Madonna Mia Student film
Donation protected
We are a multicultural team of University of the Arts London Masters students, raising money for our final project a short film titled Madonna Mia.
MADONNA MIA depicts a coming-of-age of Gaia, a precocious teenager trying to let off some steam in a one-room house with no privacy. The feeling that ‘everyone is watching’ becomes an increasing problem when her house and town are covered in Virgin Mary statues, all of whom loom over and watch Gaia's every move. Within the confines of her environment, Gaia has to reconcile her lack of spirituality with her budding sexuality and sometimes, answers come from where you least expect it.
MADONNA MIA is a story that overcomes shame and makes space for LGBTQ+ stories within the Catholic church. With MADONNA MIA, we wanted to tell an LGBTQ+ story in a place where it’s not typically represented. We hope this film can not only bring more people to the beautiful town of Isola Sacra but also have those who watch be entertained and feel represented authentically on screen, even if they differ from the characters.
This short is a contemporary take on Italy’s neorealist era, where will be casting real people and shooting on location in the small town of Isola Sacra, Ostia. We have a shoestring budget of a £4,800 that will fly out, house, and feed our crew. We would like to raise an additional £1,000 to cover our equipment rental. Any additional funds will be allocated to our festival submissions. The film will be completed in December 2024, and any donation will get a invitation to the screening and a special screening link, so you can see how far your efforts got us!
If you got this far, thank you for reading! We appreciate your support and interest, it goes a long way. We’ll continue to update this page through post-production!
Organizer
Madeleine Hartley
Organizer
England