Madeleine Olnek facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Madeleine Olnek
Olnek in 2014
Born	New York City, U.S.
Alma mater	NYU (BFA) Brown University (MFA) Columbia University (MFA)
Occupation	Film director screenwriter playwright

Madeleine Olnek is an American independent film director, writer, and playwright. She creates her own movies and plays. She has written 24 plays and three feature films. These films include Codependent ... Space Alien Seeks Same, The Foxy ..., and Wild Nights with Emily. Her movies are known for being funny comedies with unique and imaginative ideas.

About Madeleine Olnek

Madeleine Olnek grew up in Greenwich, Connecticut. She studied drama at NYU and finished her degree in 1987. She also earned advanced degrees (MFAs) in creative writing from Brown University and in film from Columbia University. In the early 1990s, she joined ACT UP, a group that worked to help people with AIDS.

Olnek (right) with the cast of The Foxy ... at its Sundance Premiere in 2014

While at NYU, Olnek directed a comedy show called "The Follies." In this show, her classmate Molly Shannon created the early version of her famous character, Mary Katherine Gallagher. Molly Shannon has said that Olnek helped her a lot in developing this character.

After college, Olnek became a playwright and director in New York City. She was part of a special writing group at Public Theater. She also worked with the WOW Café theater, where she wrote and directed many plays. These plays included Wild Nights with Emily (1999) and Codependent ... Space Alien Seeks Same (1992).

Olnek later realized that new technology was making filmmaking more exciting and immediate. So, she decided to focus on making movies. She made her first short film, Hold Up, in 2006. Her next short film, Countertransference, came out in 2009. Both of these short films were shown at the famous Sundance Film Festival. Countertransference even won an award for "Best Short Film Directed by a woman at Sundance." This award was given by Women in Film Los Angeles.

Madeleine Olnek's Films

In 2011, Olnek turned one of her plays into her first full-length movie, Codependent ... Space Alien Seeks Same. This film was shown at Sundance, the MoMA, and The Viennale. It was also nominated for an award at the 2011 Gotham Independent Film Awards.

Her second feature film was The Foxy .... Some of the actors from her first film also appeared in this one. The Foxy ... was shown at Sundance, The Moscow International Film Festival, and BAMcinemaFest. It was nominated for an Independent Spirit Award.

Olnek received special grants from Harvard University Press and the Guggenheim Foundation. She used these grants to turn another one of her plays into her third feature film, Wild Nights with Emily. This movie was the first time the poet Emily Dickinson was shown on screen as a queer person. The film starred Molly Shannon and premiered in 2018 at SXSW. It was nominated for the John Cassavetes Independent Spirit Award. The movie was also ranked as one of the top ten best comedies of 2019 by Rotten Tomatoes.

Personal Life

Madeleine Olnek lives in New York City. She enjoys telling jokes.

Filmography

See also

• List of female film and television directors
• List of lesbian filmmakers
• List of LGBT-related films directed by women