Julia Verdin’s dark thriller film MAYA releases theatrically in five markets across the United States between Friday, January 26 and Thursday, February 1. This follows a World Premiere at Raindance Film Festival in London, a screening and Q&A at the Chandler International Film Festival in Arizona, and a theatrical premiere at the Laemmle Royal in Los Angeles. In North America, MAYA will also be available on VOD Friday, January 26 and on DVD Tuesday, March 12. The Apple TV pre-order is live.
Teenager Maya was raised in a household stricken by her father’s abandonment and her mother’s ensuing alcoholism. Maya seeks an escape from her mother’s abusive boyfriend by confiding in a man she meets online, who convinces her to run away. Unbeknownst to Maya, she has been lured into a child trafficking scheme where her confidant quickly becomes her pimp. While Maya fights to understand the difference between love and manipulation, her mother must fight through her addiction in order to bring her daughter home.
WHO:
British filmmaker Julia Verdin is an award-winning multi-hyphenate writer, director, and producer. She has produced dozens of films, including THE MERCHANT OF VENICE, with Al Pacino and Jeremy Irons, and 2 JACKS, with Sienna Miller, Danny Huston, Jack Huston, and Jacqueline Bisset. She is best known for her directorial debut LOST GIRLS (Best Social Impact Film at the Culver City Film Festival) and debut feature ANGIE: LOST GIRLS (Lifetime), both focusing on sex trafficking from the perspective of the victim. Verdin is currently in production on another social impact film, NO ADDRESS, which is about homelessness in America.
Verdin says, “I was inspired to write MAYA after hearing many stories from victims of trafficking about the Stockholm syndrome-type relationships they had with their traffickers. They had been manipulated into believing that their trafficker was the only person who was trustworthy and truly cared for them. To represent these realities of human trafficking in the most authentic way possible, I made sure to meet with anti-trafficking groups and trafficking task force detectives, in addition to survivors. My hope is that MAYA will help educate teenagers and parents as to what trafficking looks like—when people join their voices on an issue, change is possible!”
WHEN & WHERE:
January 26 to January 28 at 1:30PM, 4:20PM, and 7:20PM PST
Laemmle Royal, 11523 Santa Monica Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90025
Tickets available here
January 26 to February 1 at 4:45PM and 7:00PM CST
St Michael Cinema, 4300 O’Day Ave NE, St Michael, MN 55376
Tickets available here
January 26 to February 1 at TBD EST
Cinépolis Luxury Cinemas Coconut Grove, 3015 Grand Ave, Miami, FL 33133
January 26 to February 1 at TBD EST
Bel Air Luxury Cinema, 10100 8 Mile Rd, Detroit, MI 48234
January 26 to February 1 at TBD CST
Cinépolis Luxury Cinemas Euless, 2601 Brazos Blvd, Euless, TX 76039
You can know more about MAYA through website artists4change.org/filmprojects/maya, IMDB @Maya, Facebook @Artists for Change, Instagram @artistsforchangela, Twitter @afc_la and TikTok