Maria Katre

Maria-Katre is a Los Angeles based writer, actor, producer and musician. A Graduate of "The British American Drama Academy" in Oxford, England. She is and has always been the true definition of a Multi-Hyphenate. As a young person growing up in Ypsilanti, Michigan, Maria knew she loved telling unique stories and creating. During her senior year at Florida A&M University, she put her vision to paper and produced her very first award-winning documentary at the age of 22. Her documentary entitled "In Their Eyes (2008)," followed the lives of a blind adult and a blind child. Dissatisfied with how people who are visually impaired were often marginalized by society and represented in mass media, Maria-Katre was determined to help tell their stories, their way. Her main goal for this remarkable documentary was to break the stigmas society places on people who are blind and demonstrate their full capabilities as human beings. "In Their Eyes" won a 1st place Associated Press Award for her university where it is currently on display at the School of Journalism and Graphic Communication. After receiving such a prestigious recognition, it was then that she knew she wanted to continue telling stories her way, using all of her talents.

After graduating college, Maria moved to Los Angeles in 2009 to pursue her other dream of becoming an actor. While pursuing a career as an actor, the desire to tell stories continued to pursue her. Since moving to LA, Maria has written over five short-films and a scripted TV series pilot. Most recently, she wrote, co-produced and starred in a short film entitled, "MO" in 2020. "MO" is the story of a single mother facing eviction, who defers her dreams of becoming a professional musician to take on a job as an English as a Second Language teacher. "MO" has been selected in over 19 film festivals during the pandemic and has been recognized with several awards including "Best Screenwriter" by the Toronto International Women Film Festival, "Best Drama Short" and "Best Actress" by the Independent Shorts Awards and "Best Short Film Script" by the Dubai International Film Festival. Maria is currently in pre-production on three new projects: two short-films entitled, "Why I'm In Wyoming" and "Dr. West's Fervor" and one documentary entitled, "Strong For So Long."

As an actor, Maria has been featured in many commercials and TV shows and is a member of SAG-AFTRA. As a musician, she has played trumpet alongside music's biggest names, including Beyoncé at Coachella in 2018, Beyoncé's Super Bowl halftime show in 2016 and Taylor Swift's 2014 MTV Music Video Awards performance.

Being a multi-hyphenate isn't always easy but Maria is confident that she's on the right path of using all of her many talents. She has big dreams for what's to come with these projects and she knows that as long as joy is involved, the possibilities are endless.