By Lily Della Pietra
Welcome to NYWIFT, Mari SanGiovanni!
Mari is an award-winning LGBTQ filmmaker, screenwriter, director, and owner of Love Is Love Productions, LLC. She is also a published author of four novels and multiple screenplays, two of which have been produced as short films: The Sibling Rule (picked up by a LGBTQ streaming service, Lesflicks) and Retreat, which will be in festivals in 2025.
In our conversation, Mari discusses her roots in the film industry, her experiences as a writer, and how she advocates for the LGBTQ+ community through her work.
NYWIFT Member Mari SanGiovanni
Welcome to NYWIFT! Please introduce yourself briefly to our readers.
Hi everyone! I am a novelist, screenwriter, and new filmmaker and director. I have been creating content for the LGBTQ community since 2007, when I published my first novel with Bywater Books, which became a trilogy.
What brought you to NYWIFT?
I have been working without any contacts in the film industry, and in order to move forward, I would like to connect with other female filmmakers.
What inspired you to become a novelist, screenwriter, and director, and how did you get started in the industry?
When I started writing for the LGBTQ community, I always did it with the intention to get a film made of each of my books. What I didn’t know was that it is much harder to get a production company to invest in your film than it is to start your own production company and just make it yourself! Especially for the genre that interests me, not a lot of Hollywood films focus on love stories with female leads.
SanGiovanni on the set of The Sibling Rule
Can you tell us about your experience writing the screenplay for The Sibling Rule and what you have taken away from it?
I had written the screenplay for The Sibling Rule about nine years ago, and when the COVID shutdown happened, I found myself no longer commuting to work, so I decided to try to market the script again. This led me to a group of Boston actors that had started a Zoom group where they would perform screenplays for writers to hear their work, and also for the actors to keep up their skills while everything was shut down.
When the actors performed the feature version of the screenplay, the two female leads knocked it out of the park without even one rehearsal, and the two child actors were also amazing. Someone on the call suggested we should make a short, and that got the ball rolling, but I never dreamed it would be me who would produce and direct the film. It just worked out that way out of necessity!
I read a lot of books on how to produce and direct, and just dove in by self-funding the micro-budget film and doing the best I could with my design degree from Rhode Island School of Design. As it turned out, my cinematographer and friend, Paul Falcone, agreed to film and edit the project, and he is the son of my favorite film teacher at RISD!
SanGiovanni BTS of The Sibling Rule
You’ve had an inspiring journey as an advocate for the LGBTQ+ community! How has this influenced your work as a writer, both for novels and screenplays?
Thank you for saying that! For so many years growing up, I was desperate to find lesbian content in a sea of straight white male-focused films, and as things fell into place, I wanted to make sure my books and films had a positive message for this underserved community.
I am thrilled that The Trevor Project (a non-profit organization that provides support to LGBTQ youths to bring awareness to suicide prevention) endorsed my second film, Retreat. (The logline: Two women who were friends in high school rekindle their friendship at a women’s retreat, only to find they are forever connected by a recent tragedy.)
SanGiovanni BTS of Retreat
You are the author of multiple comedy-romance novels, like Greetings From Jamaica Wish You Were Queer, Camptown Ladies, and 80% Done With Straight Girls. What have been the most exciting or challenging aspects of writing these novels?
The most challenging aspect has been finding a second home for them as a TV series or feature film!
The most exciting aspect was when I realized that I don’t have to wait for Hollywood to catch up to the value of making women’s stories – that with a little help and great partnerships, we can make them ourselves!
I like working on long-term projects that feel very entrepreneurial, I love designing my own movie posters, my own book jackets, and using my design skills to get things done as efficiently as possible. I’ve learned that you have to wear many hats to make a film. The hat I’m having trouble wearing is the one to find investors & funding to make more films!
Novels written by SanGiovanni
Are there any projects you are currently working on or would like to explore in the future?
My dream is to make a new film every other year if I can work out the funding. I would love to make a film version of my fourth book, Liddy-Jean Marketing Queen, about a young woman with Down syndrome who goes to work at a large corporation and completely changes the lives of her coworkers while playing matchmaker to two women that she believes are in love.
I love an underdog story, I love a happy ending, and I especially love writing about women searching for love and not getting their act together until later in life!
Currently, I am finishing up my fifth book, which is an adaptation of the film The Sibling Rule, only in novel form. I realize I did that backwards, but sometimes that’s how I roll!
Lastly, I am working on a new screenplay, which I hope to shoot on the island of Nantucket within the next year.
Connect with Mari SanGiovanni on her website, her production company, Love is Love Productions, @SanGiovanniMari on Instagram, and @Mari.Sangiovanni on Facebook and IMDb.
(All images courtesy of Mari SanGiovanni)
Lily Della Pietra
Lily Della Pietra is a current intern at NYWIFT and a student at Fordham University’s Lincoln Center campus. She is a Communications major with a concentration in Media Studies and hopes to continue following this path post-grad working in the entertainment field. Lily is very passionate about film and music, often practicing guitar or keeping up with the latest films in her free time. She is excited to work with the NYWIFT community and explore the industry!
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