11/30/2021Interview: Maureen Bharoocha, Director, Saved by the Bell
In a special mini-episode, Preeti interviews Writer/Director Maureen Bharoocha, who just directed an episode of Peacock's Saved by the Bell reboot. She talks craft, history, and what made her want to be a director in this short chat. You can find Maureen on instagram at maureenbharoocha. You can find Maureen's episode (as well as the full second season) of Saved by the Bell on Peacocktv.com! Maureen Bharoocha is a Los Angeles based writer/director. Maureen’s feature debut was the SXSW arm wrestling comedy, “Golden Arm,” which sold to HBO and premiered in 2021. She recently directed her second feature film, “The Prank,” a dark comedy starring Rita Moreno, Keith David and Ramona Young. Currently, Maureen is writing a new horror comedy feature, “Tina’s 40th Birthday Party,” with Mary Holland and Betsy Sodaro. Maureen is set to direct and Sharon Horgan’s Merman is attached to produce.Previously Maureen was a segment director on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” for three seasons and started her career with her short film “Abajee” (shot on the streets of Karachi) which premiered at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival. Maureen was then commissioned by Sprinkles Cupcakes to create a film series in which she wrote and directed 10 shorts based on their cupcake flavors. Maureen is half Irish Catholic and half Indian/Pakistani Burmese Muslim. Because of her mixed background, Maureen enjoys telling stories about complicated characters, bending genres and is a master at tone. She has directed episodes of Peacock’s “Saved by the Bell” and “Drama Club” and also directed all episodes of “Edith!,” a narrative podcast by QCode starring Rosamund Pike. Maureen was named one of Indie Wire’s rising female directors in 2020, she was on HBO’s 2018 Director’s list, and nominated for the SXSW 2020 Adam Yauch Hörnblowér Visionary directing Award. She is represented by Grandview, CAA and Ginsburg Daniels Kallis.
