Meet Maria Maggenti

Maggenti spoke to plannedparenthood.org about sexual fluidity and the politics of presenting a more complicated view of sexual identity on the big screen. 

In Puccini for Beginners, the strict definitions of “lesbian” and “straight” are turned on their head.  What are you saying about sexual fluidity?

I always do films that are pretty idealistic.  It’s the world as I wish it were, one where you can basically love and have sex with anyone you want to.  The only consequences are people’s feelings — not your reputation, your career, or your health and safety.  I’d say I have an insouciant view of sexual desire.

Ten years ago, you made The Incredibly True Adventure of Two Girls in Love.  Back then you said, in an interview, “A movie doesn't change people's lives … it is part of a cultural landscape that hopefully moves a community forward.”  How do you think that film moved the LGBTQ community forward? 

There’ve been so many changes, and I would be grateful to think that Two Girls was part of those changes. 

This is a complicated topic for me. I know that filmmakers, writers, and artists have an impact — film especially.  But I still believe in political action as the way to change our culture.  We’re in such dire times now.  I go back and forth — What is the right way to make the world a better place?

I know that Two Girls made an impact on individuals, though, because people told me.  The most touching stuff came from girls who said, “This film allowed me to come out to my family.” I got a lot of letters from teens who said, “This is what it was like for me and my girlfriend,” and from girls who were isolated, who didn’t have a community.  So obviously it tapped into that human need to have stories told that make us feel good.

How about Puccini for Beginners?  Where do you think your film will take the conversation?

I don’t want to have the conversation that begins, “Is she a lesbian if she sleeps with a man?”  The real conversation is why the Christian Right is making homosexuality a wedge issue.  The important questions have nothing to do with my movie, in a way.

My personal preoccupation is what to do with the Christian Right.  They threaten the world that comes so naturally to me, the world I live in and the world I write about — and that's female empowerment, feminism, sexual freedom, and tolerance.

Isn’t presenting an image of that ideal world, and treating it as perfectly normal, political? 

I wouldn’t say it’s political, I’d say it’s subversive. I take for granted that this world [presented in the film] is normal.  The only thing abnormal is that the characters manage to make a living in New York without working the whole time.

How has the landscape in the film industry, with respect to presenting LGBTQ characters and story lines, changed since 1995? 

It would be fair for me to say that the film industry has changed dramatically.  Still, around sexuality, I think having a lesbian main character puts me at a distinct career disadvantage.  It’s not like Brokeback Mountain, which is really a study of iconic maleness in America.  I think the world still sees the lesbian experience as marginal, not at all relatable by the so-called general public.  It's such a bummer!

I feel a little bit like I can’t assess how it will go until the film is in the theaters. When you have a small film that isn’t being powered by the celebrity machine you have a challenge ahead of you.  What I feel I have in Puccini is great characters, great setting, smart people — in a small film. The challenge for the filmmaker is getting people to see it. Not every town is going to show Puccini, but they’ll show Stomp the Yard.  That’s what I’m up against.

One of the producers of your film is the son of a Planned Parenthood affiliate CEO. 

Yes, when Jake [Abraham] told me that I was thoroughly impressed.  He has great producing credits, but that gave him street cred!

What does Planned Parenthood mean to you?

Well, it means a lot — especially in the last 10 years.  It means that somebody is fighting for women and that’s very important to me.  As I said, we’re really under attack right now.  I’m grateful that Planned Parenthood is out there fighting for all of us to live in a free culture.

Final thoughts?

It’s easy to be dismissive of comedy — especially comedy that’s made by a woman. I’m really proud of this film because it has a big heart and a big brain, and I think that’s sexy.

Puccini for Beginners opens in New York on February 2 and in Los Angeles on February 9.