Historic Tuckahoe, with dozens of local crew members and extras. “I’ve worked in this industry for 20 years, and the caliber and craftsmanship that is here is parallel to working in other major film industry cities like [Los Angeles], New York or Atlanta,” Roscher says.
After graduating from James River High School, Roscher went to film school at New York University. She lived and worked on various cinematic projects in New York and all over the world before returning home to Richmond due to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.
She says being accepted into the Tribeca Film Festival is especially sweet. “I think I had to read [the announcement] again to make sure I wasn’t making it up,” she says with a laugh. “I was absolutely elated. I spent half my life in New York and half my life here, so premiering in Tribeca is a nice homecoming for me.”
Tribeca is one of the world’s most preeminent film festivals. Just 118 feature pictures were selected in the 2025 lineup — less than 1% of the 13,000 submissions. The annual event focuses on creative innovation and storytelling and was co-founded in 2002 by actor Robert De Niro, film producer Jane Rosenthal and real estate investor Craig Hatkoff to help revitalize lower Manhattan following 9/11.
“My family is definitely going to make a big trip out of this,” Roscher says. “I hope a lot of Richmond people will come up so I can celebrate and share this with them.”
Roscher’s ultimate goal is to pick up a distribution deal following the festival. She also plans to host a public screening in Richmond sometime after the event. Her world premiere of “Bird in Hand” will screen June 6-11 at New York’s Village East by Angelika movie theater.
