Nancy Savoca facts for kids

Nancy Laura Savoca is an American film director, producer, and writer. She was born on July 23, 1959, in New York City. She is known for directing movies and TV shows that often explore real-life stories and relationships. Her films have won awards and are recognized for their honest look at people's lives.

Early Life and Film Studies

Nancy Savoca grew up in the Bronx, New York. Her parents were immigrants from Argentina and Sicily. She went to local schools and later studied at Queens College. After that, she attended New York University's Tisch School of the Arts. This is a famous film school. In 1982, she graduated and won an award for her short films. These films were called Renata and Bad Timing.

Nancy Savoca's Career in Film

Starting Out in Movies

After film school, Nancy Savoca worked on different independent films. She helped with storyboards, which are like comic strips for movies. She also helped edit films and music videos. Her first job was helping John Sayles with his movie The Brother From Another Planet. She also assisted Jonathan Demme on his films Something Wild and Married to the Mob.

Directing Her First Films

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 at the Sundance Film Festival. The movie starred Annabella Sciorra and Ron Eldard. Both actors were new to films at the time. Critics from The New York Times praised True Love as one of the best films of the year. Nancy Savoca was also nominated for a Spirit Award for Best Director.

She has since written, directed, and produced many movies for both the big screen and television. She also helped write scripts for other directors.

Working on TV Shows and Special Projects

Nancy Savoca co-wrote and directed parts of If These Walls Could Talk. This was a TV miniseries about women's rights. Demi Moore produced the series. Nancy directed the first two parts, one of which starred Sissy Spacek. The series was nominated for several awards, including Emmy Awards and Golden Globe Awards.

In 1998, Nancy Savoca was honored as a "New York trailblazer" at a film festival. She was also recognized 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. True Love was also called one of the "50 Greatest Independent Films of All Time" by Entertainment Weekly. Her work has been shown in a special collection at the American Museum of the Moving Image.

Recent Work and Recognition

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

She also worked on a documentary about jazz saxophonist Gato Barbieri. In 2010, she attended a special screening of her film Dirt. This movie is a comedy-drama about a cleaning woman who is not officially documented.

In 2011, Nancy Savoca's work was celebrated in Colombia. She also completed an independent film called Union Square. This movie starred Mira Sorvino and Patti LuPone. It was invited to open at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2011. Union Square was made quickly and with a small budget. It received good reviews from major newspapers like The New York Times and the Los Angeles Times.

In 2012, Nancy Savoca received a special tribute at Canada's Female Eye Film Festival. She 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 teach students.

Personal Life

Nancy Savoca is married to Richard Guay. He is also a film producer and has worked with her on many projects.

Awards and Achievements

Nancy Savoca has received several awards and nominations throughout her career:

• 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
• Winner, 1996 Lucy Award – If These Walls Could Talk
• Winner, Best Director, 2004 Los Angeles Latino International Film Festival – Dirt

Selected Works

Here are some of the films and TV shows Nancy Savoca has directed or written:

• True Love (1989)
• Dogfight (1991)
• Household Saints (1993)
• If These Walls Could Talk (1996) (TV miniseries)
• The 24 Hour Woman (1999)
• Third Watch (2000) (TV series episode)
• The Mind of the Married Man (2001) (TV series episode)
• Reno: Rebel without a Pause (2003) (TV concert film)
• Dirt (2003)
• Union Square (2012)