Donatella Maiorca facts for kids

Donatella Maiorca was born on September 13, 1957, in Messina, a city in Sicily, Italy. She is a talented Italian film director and screenwriter. She is known for creating interesting movies and TV shows.

Donatella Maiorca's Career Journey

Donatella Maiorca started her journey in the film world while she was studying psychology at the Sapienza University of Rome. She first worked as an actress and an assistant director. An assistant director helps the main director with many tasks on a film set.

Early Work in Film

In 1981, Donatella worked as an assistant director for Luciano Odorisio. She also helped make some well-known movies. These included Odd Squad (1981) and Big Deal After 20 Years (1985). These early experiences helped her learn a lot about filmmaking.

Becoming a Director

Donatella Maiorca directed her first film in 1996. It was a documentary for Rai 3, a TV channel in Italy. A documentary is a film that tells a true story or gives information about a real topic.

Two years later, in 1998, she directed her first movie for cinemas. This film was called Viol@ and starred Stefania Rocca. For her work on Viol@, Donatella was nominated for important awards. These included the Golden Globes and the Nastro d'Argento for Best New Director. These nominations showed that she was a rising talent in filmmaking.

Directing for Television

After her success in movies, Donatella Maiorca also directed many television shows. She directed episodes for popular Italian TV programs. These included Giornalisti (Journalists) in 2000 and La stagione dei delitti (Crime Season) in 2007.

She also directed many episodes of well-loved Italian soap operas. She worked on eleven episodes of Un Posto al Sole (A Place in the Sun). She also directed over seventy episodes of La squadra (The Squad) and La nuova squadra (The New Squad).

Directing Viola di mare

In 2009, Donatella Maiorca directed a film called Viola di mare. This title means 'Sea Violet' or 'Purple Sea'. The movie starred Isabella Ragonese and Valeria Solarino. It was a historical drama set in 19th-century Sicily. The film explored important relationships and life in that time period.

Viola di mare won the Città di Firenze Award at the New Italian Cinema Events film festival. This award helped her film be shown in other countries, like America, the Netherlands, and Russia. Valeria Solarino, one of the main actresses, won the Susan Batson Award for her role. At a film festival in Bilbao in 2011, Valeria Solarino won the award for best actress. Isabella Ragonese also received a special mention for her acting. Viola di mare was also nominated for the Marc'Aurelio d'Oro for best film at the Rome Film Festival.

Donatella Maiorca's Films

Here are some of the films Donatella Maiorca has directed:

• Viol@ (1998)
• Viola di mare (2009)

See also

• List of female film and television directors