Altars
Director: Mariona Lloreta
Cast:Tyson Ali Clark, Kimaya Diggs, Ashton Lites, Irlan Silva, Inès Ouedraogo, Randi Henry, Mark Craig
Crew:Writer: Mariona Lloreta. Producer: Mariona Lloreta. Director of Photography: Sara Robin; Composer & Sound Designer: Marty Hicks; Editor: Gerard Vila
Email:hello@marionalloreta.com
Synopsis
Tyson just learned that he's about to become a father. Little does he know, the happiest day of his life might also be his last.
Trailer
About the director
Mariona Lloreta is a Catalan-American cultural producer and interdisciplinary artist working internationally in film, painting and dance.
Mariona's work celebrates the universal thread that binds our human experience as it examines the fine line between presence and absence, wholesomeness and brokenness, past, present and future. Her work dives into themes of identity, spirituality and collective memory, while reflecting upon the beauty and vulnerability of human existence.
Recent projects include writing, directing and co-producing short film "A lua nunca morre" in Rio de Janeiro which has so far won the Best Experimental Film Award and Best Cinematography at Oscar-Qualifying Reel Sisters in Brooklyn, NY, and has been selected by Oscar-Qualifying Edmonton International Film Festival, acclaimed New York Latino Film Festival, NALIP's Latino Media Fest, San Francisco Independent Film Festival and Miami Film Festival, among others. Her previous film, "Amenze, in between worlds," which she wrote, directed and filmed, won Best Cinematography at the Reel Sisters of the Diaspora Film Festival (Brooklyn, NY) received a Best International Film nomination at the BronzeLens Film Festival in Atlanta, GA, and was selected by dozens of film festivals, including Oscar-qualifying Zinebi in Bilbao, Spain. Mariona also edited award-winning feature film "The Ghost and the House of Truth" (2019) in South Africa and produced narrative short film "On Monday of Last Week" (2018). She has directed and produced several documentary films, including "ReSignifications", commissioned by New York University and "The Lagos Music Salon" for Sony Music artist Somi in Nigeria.
Mariona is currently working on her first feature film and on "Altars," an experimental film about police brutality, commissioned by the City of Boston and City of Cambridge. She is also producing several female-led, international projects.
Mariona currently serves as Affiliate Professor of Screenwriting at Emerson College in Boston and as instructor at creative writing agency GrubStreet.
Filmmaker's note
ALTARS has been brewing for years. It’s mainly inspired by conversations that I’ve had for a long time with my fiancé Phillip who is a black man, as well as by the countless unpleasant and uncalled for encounters with the local police that I've witnessed first hand. Knowing very well that every time my fiancé gets out of the door it could be the last time I see him, and that it will have nothing to do with how he carries himself out in the world, this film explores the aftermath of the incessant police brutality attacks across the US.
I recognize that there is a lot of heaviness and trauma in the season we’re living and particularly in the community, so being sensitive as to what images were brought to life was critical. That is why I chose to give the story a celebratory, poetic tone, with a twist at the end that invites the audience to reflect on the urgency for change.
Our efforts go beyond what we see on screen: being the only woman on set in most productions I've been part of, I wanted to be very intentional about who came on board this film, so I enlisted an entirely female-identified, local crew. This way, we hope to battle the ”danger of the single story” both in front and behind the lens.