Maria Maggenti (born c. 1962) is an American

film director A film director controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the film crew and actors in the fulfilment of that vision. The director has a key role in choosing the cast members, p ...

and

screenwriter A screenplay writer (also called screenwriter, scriptwriter, scribe or scenarist) is a writer who practices the craft of screenwriting, writing screenplays on which mass media, such as films, television programs and video games, are based. ...

for film and television, who has traditionally created independent films. She was the

script editor A script editor is a member of the production team of scripted television and radio programmes, usually dramas and comedies. The script editor has many responsibilities including finding new script writers, developing storyline and series ideas wi ...

for the American television series, ''

Without a Trace ''Without a Trace'' is an American police procedural drama television series created by Hank Steinberg that aired on CBS from September 26, 2002 to May 19, 2009 with the total of seven seasons and 160 episodes. The series focuses the cases of ...

'' (2003) and has written many episodes for the show as well, but is perhaps best known for her feature film, ''

The Incredibly True Adventure of Two Girls in Love ''The Incredibly True Adventure of Two Girls in Love'' is a 1995 American comedy-drama film written and directed by Maria Maggenti and starring Laurel Holloman, Nicole Ari Parker, and Maggie Moore. It tells the story of two very different high s ...

'' (1995). Her film '' Puccini for Beginners'' was in competition at the

Sundance Film Festival The Sundance Film Festival (formerly Utah/US Film Festival, then US Film and Video Festival) is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with more than 46,66 ...

in January 2006. She was also an activist with

ACT UP AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power (ACT UP) is an international, grassroots political group working to end the AIDS pandemic. The group works to improve the lives of people with AIDS through direct action, medical research, treatment and advocacy, ...

for many years.Maggenti, Maria. Interview with Sarah Schulman and Jim Hubbard. ACTUP Oral History Project. February 16, 2005. MIX: The New York Lesbian & Gay Experimental Film Festival. December 11, 2005
Actupralhistory.org

Early life and education

Maggenti attended

Smith College Smith College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts Women's colleges in the United States, women's college in Northampton, Massachusetts. It was chartered in 1871 by Sophia Smith (Smith College ...

, where she studied

Philosophy Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. Some ...

and Greek and Latin Classics.

Career

She moved to

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 ...

and worked in television commercials and the production of

gay rights Rights affecting lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people vary greatly by country or jurisdiction—encompassing everything from the legal recognition of same-sex marriage to the death penalty for homosexuality. Notably, , 3 ...

and

AIDS Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus. Following initial infection an individual m ...

activist documentaries. During this time, she put together letters, "asking friends and colleagues to support her enrollment at

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, the ...

Film School." Maggenti wanted to create films regarding gay and lesbian life that were more realistic and missing from mainstream movies. She then enrolled in

's Graduate Film Program and was awarded a teaching fellowship. During the time between 1990 and 1994, Maggenti worked on various short films. Her 1995 debut film ''

'' helped Maggenti transition into and make a name for herself within the film community.

Films

The two movies Maggenti created were low-budget and low-profit. The first movie she ever created was '' The Incredibly True Adventure of Two Girls in Love (1995)'', which turned out to be successful even with no budget. Maggenti began thinking about the script with the image of a tomboy, who she later realized was based on her first girlfriend. Her movie, '' Puccini for Beginners'' (2006), a romantic comedy based on her first big love affair with a man, was filmed in

over the span of 18 days, and was released on September 2, 2006. After working on her first few films, Maggenti relocated to

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

, shifting her focus to television writing. In

, she wrote for the crime series ''

'', which was released in 2002. Maggenti's involvement writing for the ''Without a Trace'' was a transition due to the fact that she was working alongside others instead of alone; as she had been doing for ten years. She describes how she, "ultimately came to love it" and "loved her colleagues." While she did enjoy being in the company of "all these smart people," she adds that from a lifestyle point of view, she did not like "the idea that we had to work Monday through Friday every day in an office for 11 straight months." Maggenti also wrote an episode of '' 90210'' and ended up co-producing several other episodes as well. In 2007, she was commissioned by

to create a movie for a cell phone. In 2010, Maggenti started to co-write the comedy, ''Monte Carlo'', which was released in 2011.

Activism

As a core member of

New York, an activist group working to impact the lives of people with

, Maggenti co-authored some of the group's educational materials, and has been a participant and documentarian of many of the group's direct actions. As a member of the ''ACT UP Oral History Project'' she is one of the people preserving the history of ACT UP and the years of the AIDS pandemic, in filmed interviews with the people who have lived through it.Carlomusto, Jean. Interview with Sarah Schulman and Jim Hubbard. ACTUP Oral History Project. February 16, 2005. MIX: The New York Lesbian & Gay Experimental Film Festival. December 11, 2005
Actuporalhistory.org
Crimp, Douglas. ''AIDS Demographics''. Bay Press, 1990. (Comprehensive early history of ACT UP, discussion of the various signs and symbols used by ACT UP, and the films documenting the movement.)

Personal life

Maggenti is bisexual.

Awards

Maggenti received 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

Filmography

* '' Doctors, Liars & Women (1988) * '' The Love Monster'' (1990) * ''

Waiting for War Waiting, Waitin, Waitin', or The Waiting may refer to: Film * ''Waiting'' (1991 film), a film by Jackie McKimmie * ''Waiting...'' (film), a 2005 film starring Ryan Reynolds * ''Waiting'' (2007 film), a film by Zarina Bhimji * ''Waiting'' (20 ...

'' (1991) * '' Name Day'' (1993) * '' La Donna è mobile'' (1994) * ''

'' (1995) * '' The Love Letter'' (1999) * '' Puccini for Beginners'' (2006) * ''

Monte Carlo Monte Carlo (; ; french: Monte-Carlo , or colloquially ''Monte-Carl'' ; lij, Munte Carlu ; ) is officially an administrative area of the Principality of Monaco, specifically the ward of Monte Carlo/Spélugues, where the Monte Carlo Casino is ...

'' (2011) * ''

Before I Fall ''Before I Fall'' is a 2010 young adult novel written by the American author Lauren Oliver. The novel is written in the first-person perspective of a teenage girl, Samantha Kingston, who is forced to relive the day of her death every day for a we ...

'' (2017)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Maggenti, Maria American film directors American screenwriters American television writers Bisexual women Members of ACT UP Smith College alumni American women film directors LGBT film directors American LGBT screenwriters Living people 1962 births American women screenwriters American women television writers 21st-century American women American bisexual writers