Maria Maggenti facts for kids
Maria Maggenti is an American film director and screenwriter. She is known for making independent films, which are movies made outside of big Hollywood studios. She worked as a script editor and writer for the TV show Without a Trace. She is perhaps most famous for her movie The Incredibly True Adventure of Two Girls in Love (1995). Her film Puccini for Beginners was shown at the Sundance Film Festival in 2006. Maria was also an activist with ACT UP for many years.
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Early Life and Education
Maria Maggenti went to Smith College. There, she studied Philosophy and also learned about ancient Greek and Latin.
Filmmaking and TV Work
After college, Maria moved to New York City. She worked on TV commercials and helped make documentaries about gay rights and AIDS activism. She wanted to create films about gay and lesbian life that felt more real than what was usually seen in movies.
Maria then joined New York University's Graduate Film Program. She also received a teaching fellowship there. Between 1990 and 1994, Maria worked on several short films. Her first feature film, The Incredibly True Adventure of Two Girls in Love (1995), helped her become known in the film world.
Her Films
Maria Maggenti's first two movies were made with small budgets. Her first film, The Incredibly True Adventure of Two Girls in Love, was very successful even without a big budget. Maria started thinking about the story for this film based on a tomboy character. She later realized this character was inspired by her first girlfriend.
Her movie, Puccini for Beginners (2006), is a romantic comedy. It was filmed in New York City in just 18 days. This film was released on September 2, 2006.
Working in Television
After making her first few films, Maria moved to Los Angeles. There, she started focusing on writing for television. She wrote for the crime series Without a Trace, which began in 2002. Working on Without a Trace was a change for Maria. For ten years, she had mostly worked alone on her films. Now, she was working with a team of other writers.
She said she "ultimately came to love it" and "loved her colleagues." While she enjoyed being with "all these smart people," she also mentioned that she didn't like having to work in an office from Monday to Friday for 11 months straight. Maria also wrote an episode of 90210 and helped produce several other episodes.
In 2007, the Sundance Film Festival asked her to create a movie for a cell phone. In 2010, Maria started co-writing the comedy film Monte Carlo, which came out in 2011.
Activism
Maria Maggenti was an important member of ACT UP New York. This group worked to help people with AIDS. Maria helped write some of the group's educational materials. She also took part in and documented many of their direct actions.
As a member of the ACT UP Oral History Project, she helps save the history of ACT UP. This project includes filmed interviews with people who lived through the AIDS pandemic.
Awards
Maria Maggenti won the Best Feature award for her movie Puccini for Beginners at the 2007 Barcelona International Gay & Lesbian Film Festival. Puccini for Beginners was also nominated for the Grand Jury Prize at the 2006 Sundance Film Festival.
Filmography
- Doctors, Liars & Women (1988)
- The Love Monster (1990)
- Waiting for War (1991)
- Name Day (1993)
- La Donna è mobile (1994)
- The Incredibly True Adventure of Two Girls in Love (1995)
- The Love Letter (1999)
- Puccini for Beginners (2006)
- Monte Carlo (2011)
- Before I Fall (2017)
See also
- List of female film and television directors
- List of LGBT-related films directed by women
