Daily Inspiration: Meet Mariama Stella Bonetti

 

Today we’d like to introduce you to Mariama Stella Bonetti

Hi Mariama Stella, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
I was born and raised in New York City’s, Manhattan. I feel so grateful for the upbringing I had because I was exposed to so many walks of life and different cultures from a young age! Both of my parents worked in the Arts, and fully immersed me in their worlds from as early as I can remember. I recall being uninterested in the Arts at first because I was solely interested in playing sports, which my parents fully encouraged, but they also wanted me to find my love for Art in some capacity simultaneously. My Father, who has now passed, was one of the best Art Conservators in the world, but also a great fine Artist and Photographer. My Mother is the Founder and Director of the New York African Film Festival, which has successfully grown year over year, and is a pioneer in showcasing film from the African Diaspora. Despite my Parents both being very successful in their fields of work and Art, they never pressured me to take the same route, and I never felt that pressure. When I was a child I wanted to be a WNBA star, and as I got older that dream shifted, but I still wanted to work in the Sports world in some capacity.

After I graduated college in New Hampshire with a degree in Business Marketing, I moved back to New York City. I wasn’t exactly sure what I wanted to do career wise, but I thought the best thing would be to try different things that I may be interested in doing. I started working in Real Estate investing, while simultaneously coaching youth soccer in an after school program. I soon realized neither was for me long term, so I found an internship with a Menswear Streetwear brand, and thought I wanted to transition into fashion. I really loved that experience because I learned the in’s and out’s of the garment district in NYC, and I also successfully helped produce and rollout a F/W line of clothing. After that internship ended, I didn’t particularly want to stay in fashion but I loved the Production aspect of what I had learned. I was looking for the next thing to try for my career and randomly started to take interest in stocks. I quickly immersed myself in the world of Finance, and thought I wanted to become a Financial Advisor. I was accepted into the Edward Jones after college program, which would have sent me to Arizona for 7 months to train to become a Financial Advisor. I was extremely excited that I was accepted into the program, but something in the back of my mind told me this was not the best move for me. I wound up not taking the offer, but suddenly was extremely sad because I didn’t fee like I had any direction and all my peers seemed to have been finding their way in their careers. Suddenly, a little voice in the back of my mind said, “Move to Los Angeles”, and the rest is history!

After going back and forth with my Parents about moving to Los Angeles, they finally agreed to let me go. I booked a one way ticket, and it was probably the best thing I did for myself! I was fortunate that one of my Mother’s friends worked in the Film Commercial industry as a makeup artist. She let me stay with her upon arrival to Los Angeles until I found my footing, and even helped me secure my first jobs as a Set Production Assistant. I knew nothing about working in film or on sets, but as soon as I finished my first job as a Set PA, I knew this was the industry for me! The best thing about being a Set PA is the ability to see and understand all departments that make a Commercial, and gives one the ability to see which department they may want navigate towards working in. I came to set with the New York City hustle, and was well received because of that. Although I was working as a freelancer, I had no problem securing jobs as a Set PA because I learned quickly, moved quickly, was adaptable and did not complain about the manual labor and long hours. My name started to make it’s way around, and I was booked and busy in no time! Almost after a year of Set PA’ing I realized that the Production Department was the place for me, and it totally made sense when I thought about how much I enjoyed the production aspect of working in fashion!

Being a freelancer in a competitive industry is not for the faint of heart. You constantly have to hustle, but tactfully to secure jobs. I learned that there is a hierarchy of moving up in the Commercial Production world, and that the way production works in commercial is different than production in film and tv. I got an opportunity to move into the production office as a Office Production Assistant, which is essentially the assistant to the Production Coordinator, but also the entire production team, which usually consists of a Producer, Production Supervisor/Manager, Production Coordinator, and Office PA. After working very hard, and non-stop as an Office PA for about a year and a half, I felt ready to self promote myself to Production Coordinator. That was a big step up in terms of tasks and responsibilities, and I knew I had to expand and make new connections in order to get hired as a Production Coordinator. Shortly after finding by footing in the role, COVID started. Work was quite for a while, but then the industry found it’s way to shoot while managing COVID on set through testing. Because Production is the epicenter of any film set, we were often times responsible for organizing and making sure our crew was tested and cleared to work on set. One day, I had an idea of taking COVID testing into my own hands, since Production was already so involved in that process. I immediately reached out the the COVID testing labs that we were using to test crews in the industry and inquired about partnering with them directly so we can facilitate our own testing and just have them process it. Once we got the green light from labs to do so, my Business Partner (who is also in Film Production) and I formed a company and hit the ground running with COVID testing. We were concierge COVID testing crew members with nurses and on site COVID testing crew members, while simultaneously working Commercial Production jobs. It was extremely lucrative, and for those few years that the business ran I was working nonstop, even on vacations I had to work because of how logistical our jobs in Production were in addition to organizing and managing COVID testing. After COVID was announced as a non emergency, the business dwindled, but I was extremely proud of myself for starting a business within the Production world and taking advantage of an opportunity. I think that was my Business degree coming into play!

After Production Coordinating for almost 3 years in conjunction with the COVID testing business, I felt ready to self promote myself to Production Supervisor/Manager. As I was making this transition, which I started toward the end of 2023, I was approached by a long time friend of mine who is an actor, John Anthony Torres, and we spoke about how he is in the process of staring and co-producing a short film, called Papí. I was immediately intrigued because of the story line, and I knew I needed to be involved. I joining the team as an Executive Producer, and this is my first credit in a Short Film. The film has been gaining a lot of traction in Film Festivals, and I feel honored to be a part of it! I never thought my world would expand beyond Commercials, but I feel that working in this industry has energetically brought more opportunities to my life that relate to Film.

Moving to Los Angeles was the best thing that I have done for myself so far, and I feel extremely grateful for my drive, passion and the opportunities that have been presented to me!

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
The road leading up the moving from New York City to Los Angeles was anything but smooth. I was extremely depressed after trying multiple career paths, but I knew that those industries were not sustainable for me long term. After moving things certainly smoothed out, but then my Father began to show signs of Dementia/Alzheimer’s. It wasn’t a fast decline, but I would constantly be coming back from Los Angeles to New York City to visit my parents and spend quality time with my Father. I truly feel so grateful that I am a freelancer and was able to travel back and forth, because if I were a salaried employee, I would not be able to take the time off that I did to spend time with my family. The last two years, as his decline increased in speed, I would spend more time at home, and thankfully still be able to work because most of my job is done on a computer and since COVID most people in Commercial Production are work from home until we shoot on set. Although you have this freedom as a freelancer, there is also the need to constantly hustle to secure jobs since the commercial industry to quite small and niche. During last years strike, I know almost everyone in film, tv, and commercial were struggling to secure work for themselves, and it affected many peoples livelihoods, include myself. Things have gotten better in the commercial industry since, but now a lot of jobs are being shot out of California and even out of the country because it’s cheaper! I feel fortunate that I was been steadily working, but I am certainly trying to immerse myself in other industries that have lines of film/photo production.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I have always loved music! I grew up listening to a very broad array of music thanks to my parents, and that always stuck with me. In highschool my friends and I would freestyle rap over facetime for fun, and eventually I tried to teach myself music DJ mixing and music production, but I did not have a attention span to learn it at the time. I never seriously pursued music because I didn’t think it would be a world I could make money in. Since the commercial industry has been a bit slow in the start of 2024, I found myself having time on my hands. I dusted off my old DJ mixer, and started mixing music again. It felt like riding a bike, but I now have the bandwidth to learn by trail and error without getting discouraged and there is no pressure of wasting my time on something I don’t think I can necessarily make money from. I LOVE IT! I am so happy I had this time off to get back into something artistic and that I love. Working in film production is so logistical, and not necessarily creative, so tapping back into my creativity has made me truly overjoyed! I will continue to make mixes and advance my skills as a DJ, and who knows where that may take me next!

We’d be interested to hear your thoughts on luck and what role, if any, you feel it’s played for you?
I’m not sure if this is luck, but listening to my intuition and gut has been the best thing. If I didn’t listen to that voice in my head that said “Move to LA”, who knows where I would be right now. I think people need to listen to themselves more, and worry about what other people think or say less. My parents and close family did not think it was a good idea for me to move at the time, and despite their strong influence on me throughout life, I knew that was the move I had to make. Listen to your gut, and things will start to fall into place that may seem “lucky”.

Contact Info:

• Website: WIP
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stellanycbby/
• Twitter: https://x.com/MariamaStella
• Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/stellayup