Nicola Rose: From Puppeteer to Filmmaker

Nicola Rose McEldowney is a film director and writer who also works as a freelance editor and producer. She lives in New York City, having received her Bachelor’s degree in French Language and Literature from Columbia University. Nicola Rose also spent a semester abroad in Paris, France, where she studied puppetry. After graduating from Columbia in 2011, she returned to Paris to attend the Université Sorbonne-Nouvelle, where she received her Master’s degree in Theatrical Studies.

Nicola Rose says that studying in France — a place she had romanticized for much of her youth — was the single most important decision she ever made in her life. “The French language, culture and attitude about things — they’ve all kind of been lodged in my memory ever since,” McEldowney told Medium. “They find their way into all of my work.”

Bilingual in English and French, Nicola Rose has translated scripts for the Walt Disney Company and other children’s media. Translating French texts and immersing herself in Parisian film culture honed her sensitivity to language, subtext, and the playful narrative devices of the French New Wave.

McEldowney, who now simply goes by the stage name Nicola Rose, got her start in the world of performance as a theater actor and professional puppeteer. She performed puppet shows for children from preschool to adolescence. This taught her how to tell stories through precise movement and gave her a visceral sense of timing, character embodiment, and visual staging.

Homeschool Background

In an article titled “Puppet Master” posted on Medium.com, author Elissa Sanci explains how Nicola Rose’s passion for puppetry stemmed from her creative upbringing.

McEldowney’s love affair with puppets can be traced back to her days in front of the television watching Story Time on PBS. The daughter of two artists, McEldowney was a creative child, encouraged to pursue whatever piqued her interest. Both she and her younger sister Peri were homeschooled, and the McEldowney’s kept their daughters enrolled in a variety of after-school classes, like acting, dancing and singing.

“School was actually a very parenthetical part of my life; it was always on the side,” she says, recalling that it felt like something she had to get out of the way before going to a variety of extracurricular activities. McEldowney adds that she was a “weird child.” She loved watching BBC, listening to her favorite classical music pieces and acting out French operas using dolls with Peri — things that she felt weren’t in the scope of what other children were doing.

Both her parents, classically trained musicians who met at Juilliard School of Music, are freelance artists. Her mother Margaret remains a musician, and her father Brooke, a former violinist, is now a cartoonist, drawing for various different newspapers and websites. The nature of her parents’ work-from-home careers, along with the homeschooling, led the McEldowney’s to become a tightknit family: they were simply always together.

Indie Filmmaker

Nicola Rose began making films in 2015. Her award-winning shorts—Creative Block (2017), In the Land of Moonstones (2018), Gabrielle (2019), and Biff & Me (2020)—found life on the indie film festival circuit and even screened at San Diego Comic-Con.

These scrappy low-budget early shoots instilled her trademark resourcefulness: turning limitations into opportunities for inventive camera work and on-set experimentation. The festival feedback loop and panel discussions cemented her actor-driven rehearsal process and inclusive set culture, where everyone’s ideas matter.

Nicola Rose’s first feature film was Goodbye, Petrushka (2022), which is now streaming on Amazon Prime Video. It’s the story of a young American girl who moves from NYC to Paris, where she nannies for the family from hell, battles wacky French bureaucrats, embarrasses herself in front of her Parisian crush, and navigates a toxic relationship – among other faux pas.

Her latest feature film, Magnetosphere (2025), is a coming-of-age comedy about a 13-year-old girl growing up with synesthesia, a sensory condition in which she sees sounds and hears colors. The film stars Colin Mochrie, Patrick McKenna, Debra McGrath, Steven He, Tara Strong, and Shayelin Martin. Magnetosphere is available to watch on all major streaming platforms in North America, including Amazon Prime Video.

Creative Style

Nicola Rose blends intimate character work with playful, visually expressive storytelling. Rose’s films combine handheld immediacy, synesthetic color play, and actor-driven spontaneity. Her approach leans into authentic emotion, neurodivergent perspectives, and a nuanced balance of humor and heart.

A lifelong reader and accomplished translator, Nicola Rose brings a novelist’s eye to her screenplays—layering motifs, voice-over reflections, and visual metaphors. Her films often read like visual poems, where dialogue and imagery intertwine to evoke internal landscapes.

Many homeschoolers are neurodivergent, and the director herself is a neurodivergent homeschool alum. Nicola Rose told synesthesia consultant Patricia Lynne Duffy that she remembers a certain piece of music in particular, “the Florida Suite by Frederick Delius, played for me in blue and green and orange (like monkey bars, or a jungle gym) when I listened to it.”

Given her personal interest in neurodivergence, Nicola Rose’s passion and empathy profoundly influence her use of synesthetic imagery, mood-driven color filters, and narratives that honor unique sensory worlds. For example, Magnetosphere (2024) uses layered color filters and a pulsing soundscape whenever the protagonist experiences sensory overload.

Below are the hallmarks of her directing style:

Character-Centered Storytelling

Deep Emotional Core – She foregrounds her protagonists’ inner lives, allowing audiences to inhabit their hopes, fears, and sensory experiences. In Goodbye, Petrushka, the lead’s shifting sense of self drives every camera move and performance nuance.
Naturalistic Performances – Rose cultivates an environment where actors can explore and improvise. She often workshops scenes in rehearsals, then refines dialogue on set to capture spontaneous moments of truth.
Intersection of Comedy and Pathos – Her comedic beats emerge from real human quirks—like enjoying a mundane task too much or marveling at an everyday sight—so the laughter always feels genuine and relatable. In her opinion, “Life is both serious and funny! You don’t need to pick a lane. The juxtaposition is what keeps things interesting.”

Visual and Aural Expression

Handheld Intimacy – A lightly handheld camera brings a documentary freshness. This gives her stories an up-close immediacy—you feel you’re walking alongside the characters rather than watching them from afar.
Bold Color Palettes – From pastel sunrise scenes to punchy neon montages, Rose uses color not just decoratively but as a storytelling tool, hinting at emotional transitions or hidden subtext within a scene.
Synesthetic Imagery – She experiments with cross-sensory cues: color filters that shift to reflect mood, layered soundscapes that echo a character’s mental state, and jump-cut montage sequences that mimic sensory overload. These synesthetic sequences make you feel the world as they do—a tribute to Rose’s commitment to authentic neurodiversity representation.

Collaborative, Actor-Focused Direction

Character-Driven Development – She builds depth by allowing actors to contribute character backstories that find their way into the final cut.
Open Set Atmosphere – Rose welcomes on-the-fly ideas from every department—including costumes, sound, even craft services—to encourage trust and ensure the spirit of creativity permeates every frame.
Mentorship and Inclusivity – Committed to neurodivergent and underrepresented voices, she frequently casts actors early in their careers and brings on emerging technicians, fostering an inclusive, growth-oriented environment.

Thematic Focus and Influences

Neurodiversity & Self-Discovery – Her narratives center on protagonists learning to honor their unique ways of experiencing the world—whether through synesthesia, social anxiety, or other neurodivergent traits.
French New Wave Meets Indie Comedy – Having studied in Paris, you’ll spot nods to jump cuts, location shooting, and playful fourth-wall addresses, all grounded by indie comedy timing.
Autobiographical Underpinnings – Many stories draw on Rose’s own cross-cultural upbringing and academic background in literature, weaving in reflections on identity, language, and belonging.

Final Thoughts

Nicole Rose says she’s “been lucky since day one to be surrounded by supportive family, friends and work partners.” She told VoyageLA, “There are a lot of worthy creators out there who haven’t yet gotten their big break. They haven’t been heard yet because they don’t have the right connections — no friends in high places, no stars attached to their projects. But their work deserves to be seen and heard all the same. I sincerely hope we’re moving toward an entertainment industry that’s more equitable, more open to those without traditional connections. There are people on social media right now making incredible content with just a phone and a head full of good ideas.”