Nancy Savoca facts for kids

Nancy Laura Savoca (born July 23, 1959) is an American film director, producer, and writer. She is known for making movies that tell interesting stories about people's lives, often focusing on women and families. Her films have won awards and been praised for their realistic and heartfelt approach.

Growing Up and Learning About Film

Nancy Savoca was born in 1959 in the Bronx, New York. Her parents came from Argentina and Sicily. She went to local schools and later studied at Queens College. After that, she went to New York University's Tisch School of the Arts to learn about making movies. She graduated in 1982. While she was there, she won a special award called the Haig P. Manoogian Award for her short films, Renata and Bad Timing.

Starting Her Film Career

After finishing film school, Nancy Savoca started working in the movie industry. She helped draw storyboards, which are like comic book versions of a movie script. She also worked as an assistant editor. Her first big job was helping director John Sayles on his film The Brother From Another Planet. She also helped Jonathan Demme on two of his movies: Something Wild (1986) and Married to the Mob (1988).

Directing Her First Movies

In 1989, Nancy Savoca directed her first full-length movie, True Love. This film was about Italian-American wedding traditions in the Bronx. It won a big award called the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival. The movie starred Annabella Sciorra and Ron Eldard, who were both new to acting. Critics from New York Times said it was one of the best films of the year. Nancy Savoca was also nominated for a Spirit Award for Best Director.

She continued to write, direct, and produce movies for both the big screen and television. She also helped other directors by writing or improving their scripts. She even directed episodes for popular TV shows.

One of her notable TV projects was a segment in If These Walls Could Talk (1996). This TV movie was nominated for four Primetime Emmy Awards and three Golden Globe Awards.

In 1998, Nancy Savoca was celebrated as a "New York trailblazer" at the New York Women's Film Festival. She was also honored by Women in Film and Television in Los Angeles.

Two of her films, Household Saints and True Love, are listed in The New York Times Guide to the Best 1,000 Movies Ever Made. Her film True Love was even called one of the "50 Greatest Independent Films of All Time" by Entertainment Weekly. The American Museum of the Moving Image has also shown a special collection of her work.

Recent Work and Recognition

In 2002, Nancy Savoca directed a concert film called Reno: Rebel without a Pause, starring comedian Reno.

She also worked on a documentary about jazz saxophonist Gato Barbieri. In 2012, she was planning to direct a movie based on the novel The Secret Magdalene.

Her film Dirt (2003) is a story about an undocumented cleaning woman. It was filmed in New York City and El Salvador. In 2011, Colombia held a special event to show many of Savoca's films, and she attended.

Savoca also completed an independent film called Union Square (2012). It starred actors like Mira Sorvino and Patti LuPone. The film was invited to open at the 2011 Toronto International Film Festival and was later shown in theaters across the United States.

On June 4, 2012, Nancy Savoca received a special Best in the Biz tribute at Canada's 10th Anniversary Female Eye Film Festival. Union Square opened in New York City, Los Angeles, and Toronto on July 13, 2012. Even though it was an independent film made quickly and with a small budget, it received a lot of attention from major newspapers and online sources.

In 2012, Nancy also directed a short film for Scenarios USA. This organization turns stories written by high school students into professional short films. These films are shown on Showtime and used in schools to help students learn.

Personal Life

Nancy Savoca is married to Richard Guay. He is also her long-time professional partner, and they have worked together on many films.

Awards and Nominations

Nancy Savoca has won several awards and received many nominations for her work:

• Haig P. Manoogian Award, 1982, New York University
• Grand Jury Prize, 1989 Sundance Film Festival – True Love
• Winner, 1989 San Sebastián International Film Festival – True Love
• Nominated, Best Director, 1990 Independent Spirit Award – True Love
• Nominated, Best Screenplay, 1994 Independent Spirit Award – Household Saints
• Winner, 1996 Lucy Award – If These Walls Could Talk
• Nominated, Outstanding Director of a Feature Film, 2000 ALMA – The 24-Hour Woman
• Winner, Best Director, 2004 Los Angeles Latino International Film Festival – Dirt

Filmography

Here are some of the films Nancy Savoca has directed:

• Renata (1982) (short film)
• Bad Timing (1982) (short film)
• True Love (1989)
• Dogfight (1991)
• Household Saints (1993) (also co-writer)
• Dark Eyes (1995) (TV)
• Murder One (1995) (TV)
• If These Walls Could Talk (1996) (TV) (also co-writer)
• The 24 Hour Woman (1999) (also co-writer)
• Third Watch (2000) (TV)
• The Mind of the Married Man (2001) (TV)
• Reno: Rebel without a Pause (2003) (TV) (also co-producer)
• Dirt (2003) (also co-writer)
• Union Square (2012) (also co-writer)

Television Director

Nancy Savoca has directed episodes for these TV series:

• Chapter Five, Murder One, ABC (1995)
• 1952 and 1974 – If These Walls Could Talk miniseries (1996)
• Know Thyself, Third Watch, NBC (2000)
• Anywhere, Anytime, The Mind of the Married Man, HBO (2001)
• Dirt, Showtime (2003)
• The Great Spacecoaster syndicated children's series (1980s)

As Writer

Nancy Savoca has also written or co-written these films:

• Renata (short film, co-writer) (1982)
• Bad Timing (short film, co-writer) (1982)
• True Love (co-writer with Richard Guay) (1989)
• Household Saints (co-writer with Richard Guay) (1993)
• If These Walls Could Talk (co-writer) (1996)
• The 24 Hour Woman (co-writer with Richard Guay) (1999)
• The Secret Magdalene (2012)
• Union Square (co-writer with Mary Tobler) (2012)