Mara Lesemann
Playwright and Screenwriter
Top row:
Far left: Mara Lesemann
Near left: Sarah Wilson as Terry Malone with Tara Westwood as Jean Malone Fulton in Surviving Family.
Second row far left: Carlo Fiorletta as Tony Giaccone and Olivia Baseman as his wife in “Surviving Family’; photo by Daniela Merino.
Near left: night shoot on location in Bushkill, PA
See more at www.survivingfamily.us
Click HERE to watch the trailer for Foreclosed.
The Vancouver (WA) Voice says that “[director Jeff] Bellantine and writer Mara Lesemann keep the surface of the film strictly realistic, which only adds to the suspense and the surprise.”
Click HERE to read the full review.
The Independent Critic said about Foreclosed “what initially starts out feel like not much more than your average teen drama quickly becomes much, much more.”
Click HERE to read the full review
Lower Left: Carlo Fiorletta and Laura Thies in A Temporary Cat.
Click here to read Martin Denton’s review of A Temporary Cat
Click Here to see the trailer for
Jump Start
Click Here to see Mara Lesemann interviewed by Earl Nulton at the Indie Gathering Film Festival.
Related links:
http://theshortfilmshowblog.worpress.com
Affiliations:
Secretary/Treasurer, Guild of Italian American Actors (GIAA), formerly the Italian Actors Union (IAU)
Director, GIAA Festival of Short Films and Videos
Member, Dramatists Guild
Movies
Mara is in post-production on her first feature film, Surviving Family, which she wrote and produced; Laura Thies directed. It stars Sarah Wilson,
Billy Magnussen , Tara Westwood, Bill Sage, JD Williams, Johnny Hopkins, Vincent Pastore, and Phyllis Somerville. Carlo Fiorletta is Executive Producer.
Check out the teaser clips HERE and HERE.
Mara’s most recent short movie was The Last Supper: What if Mary and Joseph were raising Jesus in 21st century New Jersey? Carlo Fiorletta directed and starred as Jesus with Donna Catellano as Mary and Tommy Divins as Jesus.
It received an Award of Excellence at the Columbia Gorge International Film Festival, and is an official selection of the Indie Gathering, where it received 2nd place in the Family Drama category.
Mara’s horror short Foreclosed was an official selection of the Action on Film, Indie Gathering, Columbia Gorge, Flint, Southern Appalachia, and Terror Film Festivals; it premiered at the Media (PA) Film Festival. Mara wrote the screenplay and co-produced with director Jeff Bellantine. It has won the “Best Local Short” award at Columbia Gorge and an Honorable Mention for Excellence in Filmmaking at the Terror Fest. Click here to watch the trailer.
The Independent Critic said of Foreclosed: “Lesemann’s script is a brilliant and timely idea” - click the link to read the full review!
Carlo Fiorletta, Nikiya Palombi, Xavier Rodney, and Christopher Alan Weaver star. Special effects are by Doug Sakmann of Backseat Conceptions.
The Seduction of Eve, for which Mara wrote the screenplay, was an official selection of the 2009 Action on Film Festival (AOF) Fest - see photo at left - in Pasadena, CA; the The Indie Gathering in Cleveland, OH; and the Media (PA) Film Festival. Eve was directed and produced by Jeff Bellantine for Swordfish Films. Nikiya Palombi stars as Eve, with Dave Sykes as Billy and Benjamin Kanes as Kevin.
Mara’s short Jump Start premiered at the Action on Film Festival (www.aoffest.com) in Pasadena, CA in July 2008, where it was nominated for the Best Dramatic Short award. It is also an official selection of the Indie Gathering, the Washougal (WA) International Film Festival, the Wildwood-by-the-Sea (NJ) Film Festival, and the Geneva (Illinois) Film Festival.
Jump Start was directed by Laura Thies, and stars Paige Lussier, Carlo Fiorletta, and Lori Kee; it was produced by Larralley.
Mara’s short comedy screenplay Getting In won An Abbreviated Screenplay Contest in July 2007, and is in post-production with Silver Penny Productions. Ted Gianopulos directs; Richard Varga stars with Sara Fernandez and Brian Jacobs.
Stage
Mara’s one act play A Temporary Cat premiered at the Producers Club in Manhattan in March. It was directed by Carlo Fiorletta, who also played Harry the Cat (see photo above). Laura Thies starred as Tempa; the rest of the cast included Ian Dunn, Lori Kee, Susan Camparo, and Heather Lee Rogers. Martin Denton’s review is here.
The screenplay version of A Temporary Cat was an official section of the Action on Film Festival, where it was nominated for the Hollywood Scriptwriter 2008 Written Word Award. It also took first prize in the short fantasy category at
the Indie Gathering in Cleveland.
Getting In was also a finalist in the Writers Place Short Screenplay Contest and won the Artistic Vision Prize from the Gimme Credit Screenplay Contest.
Her full-length play The Fertility Factor was produced off-off-Broadway
in July 2005. Her short plays Sunday with Albert and Mandy, Getting
In, and The Promotion have all appeared in the Riant Theatre’s Strawberry One Act Festival.
About Mara
Mara attended Brown University and received a BA from the
New School, with a concentration in Media Studies and Film. She’s the Secretary/Treasurer of the Guild of Italian American Actors (www.giaa.us ) and the director of the GIAA Festival of Short Films and Videos (www.giaafilmfest.com).
She lives in Jersey City, NJ with her husband and their cats.
Above: Carlo Fiorletta and Laura Thies in A Temporary Cat
