As a graduate of the USC Cinema Department, Maura went on to direct Towing with Sue Lyon and Joe Mantegna. While being an honors student in the MFA Screenwriting Program at Columbia University, Maura received the first prize for the Zaki Gordon Memorial Award for Excellence in Screenwriting.
Ms. Smith has directed for such companies as Sony Music, BBC-TV, and Paramount Communications. Recently, Maura directed the feature documentaries Apparition, Fearless, and Revive.
When not directing, Maura researched and edited many published photo books with Powerhouse, Damiani, Hatje Cantz, and Taschen. Maura’s favorite films are Chinatown, Marriage Story, Baby Driver, and What’s Up, Doc?.
Please List the Title of Your Film at BIFF 2025
Steve Schapiro: Being Everywhere
What was your first experience with film and how did it influence your first project?
This is a tough question. First experience? My favorite film when I was ten years old was “Funny Face” with Audrey Hepburn and Fred Astaire. It was directed by Stanley Donen.
But, I think the film, “Song of Bernadette” with Jennifer Jones, directed by Henry King had the biggest influence on me. About fifty years after seeing it, I made a feature documentary about people who have had apparitions of the Blessed Mother. That endeavor brought me to India, Ireland, France, Portugal, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Mexico, and Damascus.
Who is (are) your favorite filmmakers?
I have many favorite filmmakers…Ernst Lubitch, Billy Wilder, John Cassavetes, Peter Bogdanovich, Edgar Wright, Wes Anderson, Noah Baumbach.
What are you working on that no one knows about?
I am working on a script about the little boy in the Bible who offered to give his two fish and five loaves of bread to help feed the 5,000 people. I love that kid. I am quite confident that there were others there that had a stash of food but did not offer it.
Who would play you in a movie? What’s your go to movie snack? What’s the film title that best describes your life?
I would like my Goddaughter, Cydney Chase, to play me in a movie.
Popcorn, definitely popcorn.
“Your Light Must Shine”
