Becoming Mari Ji

Director’s bio:

Mariella Spagnolo is a “home grown” New Jersey based actor, award-winning screenwriter and recent filmmaker. She is also a college professor and fundraising consultant. Mariella is first generation Italian American and proud of her Calabrese heritage. She lived in Latin America for many years and is multilingual. Since 2022, she has written eight completed, unproduced original screenplays all with Sikh Panjabi context highlighting a cross-cultural dynamic.

In 2023, she wrote and co-produced a proof-of-concept short film, “Desperately Seeking Sikh” based on her unproduced feature script. She hopes to collaborate with others and continue to shift the narrative in western cinema by creating more stories and leading roles for Sikh actors without compromising their articles of faith or principles. Mariella educates through storytelling with fresh, diverse narratives and believe her scripts are a tool to help raise awareness for the Sikh community.

Her recent 2024 visual poetry short film “Becoming Mari Ji” is a testament to her commitment, authenticity and mission. This is also her directing debut.

Mariella is the recipient of the Women in Film Fellowship awarded by The Shawna E. Shea Memorial Foundation, Inc. which enabled her to fund this project.