In 1990 Newfoundland and Labrador filmmaker Rosemary House formed Rock Island Productions and made the award-winning short When Women are Crazy. Since then she's made over 25 films as writer and director including the feature film comedy Violet (2001) with Mary Sexton and starring Mary Walsh, and the National Film Board docs Rain, Drizzle and Fog (1998).
RDF was in given a blow-up at the NFB, was invited to TIFF, and screened internationally. She then wrote and directed Salvation (2003) and Hospital City (2004) with producer Kent Martin.
Also in these early years she directed and edited Return of a River for the Discovery Channel and produced by Dana Warren, about the reclamation of the St. John’s river valley She produced, edited and directed Jack and Libby, a Canada Council short for the CBC, produced a Heritage Minute about Marconi with Ken Pittman for CBC, and also with Ken she produced and edited Rufus Guinchard, her first full length doc about the legendary Newfoundland fiddler. She also produced Anchor Zone for Ken Pittman, directed by Andrée Pelletier. She produced The Hall Trilogy for CBC and wrote and directed one of the Trilogy, Subway to Tickle Guy starring Ron Hynes and Christine Taylor. The film received an Honourable Mention at the Montreal Short Film Festival and was invited to TIFF.
Rosemary adapted the screenplay and produced the feature film Hold Fast (2013) for Rock Island and made the digital series Hungry Month of March (2017) with NFB producer Annette Clarke.
House’s adaptation of Joan Clark’s novel, An Audience of Chairs, was directed by Deanne Foley (Relative Happiness) and won Best Screenplay at the 2018 Atlantic Film Festival, among several honours for the film and its director.
Other nominated and award-winning Rock Island productions include the arts docs Bloomsday Cabaret (2004), about writer James Joyce, Ron Hynes: The Irish Tour (2003) about the legendary NL singer songwriter and Christopher House: Ahead of the Curve (2007), about the celebrated director of Toronto Dance Theatre (and House's brother).
House adapted the screenplay and produced Kevin Major’s seminal NL novel Hold Fast in 2013. Justin Simms (Down to the Dirt) directed. Hold Fast won the Audience Award at the Seoul International Youth Film Festival in 2014 among many festivals and television screenings worldwide.
In 2015 House co-wrote and produced Puffin Patrol for CBC's Nature of Things.
The NFB launched the award-winning digital production of Hungry Month of March in 2017.
In 2020 House moved with her husband to the lower mainland of BC. They have two daughters living with their families in Regina and Abu Dhabi respectively. Rosemary is currently finishing a film gallery installation for the Canada Council and NLAC, entitled Archipelago. She began sewing five years ago and just won’t stop.
