Rhonda Buckley

Production

Rhonda Buckley

Rhonda Buckley is a Newfoundland filmmaker who makes films with a feminist point of view. Buckley is the writer of feature films Sparkle and Shine, Take Hold, Heart Troubles and Joan and Sadie (Telefilm Canada). Buckley is an award-winning filmmaker of the short films; Surrounded by Water (FIN, YFF, SJIWFF, FeFF), Terranova Matadora (Hot Docs 2016), Avon Ladies Rural Style and Elfreda. Surrounded …

Known For

PurgatoryPurgatory · 2026
Purgatory
2026
MovieComedyDrama
In the early 1980s, 13-year-old Beatrice Gravel's comfortable world—family, school, and church—fractures when her mother moves out to 'self actualize', leaving Beatrice and her younger sister Chloe with their devastated father. As Beatrice doubles down on a plan to 'fix' her family, she barrels through bullies, friendship blowups, a make-out party, and a kleptomaniac babysitter—forcing her to decide who she wants to be when she can’t get what she wants.
VocationVocation · 2013
Vocation
2013
MovieDocumentary
Vocation is a documentary on artists who knew from a very early age they wanted to be an artist. A decision that for them was instinctual and some may even say it is 'a calling' based on faith and perhaps even fate alone. Artists Andy Jones, Deepa Mehta, Marie Brassard, Christopher Pratt, Brad Peyton and Bif Naked are committed to creating work in theatre, literature, music, film and performance based on an innate desire to succeed while working in the precarious profession of art.
The Silent PlanetThe Silent Planet · 2024
The Silent Planet
★ 5.32024
MovieScience FictionThriller
An aging convict serving out a life sentence alone on a distant planet is forced to confront his past when a new prisoner shows up and pushes him to remember his life on earth.
AtlanticAtlantic · 2016
Atlantic
★ 7.02016
MovieAdventureDocumentary
Documentary about the two big resources in the North Atlantic, fish and oil, and the impact of their exploitation on the environment in various countries on both sides of the Atlantic.
CrackieCrackie · 2009
Crackie
★ 5.02009
MovieDrama
Life on the Rock never seemed easy, but for Mitsy it is especially rough. The teenager has been abandoned by her mother, a particularly unfit parent prone to both the bottle and the sex trade. She is left to be brought up by her mercurial grandmother Bride, who is well-meaning but oppressively suffocating. Mitsy's dreams for the future hinge on her desire to be a hairdresser, but her current emotional well-being revolves around a wee dog named Sparky, an unwanted canine misfit to whom she becomes hopelessly attached. After Bride agrees to let Mitsy take the dog in as a pet, the teen tries desperately to create a happy, safe place for Sparky to thrive.
Smash & Grab: The Rebel Lens of Mike JonesSmash & Grab: The Rebel Lens of Mike Jones · 2026
Smash & Grab: The Rebel Lens of Mike Jones
2026
MovieDocumentary
With little more than a 16-mm camera and a bedrock love of place, renegade filmmaker Mike Jones broke the trail for Newfoundland’s cultural renaissance. Through never-before-seen footage of the comedic chaos that was CODCO, Smash & Grab: The Rebel Lens of Mike Jones summons this chapter of Canada’s hilarious history in a joyful journey of rediscovery featuring Mary Walsh, Cathy Jones, Rick Mercer and more.
Down to the DirtDown to the Dirt · 2008
Down to the Dirt
★ 4.22008
MovieDramaComedy
Thirty-year-old Keith Kavanagh (Joel Thomas Hynes) ekes his way through life in a small town. A hard-drinking hooligan, he keeps his ragged collection of poetry a closely guarded secret... as secret as his regret for the shattered relationship with his father. When Keith meets the darkly exotic Natasha (Mylène Savoie), his life is changed forever.
HangashoreHangashore · 2025
Hangashore
★ 10.02025
MovieMysteryThriller
An artist chases the ghost of her father to the remote island of Newfoundland.

Filmography

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ElfredaElfreda · 2023
Elfreda
2023
MovieMysteryHistory
Nora is consumed with solving the murder of a young woman, Elfreda, that happened in her hometown of Harbour Grace in 1870. The murder has become a symbol for Nora of how long injustice has persisted for women, including in today's society. As a professor of gender inequality, she witnesses the milestones women have made over centuries that are now being obliterated. Nora returns to Newfoundland and from her research finds an article in the Express newspaper of 1870 describing the horrific murder of Elfreda Pike, a sixteen-year-old girl who was found stabbed. Supported by her colleague Vivian and a new friend Zoe, Nora decides to write a book and continues to hunt down details that will solve Elfreda's murder and give her a voice 150 years later. Nora's book launch of Elfreda discloses a historic letter she reads from a Constable Furey, who headed the investigation, and shockingly confesses on his deathbed 50 years later that he was the man who killed Elfreda Pike.

Director