Peggy Rajski
- Producer
- Director
Peggy Rajski is an Oscar-winning filmmaker, former Dean of LMU's top-ranked School of Film & Television, and founder of the groundbreaking nonprofit The Trevor Project. Rajski won the Academy Award for Best Live Action Short with her directorial debut, the short film Trevor (1994), a poignant comedy about a young teen whose world is turned upside down when word spreads at school that he might be gay. Her experience with the film led her to create The Trevor Project, America's first and now the world's largest 24/7 suicide prevention service dedicated to LGBTQ+ young people. AMPAS' Short Film and Animation Branch named her a Live Action Icon in 2014, and she was recently recognized as a Pioneer of Queer Cinema--the only non-LGBTQ-identified filmmaker to be included--in UCLA Archives' film series highlighting 30 landmark works documenting queer life. Trevor is part of MoMA's permanent film collection, and a musical adaptation of the film opened Off-Broadway in November 2021 and was acquired for streaming on Disney+.
Rajski's producing career began during the emergence of the Independent Film movement in the 1980s. Her many credits include three of writer/director John Sayles' iconic films-- The Brother from Another Planet (1984), Matewan (1987), and Eight Men Out (1988)--and Stephen Frears' film noir classic The Grifters (1990), which she co-produced with Martin Scorsese. The Grifters received four Academy Award nominations and won the Independent Spirit Award for Best Feature. Rajski produced actor/director Jodie Foster's directorial debut Little Man Tate (1991) as well as her second film, Home for the Holidays (1995).
Rajski has been a guest speaker and conducted workshops worldwide on creative producing and pitching. She is a longstanding member of the Directors Guild of America, Film Independent, and the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences where she serves on the Producers' Branch Executive Committee and chairs the Student Academy Awards. Included among many honors Rajski has received over the course of her career is New York Women in Film's Muse Award for outstanding vision and achievement in the entertainment industry. By: Big Time PR
Rajski's producing career began during the emergence of the Independent Film movement in the 1980s. Her many credits include three of writer/director John Sayles' iconic films-- The Brother from Another Planet (1984), Matewan (1987), and Eight Men Out (1988)--and Stephen Frears' film noir classic The Grifters (1990), which she co-produced with Martin Scorsese. The Grifters received four Academy Award nominations and won the Independent Spirit Award for Best Feature. Rajski produced actor/director Jodie Foster's directorial debut Little Man Tate (1991) as well as her second film, Home for the Holidays (1995).
Rajski has been a guest speaker and conducted workshops worldwide on creative producing and pitching. She is a longstanding member of the Directors Guild of America, Film Independent, and the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences where she serves on the Producers' Branch Executive Committee and chairs the Student Academy Awards. Included among many honors Rajski has received over the course of her career is New York Women in Film's Muse Award for outstanding vision and achievement in the entertainment industry. By: Big Time PR
