Nancy Savoca
- Director
- Writer
- Producer
Director Nancy Savoca was born in the Bronx, New York of Argentine and
Sicilian immigrant parents, She graduated from New York University's
film school where she was awarded for her short films. Savoca and her
husband, producer Richard Guay, raised private funds to shoot their
first film, "True Love", the story of an Italian-American wedding in
the Bronx. The film won the Grand Jury Prize at the 1989 Sundance Film
Festival and Savoca was nominated for a Spirit Award as Best Director.
The film was distributed by MGM/UA.
In 1991, Savoca directed "Dogfight" for Warner Bros. starring River
Phoenix and Lili Taylor. The film, set in 1963, tells the story of a
young Marine and the girl he takes to an "ugly date" contest.
Her third feature, "Household Saints", an adaptation of Francine
Prose's mystical saga of three generations of Italian-American women,
starred Tracey Ullman, Lili Taylor, Vincent D'Onofrio and Judith
Malina. Released by Fine Line, the film was on the "Best Films" list of
over twenty national critics. Ms. Taylor won a Spirit Award for Best
Female performance and Savoca and Guay received a nomination for Best
Screenplay. Next was an original frenetic comedy, "The 24 Hour Woman",
starring Oscar nominees Rosie Perez and Marianne Jean-Baptiste as well
as Tony winner Patti Lupone. The film premiered at the Sundance Film
Festival in 1999 and earned Ms. Savoca an American Latin Media Arts
nomination for Directing.
Savoca's work in television includes the HBO production, "If These
Walls Could Talk", a three-part look at abortion rights. She served as
co-writer for all three segments and directed the pieces starring Demi
Moore and Sissy Spacek. The film was the highest rated original movie
in HBO history, received Emmy and Golden Globe nominations for best
television drama and for Ms. Moore's performance and, as one of the
principal creators, won Savoca a Lucy Award from Women In Film for
"innovation in television".
"Reno: Rebel Without A Pause- Unrestrained Reflections on September
11th", premiered at the Toronto Film Festival on September 11, 2002. It
was awarded the Prize for Peace & Liberty by the city of Florence,
Italy and has participated in festivals around the world. It was
released theatrically in the U.S. in 2003
"Dirt", a story about immigration and
class differences in New York won Savoca Best Director at the LA
Latino Festival, Julieta Ortiz Best Actress in New York's La Cinema Fe
and premiered on Showtime. It was nominated Best Original Screenplay from the
Writer's Guild of America.
"Union Square" starring Mira Sorvino, Tammy Blanchard and Patti LuPone premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival and was released theatrically.
In 2019, Savoca's archives were acquired by the University of Michigan for their Film Mavericks Collection which include the works of Orson Welles, Robert Altman and her mentors, Jonathan Demme and John Sayles.
Sicilian immigrant parents, She graduated from New York University's
film school where she was awarded for her short films. Savoca and her
husband, producer Richard Guay, raised private funds to shoot their
first film, "True Love", the story of an Italian-American wedding in
the Bronx. The film won the Grand Jury Prize at the 1989 Sundance Film
Festival and Savoca was nominated for a Spirit Award as Best Director.
The film was distributed by MGM/UA.
In 1991, Savoca directed "Dogfight" for Warner Bros. starring River
Phoenix and Lili Taylor. The film, set in 1963, tells the story of a
young Marine and the girl he takes to an "ugly date" contest.
Her third feature, "Household Saints", an adaptation of Francine
Prose's mystical saga of three generations of Italian-American women,
starred Tracey Ullman, Lili Taylor, Vincent D'Onofrio and Judith
Malina. Released by Fine Line, the film was on the "Best Films" list of
over twenty national critics. Ms. Taylor won a Spirit Award for Best
Female performance and Savoca and Guay received a nomination for Best
Screenplay. Next was an original frenetic comedy, "The 24 Hour Woman",
starring Oscar nominees Rosie Perez and Marianne Jean-Baptiste as well
as Tony winner Patti Lupone. The film premiered at the Sundance Film
Festival in 1999 and earned Ms. Savoca an American Latin Media Arts
nomination for Directing.
Savoca's work in television includes the HBO production, "If These
Walls Could Talk", a three-part look at abortion rights. She served as
co-writer for all three segments and directed the pieces starring Demi
Moore and Sissy Spacek. The film was the highest rated original movie
in HBO history, received Emmy and Golden Globe nominations for best
television drama and for Ms. Moore's performance and, as one of the
principal creators, won Savoca a Lucy Award from Women In Film for
"innovation in television".
"Reno: Rebel Without A Pause- Unrestrained Reflections on September
11th", premiered at the Toronto Film Festival on September 11, 2002. It
was awarded the Prize for Peace & Liberty by the city of Florence,
Italy and has participated in festivals around the world. It was
released theatrically in the U.S. in 2003
"Dirt", a story about immigration and
class differences in New York won Savoca Best Director at the LA
Latino Festival, Julieta Ortiz Best Actress in New York's La Cinema Fe
and premiered on Showtime. It was nominated Best Original Screenplay from the
Writer's Guild of America.
"Union Square" starring Mira Sorvino, Tammy Blanchard and Patti LuPone premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival and was released theatrically.
In 2019, Savoca's archives were acquired by the University of Michigan for their Film Mavericks Collection which include the works of Orson Welles, Robert Altman and her mentors, Jonathan Demme and John Sayles.