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Madonna Mia

A Cumming Of Age Story. Set in a small catholic town in Italy, 15-year-old Gaia tries to navigate her sexual fantasies while completing her confirmation.

  • Valentina Garrett
    Director
  • Valentina Garrett
    Writer
  • Maddie Hartley
    Producer
  • Angelica Granato Renzi
    Key Cast
    "Gaia"
    Marilena (2021), Il Migliore dei Mondi (2023)
  • Beatrice Modica
    Key Cast
    "Lena"
    Cortina Express (2024)
  • Project Type:
    Short, Student
  • Genres:
    Comedy, Romance
  • Runtime:
    12 minutes 36 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    January 1, 2025
  • Production Budget:
    5,000 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    Italy, United Kingdom
  • Country of Filming:
    Italy
  • Language:
    Italian
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    4:3
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    Yes - University of the Arts London
  • Digital Cinema Package:
    Unavailable
Director Biography - Valentina Garrett

Valentina Garrett is a writer-producer-director with roots in both Los Angeles and Milan. She has a BFA from New York University's Tisch School of the Arts and an MA from University of the Arts London, where she concentrated in directing. She assists filmmakers at their production company Playgrounds, and will be working on their upcoming film. As an emerging filmmaker, she advocates for ethical film practices on and off set as well as stories that are character-driven, socially satirical, and challenge morality; often casting real people and drawing from neorealism.

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Director Statement

Madonna Mia depicts the (absurd) self-shame women have exploring masturbation against the kitschy backdrop of Catholicism. My goal was to put LGBTQ characters at the forefront of the Catholic Church. This is still heavily taboo in Italy, in fact the Vatican banned us from filming in any church in Rome. Inspired heavily by Italian neorealism, I wanted to combine real people and real locations with trained principal actors to authentically depict the Italy I grew up in and love.