I Want to Live on Mars

Directed By Mariya Somova
Scripted Feature Coming of Age

Two unlikely friends embark on a journey to escape life in a ghost town devastated by disaster

  • ABOUT
  • BIO
  • SCREENINGS
  • AWARDS
  • PRESS
  • CREDITS

In broad strokes, two young women (Pickles, very rural, and Breezy, very urban) are brought together by the mistakes or the circumstances of their guardians beyond their control. After months of prickly, unlikely friendship, and a series of poetically unexpected events, the two strike out on their own, leaving behind whatever scraps they had in exurban Pennsylvania in search of "Life on Mars."

Mariya Somova is a Ukrainian political refugee who moved to the United States of America at the age of 19 to pursue a career in filmmaking. She began by dreaming up concepts and filming them on her small home camera. She developed by working different industry-related jobs, during which she learned every aspect on set. Each experience along her path ultimately informed her most personal film yet, I Want to Live on Mars. Together with Joe Cyrus she co-founded and owns AuraPyre Productions, focusing on independent filmmaking and music production.

Sherman Oaks Film Festival 2023

Queens World Film Festival 2024

New Jersey International Film Festival 2024

San Francisco Independent Film Festival 2024

Festival of Cinema NYC 2024

Oil Valley 2023 - Best Cinematography

Sherman Oaks 2023 - Programmer's Prize for Exceptional Filmmaking

Northeast Pennsylvania 2024 - Best Narrative Feature

Queens World 2024 - Best Production Design

"I Want to Live on Mars doesn’t have the huge Hollywood budgets, but it has more passion"
Last Movie Outpost
"Intriguing Trailer for 'I Want to Live on Mars' Film About a Ghost Town"
First Showing Net
"Mariya Somova’s "I Want to Live on Mars" is a beautiful, bleak, and poignant take on social isolation"
Film Net
"Micro budget gem that evokes the work of Ken Loach and Andrei Tarkovsky"
Letterboxd
"Adorable and Off-kilter Feature"
New Jersey Stage

Actress - Bethany Stolar

Actress - Claire Haller

Producer - Anderson Boyd

Executive Producer and Original Score - Joe Cyrus

Actor - Mark Solari

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