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Home , Chester French, Love the Future, Peter Sollett

MARIA MY LOVE A film by Jasmine McGlade Chazelle

Running Time: 99 minutes Shooting Format: HD World Premiere: Tribeca Film Festival 2011 Official Website: www.mariamylove.com To Download Stills/Materials: Please visit the website

Publicity/Press Contact: Steve Beeman, FALCO INK 850 7th Avenue #1005 , NY 10019 (212) 445-7100 [email protected] CAST

Ana Judy Marte Maria Karen Black Ben Brian Rieger Grace Lauren Fales Cares Interviewer Cynthena Sanders Market Worker Haref Topete Dance Student #1 Danielle Larracuente Tawny Angela Halili Dance Students Tory Freeth, Alexandra Oliver, Lucy Angelo, Andrea Cortes, Brianna Jesme, Briley Barrett, Yuvana Faedo, Natasha Violeta Nursing Mother Kaili Hollister Baby Amma Hollister Expectant Mother Daisy Galvis Rapper Sirah Mitchell Doctor’s Office Receptionist Debi Bradshaw Grocery Clerk Albert Polay Rachel Sophie Kargman Nurse Patricia Riley Ana’s Father John Von Lingner Breakdancer Michael Talamantez Grace’s Friends Ginger Allegre, Laura Churchill, Sandra Linz, Mohan Sign Mehta Venice Drummer Jeffrey Jerrod O’Connell Tattoo Artist Nick Alexander Nurse #2 Dawn Milton

CAST BIOS

Judy Marte (“Ana”): Born and raised on ’s , Judy Marte won acclaim for her portrayal of “Juicy Judy” in Peter Sollett’s Raising Victor Vargas which played at numerous national and international film festivals including Cannes, Sundance and Toronto. Raising Victor Vargas went on to open the prestigious New Directors/New Films film series presented by MoMA and the Film Society of Lincoln Center, and won best film at the Deauville Festival for American Cinema and the San Sebastian Film Festival; Judy was also nominated for a Gotham Award for Best Emerging Actor and an Independent Spirit Award for best debut performance. Since then, Judy has also been nominated for an Independent Spirit Award for Best Actress for her portrayal of Oz in On the Outs.

Karen Black (“Maria”): Two-time Golden Globe-winning and Oscar-nominated actress Karen Black has over 100 movie credits to her name since making her debut in 1960's The Prime Time. An important actress of the American film Renaissance of the early 1970s who first came to the attention of the public in the box-office sleeper Easy Rider (1969), Black shot to stardom playing the small-town waitress who falls for Jack Nicholson's upper-class drifter in Bob Rafelson's Five Easy Pieces (1970), for which she received her Academy Award nomination and her first Golden Globe Award. The role also brought the actress a National Board of Review Award, a New York Film Critics Circle Award and two Laurel Awards. She picked up her next Golden Globe four years later in the Francis Ford Coppola-scripted The Great Gatsby (1974). She went on to impressive roles in The Day of the Locust (1975, earned a Golden Globe nomination), Nashville (1975, netted a Grammy nomination), Alfred Hitchcock's Family Plot (1976), Burnt Offerings, and Robert Altman's Come Back to the Five and Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean (1982).

Brian Rieger (“Ben”): Brian grew up in Littleton, Colorado. He is a graduate of University's College of Fine Arts Acting Conservatory. While at BU, his theatrical roles ranged from the young romantic thief Vaska Papel in The Lower Depths to Jack, a wise old Irish missionary priest, in Dancing at Lughnasa. Brian has also studied at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts (LAMDA). This is his film debut.

Lauren Fales (“Grace”): Lauren currently attends Columbia University. She earned a rave from the London Independent for her stage debut in Breathing, and since then has performed at the Algonquin and 45th Street Theatres in New York. She is a graduate of The New York Conservatory for Dramatic Arts and has also studied at the Central School for Speech in Drama in London. Recently, Lauren starred in the film True Story.

Maria My Love was inspired by Lauren’s life; she co-wrote the story with writer/director Jasmine McGlade Chazelle.

CREW

Writer/Director Jasmine McGlade Chazelle Story By Jasmine McGlade Chazelle & Lauren Fales Producers Jennifer Glynn, Tiana Matthews, Jasmine McGlade Chazelle Cinematographer Brian Outland Editor Katy Skjerping Composer Maxwell Drummey Production Designer Andrea Oliva Costume Designer Erica Rice Executive Producer Idoni Matthews Co-Producers Arleen McGlade, Associate Producer John Vricella

1st Assistant Director Beau Yarrow

B Camera Operator Richard Kim Additional Photography Brooks Ludwick First Assistant Camera Brooks Ludwick Still Photography Rebecca Tull Additional Still Photography Tina Colson

Post-Production Supervisor Diane Becker First Assistant Editors William Adam W. Parker, Eric Maldin Assistant Editor Anthony Hays

Art Director Chris Scharffenberg Property Master Binh C. Than

Costume Assistant Marilyn Hartnell, Melanie Gan Wardrobe Assistant Camille Martine

Key Makeup Artist Marilyn Hartnell

Production Sound Mixer/ Josh Bissett Boom Operator

Gaffer Armando Ballesteros, Mike Williamson Electrician Nathan Carballo

Production Assistants Colby Mallette, Megan McHugh, Jenessa Joffe

Studio Teacher Todd Pliss

Post-Production Sound Services Skywalker Sound

Supervising Sound Editor, Nia Hansen Re-Recording Mixer Additional Re-Recording Mixer Colette Dahanne Effects Editor Jeremy Bowker Foley Artist Sean England Foley Recordist Corey Tyler ADR Recordist Ruben Sebban

Score Produced & Recorded by Maxwell Drummey Score Mixed by Maxwell Drummey, Tyler Wood Temp Music Editor Sharon Smith

Visual Effects Matt Kregor Titles & Opticals Kimberly Gonzalez Colorist Matthew Merkovich

CREW BIOS

Jasmine McGlade Chazelle (Writer/Director/Producer): Jasmine McGlade Chazelle (b. June 1985) grew up in Philadelphia, Littleton, CO, and London. She graduated in 2007, where she worked closely with award-winning filmmakers Gina Kim, Alfred Guzzetti, Robb Moss and Jan Schütte. After college she worked for Kimberly Peirce, writer/director of Boys Don’t Cry and Stop Loss.

Jasmine recently produced the critically acclaimed feature-length musical Guy and Madeline on a Park Bench, which premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival in 2009, won the Special Jury Prize at the Torino Film Festival, was nominated for a Gotham Award, and was released in theaters the next year to rave reviews. Manohla Dargis of The New York Times named it one of her favorite thirty movies of 2010, and J. Hoberman (The Village Voice), Amy Taubin (Film Comment), David Fear (Time Out New York), David Ehrenstein (LA Weekly), and Gerald Peary (The Boston Phoenix) all named it one of the top ten films of the year. (For more information, visit www.guyandmadeline.com.)

Outside of filmmaking, Jasmine is also known as a national champion fencer and four- time U.S. World Team member; she has won the Junior Olympics, NCAA Championships, and the U.S. National Championships.

Jasmine lives in Venice, California with her husband, filmmaker Damien Chazelle. Maria My Love is her directing debut.

Jennifer Glynn (Producer): Jennifer Glynn’s career has spanned employment in television news at the Voice of America, documentary film production at LucasFilm, and grassroots marketing for the Landmark Theatre Company. She has a Master of Fine Arts in Producing from the American Film Institute Conservatory and a BA in Film & Electronic Media from Bard College. Her first feature film, TiMER, had its world premiere at the 2009 Tribeca Film Festival. (Please visit www.TiMERthemovie.com for more information) In addition to TiMER, she has produced and written numerous short films, videos & webisodes. Jennifer currently works and resides in Los Angeles.

Tiana Matthews (Producer): Tiana Matthews grew up splitting her time between Nigeria and New York. After graduating Harvard University she worked as an assistant to producer Rachael Horovitz (About Schmidt, Moneyball) on the HBO Films Production Grey Gardens, starring Drew Barrymore and Jessica Lange. She has also done production work for the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, with a focus on their Measures of Effective Teaching Project, the primary goal of which is to improve education in America’s classrooms using video technology. Tiana currently works and resides in . Maria My Love is her first feature film production.

Brian Outland (Cinematographer): A graduate of the American Film Institute’s Cinematography Program, Brian studied under such notable ASC cinematographers as Stephen Lighthill and Bill Dill as well as participated in workshops with Robert Richardson, ASC; Rodrigo Prieto, ASC, AMC; and Janusz Kaminski, among others. After growing up in Colorado, and attending Boston University’s film program, he moved to New York and served as cinematographer on a number of shorts and music videos and shot his first feature, Down on the Lower East Side. His most recent projects to date include Smorgasbord, an AFI DWW Narrative short staring Brie Larson ( of Tara, Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World); Trophy, an HBO Shout! Narrative short; Partners, a television pilot and ITVF Comedy Winner; The Dunny Project, a 35mm short; music videos for Sunday Drivers and Italian star Elisa; 2nd Unit for Kid Cudi (featuring ); and Quake, a 35mm short starring Chase Ellison (Wristcutters, Mysterious Skin). Brian is currently based in Los Angeles.

Katy Skjerping (Editor): Katy holds a Masters Degree in Editing from The American Film Institute and has worked as an assistant and lead film editor for over ten years. Her film credits include Woody Allen’s Match Point and Peter Sollett’s Raising Victor Vargas, among others. Recently she has edited for the CBS hit The Good Wife. Katy lives in Los Angeles with her husband.

Maxwell Drummey (Composer): Maxwell Drummey is a Los Angeles based musician, variously called a composer, arranger, , producer, and session player. One half of pop group , Max has been working professionally since graduating college in 2007. As a session musician or arranger, Max has worked on music by , Kanye West, , and , among others. His work in Chester French has seen him writing and producing tracks featuring a long list of talented collaborators that includes Janelle Monae and Pusha T alongside and Diddy. Maria My Love marks Max's first feature length score. In addition to composing for the film, Max performed, produced and recorded the music at his LA studio, Narnia.

SHORT FORM SYNOPSIS

Inspired by a true story, Maria My Love is about a young woman named Ana (Judy Marte) struggling to deal with her mother's death and her father's mistakes. In an effort to feel better, she reconnects with her half-sister Grace, (Lauren Fales) and, inspired by a new boyfriend (Brian Rieger), sets out on a quest to find someone to help. Though excited and hopeful when she meets a hoarding woman named Maria (Karen Black), she encounters a situation more emotionally and morally complicated than she had expected to find.

DIRECTOR’S STATEMENT

“I am drawn to the energy and drama that comes from blending non-fiction with fiction. What I’m most interested in is authenticity. With Maria My Love, I set out to make a truthful and visceral film about a young woman torn apart by loss and put back together again by the people she meets during the course of one California spring.

The story revolves around Ana, a young woman grappling with grief and resentment. The character is played by two-time Spirit Award nominee Judy Marte, who I was blessed to have had the opportunity to work with. I was drawn to Judy in particular for her naturalism, her understated magnetism, and her quiet rapport with the camera.

The film features characters who both challenge and inspire Ana and spur her to reimagine her life. One such character is a compulsive hoarder named Maria who lives in Ana’s neighborhood of Highland Park. The title character is played by legendary actress and two-time Golden Globe winner and Academy Award nominee Karen Black. It was truly an honor working with Karen.

During production I aimed to give myself emotionally and intellectually to the actors so they could reveal themselves to me and expose themselves to each other. I encouraged them to bring their ideas to the table. While I wrote a script, I wanted the actors to see it more as a guide than something they must rigidly adhere to. I therefore welcomed improvisation into our process to give life and freedom to the film, and to encourage the actors to take liberties within the structured framework.

In the end, I hope to have achieved a vivid portrait of loss, and a naturalistic film about the unfolding of relationships and the way people affect one another. Within us all is a capacity to triumph over life’s most difficult challenges—something I hope my film will honestly reflect in its realistic yet optimistic view of recovery.”

—Jasmine McGlade Chazelle

COMING TOGETHER

Maria My Love got its start when Lauren Fales (“Grace”), with whom Jasmine McGlade Chazelle attended high school at the American School in London, showed up unexpectedly at the 2009 Tribeca premiere of Guy and Madeline on a Park Bench, which Jasmine produced. The two hadn’t seen each other in over five years. After the screening they went out for dinner. It was during that dinner, through learning that Lauren had recently lost her mom to cancer and talking about her experiences while recovering, that Jasmine got the initial idea to write Maria My Love. That week during the Tribeca Women’s Filmmaker brunch, Jasmine met Jennifer Glynn, whom she later asked to produce the film along with Tiana Matthews, whom Jasmine met while studying at Harvard.

The project also brought together other close friends, family and creative collaborators from Jasmine’s life, including Brian Rieger, who plays “Ben” in the film. Brian grew up down the street from Jasmine in Littleton, Colorado. They attended middle school together at Colorado Academy, and reconnected while he was studying theater in London and again while he was getting his undergraduate degree in Boston. Maria My Love co- producer Damien Chazelle is Jasmine McGlade Chazelle’s husband. They began dating while making Guy and Madeline on a Park Bench. Co-producer Arleen McGlade is Jasmine’s mother. It was she who suggested Karen Black for the film.

JASMINE ON PRODUCTION

“I was very interested from the get-go in capturing vibrant, popping color in the film through the production and costume design and cinematography. I wanted Ana to be surrounded by life – vivid colors, fruit, flowers, vivacious dancers, etc.

We chose to shoot on the Canon 7D, which was instrumental in helping us achieve this vision. I think the camera brings out color beautifully and is spectacular at night. One of the camera’s main selling points is the range of options it offers in terms of lenses. It is also small, and therefore very convenient for tight spaces, going under the radar when necessary, and ease of movement. Brian Outland, our DP, suggested shooting on two 7Ds (and in some instances a third Canon 5D) to save us time and money and to allow for improvisation, which was particularly important to me. In many ways we approached the shooting and editing as we would a documentary. While in the end the film mainly adheres to the script, some of the key moments were improvised. The equipment and handheld style allowed all of us – the actors, Brian Outland, myself – to capture authentic details and fleeting moments.

Finding interesting locations is extremely important to me as a director and one of my favorite aspects of filmmaking. Of course as a very low budget film we encountered our fair share of challenges, including a few key locations falling through at the last minute. Luckily our crew was amazingly adaptable to these and other unplanned situations.

Production was grueling in the best of ways as we only had a few weeks to shoot. The key in making a project like this is to not let fear of limited resources get in the way of achieving one’s vision. I started out making films at Harvard in the school’s Visual and Environmental Studies Department, of which Darren Aronofsky, Mira Nair and Andrew Bujalski are notable alumni. The program requires you to work in non-fiction film before being allowed to broach fiction. This was extremely helpful for me and has undoubtedly shaped me as an artist – it was in the program that I discovered the films of Frederick Wiseman, who became one of my chief inspirations, and that I learned to make films with the resources available to me rather than sit and wait for millions to come in. That attitude was something I looked for, and found, in my producers, cast and crew on Maria My Love. I’m forever grateful.”

—Jasmine McGlade Chazelle

MUSIC/SOUNDTRACK

The film’s original music is composed by Maxwell Drummey, multi-instrumentalist and songwriter for the pop band Chester French, whose debut , , was released with Star Trak/ on April 21, 2009. Magazine listed the band as one of their “Artists To Watch” in their March 2008 issue. The band formed while Drummey was an undergraduate at Harvard – their original drummer was writer/director Jasmine McGlade Chazelle’s husband, filmmaker Damien Chazelle.

Maria My Love’s soundtrack includes music generously donated by international music sensation Moby, who allowed the film’s team to use one of his latest songs, “Gone to Sleep”, written and performed with Kelli Scarr. The film also features a variety of songs from acclaimed artist Theresa Andersson, and introduces new and up-and-coming indie artists such as Neysa Malone, whom Jasmine found performing in a subway while casting Maria My Love, Lexie Roth, The Library, and Zach Heckendorf.