Daniele Ferraro, got the idea for Dirty Mary one day when a girl friend told her about a plan she had to not shave her legs for a date. Ha! She loved the idea. So she decided to take the story plot a few steps further, mix it with some liquid courage, and see what evolved… one dirty girl named Mary.

Daniele penned the 17-page script and developed it in Theatre Tribe’s Writers Lab. Upon completion, she saw a perfect story to produce and the sensibilities of a lead character she knew she’d have a blast playing. So with zero finances and a burning desire to create, Daniele bought a few books on short films, took to lunch everyone she knew who had produced a short film and asked them a million questions.

One night while bartending, Daniele found out about Panavision’s New Filmmaker’s Grant Program, as a customer shouted the details from across a crowded room. She decided that was the next key step to get her production going . So she applied for the grant and was awarded Panavision’s state of the

HD Camera for 4 days. It was here she met Ric Halpern, Grant Director, who became instrumental in making this production a reality. He was also responsible for introducing Daniele to her Cinematographer Darren Genet.

So with the dates in place for the camera, Daniele knew everything else had to line up perfectly behind it. She double up on her bartending shifts, and decided to take the bull by the horns and form her own production company, Independent Artists Unite. She started a massive fundraising campaign that included raffles, auctions, comedians and local musicians. Companies such as The Guitar Center, The Standard Hotel, and Phillips Electronics sponsored the event along with donations from numerous indie labels and beverage companies. She finally had some funds to work with and started locking down her equipment and key players.

Next she joined forces with Director Stuart Rogers, and opened casting throughout LA. At the end of her search, she found her strongest talents to be from with in her own theatre company, thus becoming a Tribe co-production.

Daniele then teamed up with the California Film Industry and Absolute Post; whom she had previously collaborated with producers Dave Rosen and Alicia Ferraro (1st AD) on the 48 Hour Film Festival. When they read Dirty Mary, they too were on board. Moving into pre-production, all the key players seemed a natural fit. Their work ethic, support, and enthusiasm played a crucial part in laying down Dirty Mary’s framework.

Upon completion of principal photography Daniele and Stuart collaborated with their editor Eric Andersen whom they found through IFPW and then moved onto their score with composer Matthew Ferraro, whom Daniele had previously worked with on a feature film, Mango Kiss, in which Matthew won the Gold Medal for Excellence in Park City.

When picture finally locked, they then went back to Absolute and finished the sound mix with post supervisor, Mike Draghi.

Whhheeeeewwwwwww…… we finished!!!!

What started out as a frustrated desire to work and create has turned into one of the most satisfying endeavors Daniele has embarked on to date. Dirty Mary has won 25 awards and has been accepted to over 35 film festivals.

Dirty Mary was truly a joy to work on and we can only hope some of that pure pleasure was captured and will translate to the screen.

Daniele recently finished writing the feature version of “Dirty Mary” and is currently working with Sara Risher (former President of  Production for New Line Cinema) and Stephanie Austin (Producer of Terminator 2, Judgment Day, & True Lies) from the production company Chickflicks.