I Love You, Maria explores this delicate, difficult question, which is a very topical and important issue for today’s potential parents.
In this story, a young, up-and-coming, successful couple, Sofia and Daniel, represent a number of young professionals working hard, putting all their focus on getting to the top of their game. Dealing with the pressure of an unplanned child, and then the added pressure of a special needs child, can expose hidden personal struggles, fears, and doubts. The relationship may not survive the ordeal. We believe there are many who will identify with their journey.
This film also touches on some of the misconceptions and myths about people affected with Down Syndrome. Sofia and Daniel’s journey opens their eyes to the meaning of special needs. We wish to tell a story that will inspire people to embrace obstacles in their lives, and how through them, they may discover strengths they never thought possible.
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The I Love You, Maria short has received much success and recognition.
It has won and has been nominated for International Film Festival Awards, including Best Short Film, Best Film on Women, Best Mobile Film, Best Actor and Best Actress.
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Please check out the short and related items below:
I Love You, Maria - Film on Zoom Shorts
https://youtu.be/i5acf2S4eBM
I Love You, Maria - Zoom Shorts - IMDb
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt14126726/?ref_=ttep_ep3
I Love You, Maria - Zoom Shorts Awards & Festivals
https://youtu.be/lBAsKc2jZnM
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After the success of the short, I Love You, Maria, we knew we had a story which could be successfully explored further and with greater impact.
This is a love story that has unexpectedly turned into a long distance relationship. This distance is being created by the upward movement in each of their professional careers, making them spend more and more time away from one another. Tensions increase as they try to navigate this new territory.
With the added strain of an unplanned pregnancy of a special needs child, this aspect needs time to unfold naturally. To tell the whole story of their many struggles, we needed time, as only a feature film could offer.
Clips from I Love You, Maria ~ Zoom Short
https://youtu.be/Ae1ZUkYxLZE
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Maria Sofia Palmieri (Actor playing Sofia / Writer)
Maria Sofia started her career as a model and at nineteen she began her training as a professional actor. She studied various acting techniques at the Yvonne D’Abbraccio Studios and the Gisella Burinato CIAPA Acting Studio in Rome. She received her first role in a feature film in the Italian production, The Flying Mantuan, by Tonino Zangardi.
She studied acting for the stage at the Alza Acting Studio in Toronto, and Method Acting at the Lee Strasberg Institute in Los Angeles, where she performed in several comedies. She has also done professional work as a Voice-Actor and Dubber.
She worked with Oscar-winning director, actor and screenwriter, Paolo Sorrentino, in the movie Loro, and has won fifteen festival awards for the Zoom Shorts film I Love You, Maria, including Best Actress, which she acted, co-wrote and co-directed with Karen Klami and Ken Holmes.
Maria Sofia believes strongly in the value of independent films and their ability to be used to explore important messages which can reach around the globe.
Maria Sofia Palmieri IMDb
https://www.imdb.com/name/nm8834775/?ref_=fn_al_nm_1
Maria Sofia Palmieri Showreel
https://youtu.be/lowfyrpkZ9s
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Ken Holmes (Actor playing Daniel / Writer / Executive Producer)
Ken grew up with a love of acting. He landed his first major role as Robin in The Merry Wives of Windsor at Castleton University in Vermont. It was this experience that made him realize that performance and a career in the arts was what he wanted to do with his life.
In 2006, while doing a semester abroad in London, he took a master class on The Craft of Acting with Jeremy Irons in London. He studied acting and directing, with a minor in writing at Castleton and in 2009 he graduated cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts in Theatre.
Ken moved to New York City and has been acting in films and plays, as well as writing. He has been in over one-hundred films and TV shows. Film/TV work includes: Cold in July, Little Women, The Morning Show, Mr. Robot, Hustlers, Succession, Billions, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Awkwafina Is Nora from Queens, The King of Staten Island, The Trial of the Chicago 7, New Amsterdam, Pose, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Law & Order: Organized Crime, In the Heights, Clifford the Big Red Dog, tick, tick...Boom!, and West Side Story.
Ken wrote, co-directed, and acted in the web series Old Hearts Cafe, is the founder of the film company Rain & Neon Productions, and is a creator, executive producer, director, writer and actor for the web series, Zoom Shorts. He has written and directed the indie films Talking Aloud Alone, The Social Distancing Butterfly, and Chatter. For his filmmaking, he has won one hundred awards and has been nominated for fifty-four.
Ken Holmes IMDb
https://imdb.me/kenholmes
Ken Holmes Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/ActorKenHolmes
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Allie Radice (Actor playing Jessica)
Allie Radice is a New York City based performer specializing in musical theater and film/TV. She holds a BA in Musical Theater from James Madison University and has continued her education as a performer at Yale University, the Stella Adler Studio of Acting, NYU Cap21, and HB studios. As a professional in the business for the past 12 years she has performed at The Actor’s Temple Theatre Off-Broadway, Joe’s Pub at the Public Theater, Greenroom 42, Theater for the New City, The Bitter End, Skirball Theater, and more. Allie has also worked as a singer with the Musical Theater Graduate Writing program at TISCH NYU, developing new material.
Some of Allie’s regional theater productions include My Fair Lady, Anything Goes, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, Murder on the Nile, and Songs for a New World. Her film/TV credits include working for Amy Schumer, work in GQ Magazine, The Deuce, HBO’s Succession, Jack Tracy’s Visual Album Older, HBO’s Crashing, and all three seasons of Zoom Shorts. She also has worked as a voiceover artist, puppeteer, and dancer. She is a proud member of Actors Equity Association and SAG-AFTRA.
Allie has been part of the Zoom Shorts team from its inception and is looking forward to its upcoming season and the I Love You, Maria feature film.
Allie Radice IMDb
https://www.imdb.com/name/nm6831894/?ref_=fn_al_nm_1
Allie Radice Backstage
http://www.backstage.com/u/AllieRadice
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Michael Fels (Director)
Michael has been working in the film industry for twelve years since graduating with a Bachelor’s in Film & Video in 2009 from Five Towns College. He has been involved in creating Independent Feature Films, Independent Short Films, Music Videos, an HBO TV show, TV Pilots, Public Service Announcements, Commercials, (NYU) New York University Graduate Films, (SVA) School of Visual Arts Graduate Films, (NYFA) New York Film Academy Short Films, and has directed a web series that played in the "Golden Door International Film Festival.”
Michael has worked on projects that have celebrity talent, such as Golden Globe/Emmy Winner Rachel Brosnahan and Emmy Nominee Ariana Burks. He has worked alongside celebrity filmmakers such as Academy Award Winner Luke Matheny, and on music videos with celebrity musicians such as Nicky Minaj and Mavado. Several features Michael has worked on are on Amazon Prime.
He is excited to work with this talented cast and crew to bring this brilliant script to life.
Michael Fels Website
https://michaelfelsfilmmaker.com/
Michael Fels Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/Directed-by-Michael-Fels-2021-104954738519447/
Michael Fels Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/michaelfelsfilmmaker/?utm_medium=copy_link
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Karen Klami (Writer / Executive Producer)
Karen hails from New York City, having attended Hunter College, where she graduated with an MA in Theatre and Film. She has taught theatre arts and scriptwriting in New York City and at Castleton University in Vermont. Many of her one-act and full-length plays have been produced in New York and Vermont and she has won screenwriting awards for several of her films, including Nikola, which explores the life of Nikola Tesla. She has twelve books/eBooks in print, which are collections of poetry, play scripts and screenplays.
Karen is the writer, executive producer and director, along with Burnham Holmes, of an original musical which will be produced Off-Broadway in 2022. She is a creator, executive producer, director and writer for the award-winning, web series, Zoom Shorts. Her films have won forty-six international festival awards and seventeen nominations for various categories, which include best Romance, Comedy, Web and New Media Film, Mobile Film, Travel Film, Film on Women and Experimental Film.
Karen Klami IMDb
https://www.imdb.com/name/nm7226964/?ref_=fn_al_nm_1
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Burnham Holmes (Writer / Executive Producer)
Burnham is an award-winning writer of seventeen books, taught writing at the School of Visual Arts for fifteen years, and now at Castleton University for twenty-five years. He has won the Part-Time Faculty Award at Castleton and led a group of Castleton students for a semester in London.
He has appeared in twenty plays. His favorite roles are Falstaff, Sir Toby Belch, and Mr. Peachum. Burnham has written twelve plays, including The Loves of Horace Greeley, which was featured in the 250th anniversary of his town in Vermont, and Palm Leaf Dialogues, which won the Nor-Eastern Playwriting Contest in 2011.
He is a co-creator and writer with Karen Klami of Trumpilton: An American Musical Parody, that will be performed Off-Broadway in 2022. Along with Ken Holmes and Karen Klami, Burnham is a co-creator, writer, director, and actor in Zoom Shorts, and has won a Best Actor award, along with awards for directing and writing.
Burnham Holmes IMDb
https://www.imdb.com/name/nm6211091/?ref_=fn_al_nm_1
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Zoom Shorts is an award winning YouTube channel.
Our YouTube channel features original films by Karen Klami, Ken Holmes & Burnham Holmes. Each episode tells a different story from a different perspective. Films are created from the studios of Rain & Neon Productions and Klami/Holmes Productions.
Zoom Shorts - YouTube Channel
https://youtube.com/c/ZoomShortsFilms
Zoom Shorts - Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/zoomshorts
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PROJECTED PRE-PRODUCTION SHOOTING SCHEDULE ~
New York City & Italy, Fall, 2022
FUNDS FROM PRE-PRODUCTION CAMPAIGN WILL BE USED FOR ~
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Shooting on location in New York City & Italy ~ Shooting on location will be cost effective. Maria has a residence in Italy and Ken has a residence in New York City where filming will take place.
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Equipment ~ Locally procured rentals for cameras for optimum cinematic visuals.
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Film Crews ~ Crews will be cost effective, with a crew in New York & Italy, hired through Michael and Maria’s contacts.
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Director & Actors ~ Local actors and assistant directors in Italy will be working under Michael Fels as the film’s director while he remains in New York City.
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Actors & Crew Contracts ~ SAG/Union contracts will be used, as appropriate.
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Costumes & Props ~ Artisans and items found locally will be used.
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Transportation ~ No alternate housing is needed, as all shooting will be local to the director, actors, crew, etc.
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COVID Regulations Requirements ~ Michael Fels is a trained and registered COVID Officer.
In these uncertain times of COVID-19 variants causing major changes and restrictions, our project may encounter unforeseen delays. We will keep you updated.
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THANK YOU FOR HELPING US MAKE THIS FILM HAPPEN!
We definitively can’t do this without you! We have designed some perks to help you feel our gratitude for being a part of this campaign.
Check out our various offerings in the Perks List.
Additional Campaigns and Opportunities to Invest!
We will have THREE campaigns for full financing:
- First Campaign - Pre-Production
- Second Campaign - Production
- Third Campaign - Post-Production
We welcome opportunities for investors. Please contact Karen Klami at karenklami@gmail.com for more information about how you can become part of the I Love You, Maria Feature Film Family.
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WE WANT YOU TO BE A PART OF THIS CAMPAIGN!
Even the smallest donations help in a big way, but we realize not everyone has the ability to donate monetarily. Don't sweat it! Word of mouth is a tremendous help. Even if you can't donate, one share on Facebook or Instagram might land this campaign into the lap of someone who can!
At the end of the day, a project like this is a commutative effort, and any way you show support means the world to us!
Thank you so much!
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Catch up on what’s been happening.
We will be posting periodically to keep you updated on our latest and upcoming project activities.
I Love You, Maria - Feature Film ~ Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/iloveyoumariafilm/
Zoom Shorts - Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/zoomshorts
Thanks for visiting our page!
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I LOVE YOU MARIA & ZOOM SHORTS
I Love You, Maria - Short Film on Zoom Shorts
https://youtu.be/i5acf2S4eBM
I Love You, Maria - Zoom Shorts - IMDb
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt14126726/?ref_=tte...
Clips from I Love You, Maria ~ Zoom Short
https://youtu.be/Ae1ZUkYxLZE
I Love You, Maria - Zoom Shorts Festival Awards
https://youtu.be/lBAsKc2jZnM
I Love You, Maria - Moonwhite Films International Film Fest Awards
https://youtu.be/mj7NISpvXk0
I Love You, Maria - Feature Film ~ Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/iloveyoumariafilm/
Zoom Shorts - Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/zoomshorts
Zoom Shorts - YouTube Channel
https://youtube.com/c/ZoomShortsFilms
THE TEAM
Michael Fels (director)
https://michaelfelsfilmmaker.com
https://www.facebook.com/Directed-by-Michael-Fe...
https://www.instagram.com/michaelfelsfilmmaker/...
Maria Sofia Palmieri (actor / writer)
https://www.imdb.com/name/nm8834775/?ref_=fn_al...
https://youtu.be/lowfyrpkZ9s
Ken Holmes (actor / writer / executive producer)
https://imdb.me/kenholmes
https://www.facebook.com/ActorKenHolmes
Allie Radice (actor)
https://www.imdb.com/name/nm6831894/?ref_=fn_al...
http://www.backstage.com/u/AllieRadice
Karen Klami (writer / executive producer)
https://www.imdb.com/name/nm7226964/?ref_=fn_al...
Burnham Holmes (writer / executive producer)
https://www.imdb.com/name/nm6211091/?ref_=fn_al...