Marilena Marchetti is a jeweler, documentary filmmaker and occupational therapist. In May 2024, she completed the Jewelry Design program at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City. Her hand-fabricated design work was featured in the Graduate Student Exhibition at the FIT Museum. She received first place in the award category of Best Art Jewelry. Marilena was honored to be a scholarship recipient to attend The Jewelry Symposium in 2024. That year, she was also a sponsored mentee of The Plumb Club at the annual JCK convention in Las Vegas. Her work was featured in the Society of North American Goldsmiths’ exhibition during the 2024 edition of New York City Jewelry Week.

In 2019, Marilena co-founded the production studio Portico Films. She co-produced the short doc “Ezra Dowry: Life on Broadway” that was an official selection of the New York City Mental Health Film Festival, 2016. Her feature, “Liquid Handcuffs: A Documentary To Free Methadone” premiered in New York City and  L.A. in 2019 and received an impact grant from Open Society Foundations.  She co-directed and co-produced the follow-up documentary, “Swallow THIS: A Documentary to Free Methadone,” and toured the film around the United States and Canada. Marilena’s short documentary video work has appeared on the news sites CityLimits.org and Filter.org.

Marliena worked as an occupational therapist for children in Special Education for over 10 years. She received her Master of Science in Occupational Therapy from the University of Illinois at Chicago. In 2016, she founded the Film Festival From MARS: An Annual Showcase of Media Art By Students in Special Education on the basis of her belief that children with disabilities deserve greater access to the arts. The festival occurred at Lincoln Center in New York City and will announce its new home in 2026. As a strong advocate for children and youth with disabilities, she has garnered multiple grants from the Citizens Committee for New York City and the NYC departments of Cultural Affairs and Sanitation for her work with students in Special Education.