Maria Maggenti facts for kids
Maria Maggenti (born around 1962) is an American film director and screenwriter. She is known for making movies that are often called independent films. These are movies made outside of the big Hollywood studios, often with smaller budgets and unique stories. Maria Maggenti also worked as a writer for TV shows like Without a Trace. She is perhaps most famous for her movie The Incredibly True Adventure of Two Girls in Love, which came out in 1995. Her film Puccini for Beginners was shown at the Sundance Film Festival in 2006.
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Early Life and Education
Maria Maggenti grew up in different places around the world, including Lagos, Nigeria, London, Rome, New York City, and Washington, D.C. She went to Smith College where she studied Philosophy and old Greek and Latin writings. Later, she earned a special degree in filmmaking from NYU Graduate School.
Career in Filmmaking
After college, Maria Maggenti moved to New York City. She started by working on TV commercials and documentaries about important social issues, like gay rights and the AIDS crisis. She wanted to make movies that showed the lives of gay and lesbian people in a more real way, as these stories were often missing from big movies.
She then joined New York University's Graduate Film Program. Between 1990 and 1994, she worked on several short films. Her first full-length movie, The Incredibly True Adventure of Two Girls in Love, released in 1995, helped her become well-known in the film world. She first developed the idea for this movie while studying at NYU.
Making Movies and TV Shows
Maria Maggenti's first two movies were made with small budgets. Her first movie, The Incredibly True Adventure of Two Girls in Love (1995), was a success even without much money. She got the idea for the story from thinking about a tomboy character, who she later realized was based on someone she knew. This movie was made with an all-female crew who worked without pay.
Her movie, Puccini for Beginners, released in 2006, is a romantic comedy. It was filmed in New York City in just 18 days. After making her first few films, Maggenti 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 her because she was working with a team, not alone, as she had been for many years. She said she "ultimately came to love it" and "loved her colleagues." She also wrote an episode of 90210 and helped produce several other episodes. In 2010, she helped write the comedy movie Monte Carlo, which came out in 2011.
Activism and Helping Others
Maria Maggenti was an important member of ACT UP New York. This group worked to help people affected by AIDS. She helped write educational materials for the group and took part in many of their public actions. She also helped record the history of ACT UP and the AIDS crisis by filming interviews with people who lived through that time.
Awards and Recognition
Maria Maggenti's movie Puccini for Beginners won the Best Feature award at the 2007 Barcelona International Gay & Lesbian Film Festival. It was also nominated for a big award, 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
