Mari was born and raised in New York City’s Upper West Side. Her father is a civil rights attorney who represented the trans activists at The Stonewall Riots and her mother was a Broadway and television actor, teacher, and playwright, best known for the iconic 1970s Calgon commercial, “Ancient Chinese Secret”. Mari studied at The School of American Ballet at the Juilliard School and performed in The Nutcracker with Mikhail Baryshnikov at Lincoln Center. She was a champion equestrian who attended The High School of Music and Art and later went on to study medicine at The University of Pittsburgh. In the early 90s, Mari wrote, directed and edited the experimental short films: The Love Thang Trilogy, Target, and X-Girl, which focused on identity, sexuality, and race. They screened at film festivals worldwide and remain in several permanent collections including Brown University, New York University, Yale University, and The New York Public Library.
Mari went on to become an award-winning editor and worked at Lorne Michaels’ Broadway Video and at Sony Music Studios until their doors closed in 2007. She continued to focus on music, live performances, and documentaries for many artists including: Michael Jackson, Billy Joel, Tony Bennett, Mariah Carey, Beyoncé, Lauryn Hill, John Legend, Paul Simon, Wynton Marsalis, Parliament Funkadelic, Ziggy Marley, Willie Nelson, Jay-Z, Rihanna, The Weeknd, Carrie Underwood, The Judds, and Alicia Keys.
In 2015 she edited the documentary Live From New York!, which looked at 40 years of comedy, music, politics and pop culture through the lens of Saturday Night Live and it was the opening night film at the 2015 Tribeca Film Festival. During the period of 2015-2019, Mari edited the Nina Simone, Stevie Nicks, Chicago, Lou Reed, Joan Jett, NWA, Tupac, Janet Jackson and The Cure’s induction films for HBO’s The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony. She was the editor of Jimmy Carter Rock and Roll President, which was the opening night film for the 2020 Tribeca Film Festival; and Tom Petty Somewhere You Feel Free, which won the audience award at the 2021 SXSW Film Festival, Best Documentary at the 2021 Boulder International Film Festival, and the PGA Award for Outstanding Televised or Streamed Motion Picture.
Mari produced, directed and edited The Music Never Ends, about The Mambo Legends Orchestra, formerly The Tito Puente Orchestra, that will be released on PBS in September 2024. She is the editor, writer, and executive producer of James Brown: Say It Loud, a 4-part docuseries executive produced by Mick Jagger, Questlove, and Peter Afterman that will be released in February 2024 and is currently producing and editing a film about Curtis Mayfield.
Mari is an active member of American Cinema Editors (ACE).
