Once Upon a River

It's rural Michigan in 1977. Margo Crane is a 15-year-old part Native American girl coming of age in the small town of Murrayville where she and her father are in the minority. Margo and her Uncle Cal are caught having sex and Margo’s entire life changes. When her father is killed in a tragic misunderstanding, Margo must begin her odyssey on the Stark River to find her estranged mother. On the road, Margo encounters friends, foes, wonders, and dangers. She learns how to live life on her terms while processing her grief. Margo also befriends an elderly man, Smoke, and form a deep friendship and understanding despite Smoke giving up on life. This Midwestern gothic Americana story is based on the lauded best-selling novel by Bonnie Jo Campbell and is, in the words of Jane Smiley for The New York Times, “an excellent American parable about the consequences of our favorite ideal, freedom.” (Bentonville Film Festival)