Ana Maria Defillo is a writer, producer, & NOT a comedian. She’s an alien from Miami, FL. (Literally & figuratively) As the refugee of a conservative working-class Dominican family, she mines her unconventional childhood to prove the personal is absolutely the political.

As a 2024 Disrupters Fellow, she wrote a (unfortunately) timely comedy about a conservative family in Miami. It’s currently in development.

A month before the 2023 writers strike, Ana was named a Screenwriter to Watch by The Austin Film Festival. In 2022, her comedy pilot, inspired by her cult-ish upbringing (growing up in Florida), won at the festival’s prestigious screenwriting competition.

Ana is a proud alum of Rideback Rise’s Circle & NHMC’s Series Scriptwriters Program. Her writing has been featured in McSweeney’s, Vulture, & websites that no longer exist.

She studied sketch comedy, improv, & satire writing at the Upright Citizens Brigade, The People’s Improv Theater, & Second City. So yeah, she’s heard of Del Close. (And that Viola Spolin doesn’t get enough credit for her contribution to improv. Typical.)

As a researcher & producer, Ana worked on Desus and Mero on Showtime, The Read on Fuse, & The Vote on PBS.  Before her career in television, she paved her road to hell as a Christian missionary, NYU political grad student, & social justice professional.

You’ve reached the end of her bio.