Mara Ciorba: The Young Arrow

Mara Ciorba has spent a lifetime laying the foundations of her craft. Growing up in Romania, she would follow her mother through the textile factory she managed, noticing the folds, colours, and textures of the fabric. Later, as a teenager, she spent hours making edits for her favourite songs, cutting together scenes from films and videos she found on Tumblr. For Mara, working with images has always been a way of understanding and shaping stories.

Her parents encouraged her to channel that energy into filmmaking, so she dove into production classes. But it didn’t take long to realise that post-production was her thing. Once she stepped into a grading suite, everything clicked. Colour gave her control, precision, and a whole new way to tell stories. It felt effortless and fun so she went for it.

While still in school, she landed a job as a runner at a post house and kept grading her classmates’ films on the side. Then the pandemic hit. She was laid off from her gig and lost the opportunity to grade any final projects (as no one in the program was able to produce).

After that she moved back home, but refused to stay idle. A former coworker mentioned a Digital Effects course at the National Film and Television School in London and she took the leap, knowing she had so much more to learn about her craft. 

Back in post-production, Mara quickly became the go-to colourist for fellow students. One of the short films she graded caught the attention of colourist Toby Tomkins. He asked to meet.

That meeting turned into an internship. She worked as a color assistant during the day and stayed late into the night grading projects on the side. It was exhausting, but it was the kind of hustle in which she felt comfortable. That internship turned into a job. That job meant more late-night passion projects in the dark room.

A few years later, Mara found herself standing onstage at the British Young Arrows, holding the award for Best New Colourist. 

She was stunned. She accepted the award, made her way down the receiving line of congratulations and through an interview about how she felt.

Almost immediately, the messages started rolling in. Mara had already been working at Harbor, but the recognition opened a new door. She stepped into the role of colourist, the next stop on a journey that’s still unfolding - proof that trusting her instincts had taken her exactly where she needed to be.

Though she no longer spends hours on personal edits, Mara finds fulfilment in shaping the colour and tone of other people’s films, helping directors bring their vision to life and continuing to explore the art of visual storytelling.

Click to view Mara's Reel