Films: Maria My Love

Maria My Love

USA, 2011, 99 Minute Running Time
Genre/Subjects: American Indie, Colorado, Drama, Family Issues, Social Issues, Womens Issues
Programs: Contemporary World Cinema, New Directors Showcase, Women + Film
Language: English

DIRECTOR: Jasmine McGlade Chazelle
Producer: Jennifer Glynn, Tiana Matthews, Jasmine McGlade Chazelle
Editor: Katy Skjerping
Screenwriter: Jasmine McGlade Chazelle
Cinematographer: Brian Outland
Principal Cast: Judy Marte, Karen Black, Brian Rieger, Lauren Fales, Cynthena Sanders, Haref Topete

In this witty, intimate drama set in a sunny but unglamorous reach of Southern California, first-time feature filmmaker Jasmine McGlade Chazelle introduces us to Ana Diaz (Judy Marte)—a young and bright but bewildered café waitress and college dropout who's grieving the recent death of her mother while harboring deep resentment against her wayward stepfather. Neither the affection of a sympathetic new boyfriend (Brian Rieger) nor a reunion with half-sister Grace (Lauren Fales) can relieve Ana's pain; the uncertainties of young adulthood are proving just too much for her.

But when Ana finds a disheveled older woman (Hollywood veteran Karen Black) stumbling on the sidewalk, something is awakened in her. As it turns out, crotchety but insightful Maria (also the name of Ana's late mother) is an obsessive hoarder and hermit whose unkempt apartment is stuffed with trash, random bric-a-brac, and spoiling food. “I have a little life. I like things the way I like them,” Maria insists.

An unlikely mother-daughter relationship begins to develop between Ana and her new friend, based on mutual need and the deep-seated urge in each woman to embrace something beyond frightened solitude. “It's never too late to do what makes you happy,” Grace points out. For the odd couple of Ana and Maria, just so. 

Chazelle, a 2007 Harvard graduate who grew up in Littleton, Colorado, and London, wrote, directed, and produced Maria My Love on the heels of producing indie success Guy and Madeline on a Park Bench (SDFF32).
—BILL GALLO

Sponsored by Barbara Bridges Family Foundation, Caz Matthews, UC Denver Live!

In cooperation with Colorado Academy Alumni Association

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