Madonna Diaz-Refugia (she/they) is an award-winning writer and director who got her start writing jokes for drag queens in Philly and making scrappy short films with her touring sketch comedy troupe.
After winning the Savage23 short film grant, she wrote and directed LOLOBATMAN, which follows her search for a long-lost Batman movie directed by her grandfather in 1967. The film premiered at the LA Shorts International Film Festival and went on to win the Grand Jury Award at the FilAm Creative Film Festival.
Based in Los Angeles, Madonna writes fun, messy, and heartfelt coming-of-age stories. They were a member of the inaugural Mentorship Matters Fellowship and the Writers’ Access Support Staff Training Program Class of 2023. She studied at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theater in New York, and her work has appeared on Reductress and WFMU.
When she's not making films, Madonna co-owns Secret Pizza, named the #1 pizza restaurant by the Los Angeles Times.