Writer and Director

Maria is originally from Las Vegas, Nevada. She has an MFA in Film & Video Writing-Directing from Columbia College Chicago and a BA in European Studies from UCLA. Maria received a Fulbright Grant to live in Ecuador and complete research for her feature script Girl with Child, about a teenage girl searching for a new home with her toddler. Maria’s short film of the same name won Best Short Short at Aspen Shortsfest and the Chicago Award at the Chicago International Film Festival. Maria was a 2018 Tribeca TFI Network Fellow, 2018 Film Independent Directing Lab Fellow, and 2016 Film Independent Screenwriting Lab fellow with Girl with Child. Maria has worked as a director and producer on documentaries, commercials, music and fashion videos, artist development labs, and the Webby-winning NBC/Snapchat digital series Face Forward.