ABOUT
Hi! I'm Mandi. I'm a queer WGC-eligible screenwriter, award-winning director, script consultant, educator, Pochinko clown, and LGBTQ+ rights and mental health advocate.
Currently, I’m contracted to write an LGBTQ+ feature for a Canadian production company and worked as a script analyst at the 2022 Female Eye Film Festival. Additionally, my scripts have advanced in competitions such as the Austin Film Festival Screenwriting Competition, Final Draft Big Break, ScreenCraft, and the Sundance Development Track. I also facilitate my one-of-a-kind Writing Through Play intensive, inspired by my training in Pochinko clown and general tendency to make a fool of myself.
I’ve been told I have a knack for strong, natural dialog, well-developed characters, solid story structure, worldbuilding, collaboration, and groan-worthy puns.
MISSION
My mission as a screenwriter/director is to tell raw, authentic stories from my lived experiences and from my heart in hopes of making the world a more inclusive, loving place.
Moving forward, I am only focusing on projects that speak to that mission.
GENRES
Drama, comedy, dramedy, romance, fantasy (contemporary, epic), adventure, animation (traditional, stop motion, puppetry), and musicals. Additional interest in psychological thrillers and mystery.
THEMES/STORY SUBJECTS
Most of the screenplays I write/direct are LGBTQ+ and mental health stories with strong female characters and themes/subjects consisting of:
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Love is love
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Vulnerability is strength
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Individual vs. self
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Individual vs. society
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Resisting oppression
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Light vs. dark
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Abandonment
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Trauma & mental health
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Family/chosen family
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Self discovery
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Personal growth
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Finding self love
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The beauty in simplicity
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The power of hope
SUBJECT MATTER EXPERTISE
Pochinko clowning, acting (film, theatre, musical theatre, dinner theatre, jukebox musicals, Fringe theatre, improv, commercials, background, standing in), directing, bisexuality/pansexuality, polyamory/ethical non-monogamy, mental health, atheism, escape rooms, badminton, serving, thrifting, Dance Dance Revolution, Tommy Wiseau's The Room, growing up in the 90’s.
MANDI MAXWELL
Screenwriter/Director
Canadian
SCREENPLAYS
Feeling Unreal (Feature Script)
Written by Mandi Maxwell
Indie Feature
LGBTQ+ Drama/Romance
A queer emerging theatre actress struggles with depersonalization disorder, a suicidal father, and a messy love life while playing the lead in a big-time stage play that could make or break her career.
SCRIPT SAMPLE (COMING SOON)
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Metagame (Feature Script)
Written by Mandi Maxwell & Dylan Miles
Feature Film
LGBTQ+ YA Fantasy/Adventure
When a troubled teenage misfit gets transported into the fantasy world of her beloved tabletop role-playing game, she must slay her personal demons in order to return home to her loving friends and family.
SCRIPT SAMPLE (COMING SOON)
The Art of Christmas (MOW Feature Script)
Written by Mandi Maxwell
Story by Mandi Maxwell & Luke Rackers
MOW (Movie of the Week)
LGBTQ+ Romance
When an overworked bisexual lawyer returns to her hometown for Christmas, she helps save her high school sweetheart's art business while unexpectedly falling in love, rekindling her love for painting, and finding the Christmas spirit.
Reverie (Short Film Script)
Written by Mandi Maxwell
Short Film
LGBTQ+ Drama/Romance
At the height of the pandemic, a depressed Canadian woman drifts into a blissful reverie where she's reunited with her American partner on the other side of a closed border.
In pre-production
SCREENWRITING RESUME
