Company Profile
Mariana Ferreira joined the television and entertainment industry in 1980. As a dedicated director and producer, she always strives for excellence in all productions.
Her special skills, self determination and levelheaded control emanate from 28 years experience in the industry.
2009
Lunastar Productions have been contracted, as part of a team, to install two dance extravaganzas for Selection International Entertainment, an Italian based company, onto the new Italian Cruise Liner, The Costa Pacifica, to be launched in June 2009.
Other international and conference productions are also currently being designed and negotiated.
2008
Lunastar Productions completed a documentary for the Steyn family in South Africa, starting with the first Steyn who was the master builder of The Castle in Cape Town to the mega business entrepreneur, Douw Steyn, owner of businesses in South Africa, the United Kingdom and Australia.
The company was commissioned by Thebe Conferences and Events on behalf of Discovery Health, Life and Invest to design and direct their yearly award ceremony for their top platinum intermediaries at Royal Livingstone in Zambia. Other productions for Thebe Conferences and Events included the Discovery Foundation Awards as well as a partnership announcement between Thebe Investment Corporation and Shell.
Pre-production is currently under way on the two dance extravaganzas for the new Italian Cruise Liner, The Costa Pacifica, to be launched in 2009.
2007
The year started with Mariana directing the South African Boxing Awards for the SABC. Shortly after that, Lunastar’s production management expertise was once again called upon for the Opening Parade of the A1 Grand Prix, held in Durban.
2007 saw Lunastar Productions involved with the overall creative design and the production of specialised backdrop videos for Selection International Entertainment. Whilst in Italy, Mariana also managed the installation of their two dance extravaganzas, Big Band and Mythology, on the newly launched Italian Cruise Liner, Costa Serena.
Throughout the year, Mariana directed various launches for Discovery Health, Vitality, and Life, as well as the launch of Discovery Invest for Thebe Conferences and Events.
In the later part of 2007, Bidvest brought Pilobolus (an international dance company from the USA who performed at the Oscars) to South Africa, to perform in 7 commercials, which Lunastar facilitated.
Mariana directed the live transmission of the Standard Bank announcement when the Commercial Bank of China bought 20% of the South African bank.
Lunastar Productions produced several other documentaries including the Life of South African mega-businessman, Douw Steyn, and his business ventures within South Africa, Australia and the UK.
2006
Mariana produced and directed the Unite 4 Health Gala Evening featuring Lance Armstrong, on behalf of Perspective Projects and Adcock Ingram, a division of Tiger Brands. She was also the Assistant Producer to Heather von Ruben and her company, Panic, on the Opening Parade of the first A1 Grand Prix held in Durban.
Throughout the year, Mariana directed various Launches and Award Ceremonies for Discovery Health and Life.
De Beers commissioned a documentary-drama in February on the Big Hole Project in Kimberley, for the new international visitors centre. Lunastar Productions managed the production as well as the Launch of the Big Hole Project in November.
Costa Crociere launched a new Italian Cruise Liner, the Costa Concordia and Lunastar Productions was once again asked to produce the specialised backdrop videos for Selection International Entertainment. Mariana also assisted in the overall creative design of the new dance extravaganzas, Time and Europe in Union.
Lunastar Productions also produced several other documentaries including the Steyn family history in South Africa, the history of the small boutique hotel, The Saxon, in Sandton, Johannesburg and the history of Auto & General, one of the biggest short term insurance companies in South Africa.
2005
In 2005 Mariana finally concluded the filming of a private game reserve development, which started in 2000. The result, a documentary series called Siyabonga – An African Dream (working title) which includes animal relocation, the building of the Nelson Mandela Centre for Reconciliation, the biggest rock dam wall built in Africa and numerous other topics, produced for the owner of the private game reserve.
Throughout the year, Mariana was contracted by Perspective Projects to direct various Launches and Award Ceremonies for Discovery Health and Life.
2004
2004 saw the production of another specialised video for Selection International Entertainment. The dance extravaganza shows, Celestial Nights and Zodiac, replaced the shows which ran successfully for nearly 4 years on the Italian Cruise Liner, Costa Classica. Whilst in Italy, supervising the change over and installation of the new show, Mariana was contacted by the SABC requesting her services as producer for the first South African Sports Awards. The production was planned and executed in just over a month. Mariana also directed the live show and television transmission of the SAB Premiership Soccer Awards.
Mariana was once again contracted by Perspective Projects to direct various Launches and Award Ceremonies for Discovery Health and Life.
2003
Expertise, drive, confidence and the ability to tackle productions of mega proportions give Mariana the edge to succeed in a highly competitive market and sees her supervising television series’ and launches i.e. Estée Lauder’s “Beyond Paradise”, on a contract basis for the highly acclaimed Combined Artists, producers of M-Net’s investigative journalism programme, Carte Blanche. SABC TV Series’ included Looks 2 Live By, sponsored by Estée Lauder, the Sasol and eBucks series of 1 minute television inserts covering positive real life stories in South Africa and another reality make-over show, Face 2 Face, sponsored by Revlon.
Continuing her relationship with Perspective Projects, Mariana directed various Discovery Health and Life Launches and Award Ceremonies.
2002
During 2002 Mariana made the decision to “go it alone” and resigned her directorship from Starlight Productions. Lunastar Productions was born, her one person operation specialising in high quality video productions for the corporate market and production supervision of television programmes. These productions over the last couple of years have included numerous videos and the directing of corporate award ceremonies and events / shows, for a South African events agency, Perspective Projects (now known as Thebe Conferences and Events), whose clients included SAB (South African Breweries) and a South African life and medical insurance company, Discovery. Some of the highlights videos for SAB included the Miller Launch, Regional Soccer Events and the SAB Premiership Soccer Awards.
2001–2002
2001 became a busy but exciting year with the continuance of the filming of the private game reserve development and being awarded a contract by Selection International Entertainment, a company based in Italy, to produce a 45 minute specialised video. The video formed the backdrop to the Sport Show, a stage production for the Italian Cruise Liner, Costa Classica.
The Miss World Organisation in London also contracted Mariana as their Television Supervisor for the Miss World Beauty Pageant at Sun City in 2001 and again in 2002 for the pageant in Nigeria which, at the last minute, had to be moved to London due to unrest in Nigeria.
2000
In 2000, Mariana was approached by a private business magnate to film, documentary style, the development of his private game reserve on which the Nelson Mandela Centre for Reconciliation is built. Filming included the relocation of wildlife such as elephant, lion, crocodile and baboons. The filming extended into the building and private opening ceremony of the Nelson Mandela Centre for Reconciliation which is not only a private place of rest for Madiba but also a place where high powered negotiations take place.
1994–1999
At the end of 1994 Mariana registered the highly successful Starlight Productions as a company specialising in the entertainment industry in the fields of television and theatre productions such as:
- Producers of the 1997 Miss World Beauty Pageant in the Seychelles,
- Producers and designers of the Ipi Ntombi stage production and the international tour to Australia and New Zealand,
- South African Facilitators and Managers of insert shoots for the 1998 & 2000 London Weekend Television hit series Don’t Try This At Home,
- Staging and Television Producers as well as sets, costumes and props designers of the Opening and Closing Ceremonies of the 7th All Africa Games in 1999. Starlight Productions worked with 4 other companies under the banner of Vulindlela, on this project.
The companies’ track record also included the management and co-ordination of international and South African concerts:
- 3 Tenors at the Union Buildings,
- Kirk Franklin,
- Rolling Stones,
- Pavarotti,
- UB40,
- Gloria Estefan and
- Highveld 94.7 Top 100 Concerts (a South African radio station) in 1997, 1998 & 1999 to name but a few.
1994
In 1994, Mariana started out as production manager with a South African commercials production company, Liberation, working closely with Miles Goodall and Neale Ferguson on commercials such as BMW 3-Series Convertible “Starry Skies”, Telkom “Bushman & Eskimo” and Nedbank “Affinity”.
Mariana then produced for director, Miles Goodall, on commercials such as Goodyear “Moonbuggy”, Jacobi 1880 (German commercial), Amaretto Disaronno (Italian commercial), Lee Jeans “The Worker”, Sasol “Education & Economy”, Citroën (Spanish commercial) and Mercedes Benz (Italian commercial).
1991–1993
1991 introduced Mariana to the glamorous, but demanding world of beauty pageants – productions she took in her stride. These included the 1991, 1992 and 1993 Miss SA Beauty Pageants and the mammoth 1992 and 1993 Miss World Beauty Pageants, beamed to millions of viewers round the world.
1988–1991
In 1988 Combined Artists recognized her potential and appointed her as Production Manager which led to a close and long relationship with a renowned creative team under the leadership of William C. Faure. Numerous pre-recorded and live television projects, taking place around the globe, earned her recognition throughout a fiercely competitive industry, for meticulous planning and extraordinary competence.
1980–1988
She joined the SABC in 1980 where her training took her through all aspects of television production before she was appointed as director of live productions including news broadcasts and special events. During this time she also directed and produced magazine inserts and was one of a team to undertake the technical and conceptual planning of programmes such as Good Morning South Africa and Network – a news and actuality programme.
With 8 years of television production to her credit, she ventured into the freelance world of film, corporate television and commercials, managing projects which served to further hone her expertise.