Creatively by Maria, LLC was created in 2023 by Maria Palacio, a Brooklyn-based Puerto Rican filmmaker, producer, writer, educator, and photographer whose work centers on women, identity, and emotionally driven storytelling. CBM caters to creating and sharing compelling stories, taking risks, breaking barriers, opening doors for women and POC, and more.

Inspired by her own journey as an emerging filmmaker, Maria founded the Revolution Me Film Festival in 2016 to create a supportive platform for independent and underrepresented artists. Since then, she has produced more than fourteen films focused on diverse perspectives and intimate human stories.

In addition to her filmmaking work, Maria is a professor at Long Island University Brooklyn Campus and an ESL teacher at the Chinese American Planning Council, where her experiences in education continue to shape her commitment to community-centered storytelling.

Maria is currently in post-production on her fifth directed short film, Sleep at Night, and continues development on her first directed and co-produced documentary project, The Fighter in Us. Her documentary series was one of 89 recipients of the 2022 NYC Women’s Fund for Media, Music and Theatre.