Maria Burton
Maria Burton is a filmmaker based in Los Angeles. She has directed the feature films, JUST FRIENDS (AMC/WE), TEMPS, and MANNA FROM HEAVEN (MGM/Sony); co-directed SIGN MY SNARLING MOVIE, a documentary about the popular a cappella singing group, The Bobs; and produced THE HAPPIEST DAY OF HIS LIFE and Julia Sweeney's LETTING GO OF GOD (Showtime) with her company, FIVE SISTERS PRODUCTIONS (http://www.fivesisters.com). Currently, she is directing pieces for the USA Pavilion for the 2010 World Expo in Shanghai and the "Faces of Ford" commercial campaign for Ford Motor Company.
Burton's company, Five Sisters Productions, is a production and distribution company helmed by Burton and her real-life siblings. Five Sisters is committed to making movies that are entertaining while believing strongly in social responsibility. Their award-winning short THE HAPPIEST DAY OF HIS LIFE, about a traditional wedding in a gender-reversed world, won a viewer's choice on MTV's LOGO channel and is being used as a teaching tool in high schools and universities. During the theatrical release of MANNA FROM HEAVEN, starring Academy Award winners Shirley Jones, Cloris Leachman, Louis Fletcher as well as Frank Gorshin, Seymour Cassel, Shelley Duvall, Jill Eikenberry, Phil LaMarr, Wendie Malick, Austin Pendelton and Ursula Burton, Five Sisters donated part of their proceeds to HABITAT FOR HUMANITY. Maria and Five Sisters also work on social and political campaigns, including commercials for the "Mammas for Obama" campaign and the current 2010 campaign for the Coalition to Abolish Slavery and Trafficking, featuring Julia Ormond.
Maria is Co-Chair of the Board of The Alliance of Women Directors and on the Board of Global Girl Media, an organization which celebrates and connects the voices of young women around the world through new media technologies to support social change.
Maria graduated from Yale University with a degree in theater and filmmaking. Her original play, THE LITANY OF THE CLOTHES was chosen for the prestigious Yale Dramat Mainstage, and was then selected for production at the Harvard Loeb Theater. It went on to win first prize in the Earth Daughters' playwriting contest and was produced by Lorna Hills' UJIMA Company in Buffalo, New York. In Los Angeles, Maria has produced, performed in, and/or directed numerous theater shows, including the acclaimed and long-running A...MY NAME IS ALICE. Variety called her second feature film, TEMPS, a "dead-on take of a generation at the crossroads." Her first feature, the romantic comedy JUST FRIENDS, was sponsored by Deluxe, Kodak, and Panavision, and was distributed worldwide and on AMC and the WE Channel. Hollywood Reporter said, "Director Maria Burton's affection for the story's characters is infectious and gives the story its strength." Variety said the "entertaining romantic comedy... reveals director Maria Burton as talent to watch."
Maria continues to act as well, recently appearing in RAISING THE BAR. She has lectured on independent filmmaking and distribution at many film schools including USC, AFI, and the Rockport Institute. Her next feature film is a drama about the "Mercury 13" women who were tested for the original astronaut program in 1962.
