The Stars Align with Italian Filmmaker Mara New in “Doradus”

Doradus: a constellation in the Southern Hemisphere. It must have been written in the stars that Fernando Scarpa and Mara New would meet and make their first film “Doradus”, premiering at the Philadelphia Independent Film Festival on June 25th.

“Doradus” is a depiction of a powerful and enigmatic Hollywood producer named Eleonore Donte (Mara New) who invites young, smug TV writer Demitri Christon (Abubakr Ali) to her house to pitch his script for a TV show about ghosts. A great plot twist materializes that reveals the mysterious pasts of Eleonore and Demitri.

Fernando sought Italian actors to portray the mystifying and intriguing characters of “Doradus” because of their “striking ability to convey powerful pictures and facial charisma that only Italians can convey.” Frank Lentini, an Italian-American from Brooklyn, portrays Eleonore’s faithful butler. He has that unique Brooklyn-Italian presence that Scarpa wanted to incorporate into the film.

Scarpa further integrates his Italian roots into “Doradus” through the mature, captivating Eleonore. Producer and lead actress Mara brings vivacity and a ghost-like mystery to her character. She specifies, “I related my character in ‘Doradus’ to Colombina from commedia dell’arte. She is the mask of Milan, the lover of Arlecchino. I refer a lot to commedia dell’arte in my acting because we have different masks from different regions of Italy that allow us to add meaning and diversity to the characters.”

Mara was born Mara Beltrami in Milan, and she has lived in France, Australia, Canada, and now Los Angeles. She studied Acting at “Karnak Playhouse” in Mossman, Queensland, Australia with Diane Cliento, but her strict Italian parents would not allow her to pursue a career in show business. She moved to Canada on her own to join a new Dance Group.

Mara’s first claim to fame, besides her familial connection to the Beltrami House of Fashion, is that she met her husband through Liberace. While working for the Italian Canadian Club as an event planner, Mara went to see Liberace play near Toronto in search of an opening act. A young singer named Marco Valenti was performing with Liberace. She recruited him and became friends with his wife, who later became her sister-in-law.

Upon moving to Los Angeles with her husband in 1982, Mara has achieved great success. In 2004, Mara was named “One of the Most Influential Women in LA” by Beverly Hill Sheet Magazine. In 2008, Mara was given the “Eddie Medora” Actress Achievement Award from the Southern California Motion Picture Council for her lead role in Art Shulman’s play The Rabbi and the Shiksa.

Mara produced Three Days of Hamlet in 2012 starring Richard Chamberlain, which won “Best Featured Documentary” at the International Family Film Festival. “Doradus” has been nominated at the Philadelphia Independent Film Festival for Best Short.

Mara enjoys acting on and off the stage, saying, “Plays are challenging because you must rehearse every line without second chances, while movies require a completely different style of acting because you are engaging with the camera instead of the audience directly.” She enjoys performing at the Secret Rose Theater in the NOHO Arts District.

She continues, “I am able to interpret a wide range of characters: younger women, older women, etc. I believe that with good training and an imagination you can take on any persona, but you absolutely need a director to bring out the best in you. That’s why I needed Fernando: He brings out the best in me and helps me fully embody Eleonore.”

Mara and Fernando sparked their illustrious synergy about 4 years ago at the Italian Culture Institute of Los Angeles. ICI offered an acting class from the director’s point of view, which Mara found very unique because actors teach most acting classes. Lo and behold, Fernando J. Scarpa was the instructor!

“Doradus” was recently chosen to feature at the LA Fear and Fantasy Festival in September, and its growing popularity is due to Mara and Fernando’s passionate work and vision. Fernando is grateful to the Italian community, expressing, “This could not have been possible without our Italian connection. Italian culture becomes part of the magic that is Doradus.”

Fernando and Mara wanted their film to have fantastic appeal and thus transcend countries and languages, so they chose the Latin name Doradus. Mara explains, “Doradus is a fantasy; it’s a star in the sky where people go because we are all connected. We can fantasize about this planet and find truth around it. Since it is beyond our earth, ‘Doradus’ is a film for everyone that can be viewed from all countries and cultures.”

She emphasizes, “‘Doradus’ is this: a place of joy, and an amazing, chilling movie that I’m happy to have produced and be part of. I’m sure the audience will feel the same. I’m sure the audience will believe in ghosts.”