Bio

María José Maldonado (she/they/fairy) is a queer Salvadorian-Ecuadorian filmmaker, writer and artist born and raised in Queens, NY. Her films and work celebrate the Latine/x queer and trans people in her life and the love between them. She’s 38, but looks 23. 

María José’s docushort My Fierce Aunt Bianca screened at Inside Out 2SLGBTQ+ Film Festival 2023, New York Latino Film Festival 2023, Stamped Film Festival 2023, TRANSlations: Seattle Trans Film Festival 2024 , Philadelphia Latino Arts & Film Festival 2024, OUTSOUTH Queer Film Festival 2024, Reeling 2024: The Chicago LGBTQ+ International Film Festival, San Francisco Transgender FIlm Festival. The film has exhibited at Leslie-Lohman Museum of Art (currently on view through November 24, 2024), Museum of Contemporary African Diasporan Arts (MoCADA) on Governor’s Island and Culture Lab LIC.

She also writes queer Latine speculative fiction and is working on her debut illustrated novel-in-progress 2126: Boys On Earth. In recent years, she has performed her original satirical monologue “The Big Dick” at queer bars and events. In Toronto, she began acting and secured the lead in the award-winning disco dramedy Canadian short Saturday Fuego Diablo (Dir. Anita Abbasi, 2022).

María José’s a proud alum of:

She earned a JD/MBA from Howard University and BA in English & Creative Writing and Women’s & Gender Studies (double major) from Dartmouth College. She’s also a proud graduate of Phillips Exeter Academy, Horace Mann Middle School, Prep for Prep and P.S. 64Q. Previously, she was a high school counselor, then a management consultant. Full-time artist since 2019.

She’s an Aquarius Sun, Leo Rising & Aries Moon. Born Year of the Tiger.

Currently resides in Queens, NY with her baby Izalco, husband Alejandro and cat Vinny.