"It's not often that true family films with messages that can touch all ages are created. Central to
this script are incredibly well defined characters that are authentic in every detail. It's an excellent
vehicle to introduce new faces and frankly, a new family into the American cinema lexicon."
----FILM INDEPENDENT

Logline:
A young girl believes she can mend her broken family by winning the science fair, and in the
process discovers the complexities of growing up.
Synopsis:
Raspberry Magic is a coming-of-age story about the delicate nature of family relationships and
the complex web of emotions that tie us together. At the center is Monica Shah, a thoughtful and
determined young girl who believes she can solve any problem--even if it’s mending her parents’
crumbling relationship. But when things finally come to a boil and her father leaves, Monica takes
charge, firmly believing that if she wins the science fair, everything will be okay. Her experiment
uses touch therapy to help a select group of raspberries grow in the forest. She asks: Can you
nurture love, or is it inherently only a natural phenomenon? Monica Shah grapples with this
question throughout the film, ultimately finding that the answer isn’t so simple.
DIRECTOR’S STATEMENT
It started with a solitary image; a ruby red raspberry glistening in the light of day. This was the
raspberry of my childhood, woven into an unruly backyard full of weeds, nestled amongst a
My sister and I often ate them until we were sick, our parents urging us to slow down.
everyone wanted to partake, even a flock of birds that stopped by each spring.
That image of the ripe, red raspberry has stayed on with me, serving as the central metaphor for
Raspberry Magic. I was compelled to write this story to explore themes of love, identity and
belonging. Specifically, I wanted to write a story about Monica Shah, an 11-year-old girl who is
struggling with childhood loneliness and alienation, in the face of her crumbling home life.
Monica’s dad, Manoj, is so obsessed with achieving the American dream, he barely notices all of
the pain he is causing his daughters. And her mom, Nandini, falls into a deep depression in the
face of her husband’s constant criticism and ultimate departure. Both parents are so self-
consumed, they’ve forgotten about their daughters.
Thus, Monica, like all children and people, must find something to believe in, something to keep
her going in the face of discord. My core inspiration in writing this film was to explore how a
young girl’s relationship to nature could help her understand larger questions about life.
She uses her science project as a means of exploring the intricacies of love, asking, is it nature or
nurture that makes something grow? Through the process of conducting the experiment, she
learns that the answers aren’t simple, and that she must let go of what she knows to truly find what
she is looking for. Raspberry Magic is about growing up with the beauty and awkwardness of
human relationships and understanding the complexities behind them.