A documentary with live cinema elements – a stranger than fiction performance about Trump's America.
Artist Maria Lloyd begins to receive emails meant for another Maria Lloyd. A MAGA-Maria, with invitations to National Rifle Association dinners, gun shows and meet-and-greet events. Reminders of far-right Christian conferences, hotel bookings and meetings led by Trump Junior.
Maria takes Maria on a journey and she gets lost in the America we thought we knew. Welcome to a world of pink guns, soap operas and car chases. From Florida to Mississippi, a road trip through the Deep South in search of the other Maria.
Hi Maria,
Thanks for your note and your concern, my friend. To be honest, it very much feels like very tough times may be ahead. That said, I can only scarcely recall so many moments within recent memory where it has been more important to be an American artist than now. I’m sure we will lick our wounds for a bit, but I’m also absolutely certain that once the mourning has passed we will get to work creating wholly defiant and brilliantly powerful things of art and ours in defence those who can least defend themselves. I’m very grateful to have your friendship and support in that upcoming fight. Once this initial shock has passed, it’s time to be punk rock as fuck, and I’m here for it.
– Ronald Baez, writer, film director and producer in Miami
Maria Lloyd works in film, dance and theater. Maria's films Salt and Blind Dancer have been shown at Lincoln Center in New York and on NRK2, SVT2 and BBC Arts amongst other places. Her films balance the edge between documentary and fiction, dance and pixellation. When she lived in Brighton, England, Maria was part of setting up a producing theater called The Nightingale Theatre. She is now based in Oslo and recently completed a master's degree in theater directing at the Oslo Academy of the Arts. After making many dance films together with Magali Charrier, they now take the art of film to the stage, where they use “live cinema” elements in collaboration with an international team of artists.
