Private Project

Mary

In a world where blood with a specific gene mutation
produces a psychotropic drug, Mary, a blood provider, attempts to escape the agency employing her, before she and her closest friend, Olivia, die from a spreading disease.

  • Aziz Anderson
    Director
  • Aziz Anderson
    Writer
  • Shadé Quintanilla
    Producer
  • Savannah Edmundson
    Producer
  • Luna de Buretel
    Producer
  • Lara Norton
    Key Cast
    "Mary"
  • Maria Jimena Gastelum
    Key Cast
    "Olivia"
  • Alison Sieke
    Key Cast
    "Mrs. Sweeney"
  • Travis Hammer
    Key Cast
    "Mr. Wilkes"
  • Project Type:
    Short, Student
  • Runtime:
    14 minutes 10 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    February 25, 2025
  • Production Budget:
    15,000 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    United States, United States
  • Country of Filming:
    United States, United States
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    Yes - University of Southern California
Director Biography - Aziz Anderson

Aziz Anderson is a Jamaican-American filmmaker from Stone Mountain, GA, whose work explores resilience, transformation, and the surreal. A graduate of Swarthmore College and USC’s Film Production MFA, he draws from a wide-ranging creative path—from Atlanta’s music scene to commercial studio work with Amazon—to craft visually striking narratives grounded in character and possibility. Rooted in his love for still photography and shaped by his experience growing up in an immigrant family, Aziz’s films ask: What becomes of those given nothing? Can survival itself be alchemy?

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Director Statement

Growing up, I watched my immigrant mother hustle to keep her salon afloat, only to find herself further behind at the start of each month. That shaped my understanding of the world—not as unfair, but as indifferent to fairness entirely. No one was coming to balance the scales. Survival meant saving ourselves.

That idea is at the heart of MARY, where she faces a system designed to extract everything from her. I’m drawn to characters who refuse to accept the limits imposed on them, who must grapple with the impossible choices that come with trying to break free.

As a director, my practice centers on transformation—how people carve power and meaning from what little they have. In MARY, the world feels claustrophobic, its rules absolute, until cracks begin to show. Through restrained visuals, stark compositions, and a world of rigid structures, we created a film where control feels absolute—until someone dares to break it.

But breaking free isn’t the same as being free. It’s a fight that doesn’t just end when the chains are broken.