Mariah: Acts of Resistance

In 2021, two artist activists hacked into New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art using an augmented reality app called Mariah. The app is named for Mariah Lotti, a 19 year old girl who died of an opioid overdose in 2011. The app replaces Sackler family (Purdue Pharma) funded artifacts with a more truthful American narrative.

  • Adam Delmarcelle
    Director
  • Heather Snyder-Quinn
    Director
  • Joe Gietl
    Producer
    A Void, The Monkey, Museum, The Fledgling
  • John Stegemann
    Producer
    Home Court, Place Behind the Pines, A Void, The Monkey, Devour
  • Jim Powers
    Producer
    Place Behind the Pines, 30 Rock, Home Court, When You're Gone, A Void
  • Steve Powers
    Producer
    Home Court, Uninvited, Meet Cute on Danceworld, Well
  • Rhonda Lotti
    Key Cast
  • Mariah Lotti
    Key Cast
  • Lizzy Schlichtingg
    Key Cast
  • Brian Wassom
    Key Cast
  • Adam Delmarcelle
    Key Cast
  • Heather Snyder-Quinn
    Key Cast
  • Project Type:
    Documentary, Short
  • Runtime:
    17 minutes 20 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    July 25, 2022
  • Production Budget:
    5,000 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    United States
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    RED
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
Director Biography - Adam Delmarcelle, Heather Snyder-Quinn

Adam DelMarcelle’s prints and social art actions have been made in Pennsylvania, on the frontlines of the exploding opioid epidemic. After losing a brother to an overdose, Adam committed his life to the betterment of his community through his work as an educator and artist. DelMarcelle’s work is in the permanent collections of the Library of Congress in Washington DC, Cushing Whitney medical library at Yale University, Syracuse University, Quillen College of Medicine medical Library, The Samek Museum and several other collections throughout the United States. In 2020 he co-launched the Mariah app alongside Heather Snyder-Quinn.

Heather Snyder Quinn is an Assistant Professor of Design at DePaul University’s College of Computing and Digital Media and the 2021-22 Wicklander Fellow from DePaul’s Institute for Business and Professional Ethics. Her work uses design fiction to challenge technocratic power and imagine the future impacts of emerging technology on our human freedoms. Often serving as a bridge between academia and industry, Heather regularly consults for design agencies, non-profits, and Fortune 500 companies who seek to integrate design fiction and futures-thinking to understand impact. in 2020 she co-launched the Mariah app to considerable press.

In 2021, Adam and Heather began work on turning the story of Mariah into a documentary. To do so, Adam enlisted Joe Gietl of Stickboat Films, and John Stegemann, Jim Powers, and Steve Powers of Westfield Films to help produce the project.

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Director Statement

We are a team of educators, artists, filmmakers, and activists that have lost loved ones to the overdose epidemic in America. Through this work, we strive to bring awareness to this issue in the hopes that our communities will become not only better informed to the tragedies that are unfolding around us, but also better equipped to act.