Maggie Hadleigh-West (born October 1, 1958) is an American
film
A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...
maker and activist.
Early life and education
Hadleigh-West was born in
Fairbanks, Alaska
Fairbanks is a home rule city and the borough seat of the Fairbanks North Star Borough in the U.S. state of Alaska. Fairbanks is the largest city in the Interior region of Alaska and the second largest in the state. The 2020 Census put the po ...
to parents; Katherine Talbot a legal secretary and Frederick Hadleigh West a college professor in Archeology and Anthropology, both of whom grew up in
. As a child, she was influenced by 1960s radical politics and economic injustice. After the divorce of her parents in 1970, her mother moved with Hadleigh-West and her two brothers Fred Jr. and Dickson to
Edina, Minnesota
Edina ( ) is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States and a first-ring suburb of Minneapolis. The population was 53,494 at the 2020 census, making it the 18th most populous city in Minnesota.
Edina began as a small farming and mil ...
, a suburb of
Minneapolis
Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...
. In high school, Hadleigh-West first picked up a camera, intending to videotape her good friend Joanne Liebeler in character as a gypsy in downtown Minneapolis. While shooting she became distracted by a pimp in full 1970’s regalia, a moment in her development she believes pointed directly to her film ''
Player Hating: A Love Story''.
In 1984, Hadleigh-West enrolled at
George Washington University
, mottoeng = "God is Our Trust"
, established =
, type = Private federally chartered research university
, academic_affiliations =
, endowment = $2.8 billion (2022)
, preside ...
where she majored in Visual Communications. For the next ten years, Hadleigh-West worked as a Graphic Designer/Art Director, and later attended graduate school at
School of the Visual Arts in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
where she got her masters in Fine Art. Her thesis was an experimental documentary short titled ''War Zone'' (1991, 13 min.) which she later expanded into a feature length ''
War Zone'' (1998) and launched her career as a filmmaker.
Film and television career
Hadeigh-West's thesis garnered a story in ''
Glamour'' Magazine which led to a media blitz and the creation of her own company, Film Fatale Productions. Film Fatale's goal is to expose and explore the manifestations of prejudice and oppression in marginalized communities throughout the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
and abroad.
Clients have included:
Department of Defense Department of Defence or Department of Defense may refer to:
Current departments of defence
* Department of Defence (Australia)
* Department of National Defence (Canada)
* Department of Defence (Ireland)
* Department of National Defense (Philipp ...
,
Department of Justice
A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a v ...
, the
Smithsonian Museum
The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums and education and research centers, the largest such complex in the world, created by the U.S. government "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge". Founded ...
,
Williams College
Williams College is a Private college, private liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Williamstown, Massachusetts. It was established as a men's college in 1793 with funds from the estate of Ephraim Williams, a col ...
,
Middlebury College
Middlebury College is a private liberal arts college in Middlebury, Vermont. Founded in 1800 by Congregationalists, Middlebury was the first operating college or university in Vermont. The college currently enrolls 2,858 undergraduates from all ...
, the
Juilliard School
The Juilliard School ( ) is a private performing arts conservatory in New York City. Established in 1905, the school trains about 850 undergraduate and graduate students in dance, drama, and music. It is widely regarded as one of the most el ...
,
University of California at Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant univ ...
,
Albright College
Albright College is a private liberal arts college in Reading, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1856.
History
Albright College traces its founding to 1856 when Union Seminary opened. Present-day Albright was formed by the mergers of several ins ...
,
Boys & Girls Clubs of America
Boys & Girls Clubs of America (BGCA) is a national organization of local chapters which provide voluntary after-school programs for young people. The organization, which holds a congressional charter under Title 36 of the United States Code, ...
, juvenile prisons, alternative detention centers, among other clients.
Hadeigh-West has also produced television segments for ''Lifetime Live'', ''
Dateline NBC
''Dateline NBC'' is a weekly American television news magazine/reality legal show that is broadcast on NBC. It was previously the network's flagship general interest news magazine, but now focuses mainly on true crime stories with only occasion ...
'', ''
Split Screen
Split screen may refer to:
* Split screen (computing)
Split screen is a display technique in computer graphics that consists of dividing graphics and/or text into adjacent (and possibly overlapping) parts, typically as two or four rectangular ...
'', and ''
SexTV
''SexTV'' is a Canadian documentary television series which explores many issues about human sexuality. The show premiered in 1998 which aired on Citytv and channels owned by CHUM Limited, and spun off a television channel called '' SexTV: The Cha ...
'' in Canada.
Hadeigh-West directed ''Player Hating: A Love Story'' (2010) which chronicles Brooklyn rapper
Half-A-Mil
Jasun Wardlaw (April 6, 1973 – October 22, 2003) better known by his stage name Half a Mill, was a Brooklyn-based American rapper.
Career
Half a Mill was considered an underground rapper in the early 1990s. His mainstream breakthrough cam ...
in his journey from obscurity to celebrity inside one of America's most dangerous housing projects.
Filmography
*''War Zone'' (Writer, Director. Documentary Short, 1991)
*''
War Zone'' (Writer, Director. Feature Documentary, 1998)
::Hadleigh-West travels the US, interviewing the men that harass her, clarifying the connection between sexual harassment and sexual assault. Hadleigh-West coined and defined the term “street abuse” and developed a hierarchy of sexual aggression, which became the dramatic structure for ''War Zone''. ''War Zone'' was also nominated one of the Top Ten Films of 1998 by the ''LA Times'', nominated for the Caligari Prize at the Berlin Film Festival, and received worldwide press.
*''Stripped'' (Co-Producer. Feature Documentary, 2001)
::''Stripped'' chronicles director Jill Morley's behind the scenes look at the world of exotic dancing.
*''Swing State'' (Supervising Producer. Feature Documentary, 2008)
::''Swing State'' chronicles Ohio Lt. Governor, Lee Fisher’s emotional 2006 campaign in one of the most contested political campaigns in modern political history.
*''
Player Hating: A Love Story'' (Writer, Director, Producer. Feature Documentary, 2010)
::''Player Hating'' follows the life of hip-hop artist, Half a Mill from obscurity to fame. This dangerous project explores issues of race, poverty, trauma and survival through characters that experience and participate in violence on a daily basis, yet struggle to escape through music.
*''Sick to Death!'' (Writer, Director. Feature Documentary, 2016)
::''Sick to Death!'' follows Maggie after drinking radioactive iodine to kill her over active thyroid, she catapults into illness only to run smack into the medical corruption that leaves 750 million people sick and suffering worldwide.
References
External links
*
Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hadleigh-West, Maggie
1958 births
American documentary filmmakers
Film directors from Alaska
School of Visual Arts alumni
George Washington University alumni
Living people
People from Fairbanks, Alaska