FilMiami's Shining Star

Miami-Dade’s Office of Film and Entertainment highlights a County employee who has delivered excellence to the Film & Entertainment Industry as our Shining Star.

This month’s Shining Star is Maria Sanchez, the Aviation Special Events Manager at Miami International Airport. Ms. Sanchez has worked at MIA for more than 24 years and is responsible for overseeing the many divisions at the airport to accommodate photo, film and video shoots. In addition to her duties involving the entertainment industry, Ms. Sanchez’s other important work includes managing all departmental special events, including special projects. managing International and Domestic conferences, dignitary arrivals, spearheading the Miami International Airport Tour Program, and is on the Military committee which coordinates the arrival of  military personnel.

As a result of Maria Sanchez’ efforts, Miami International Airport is a very popular filming location in Miami-Dade County, and one of the easiest airports to film in the United States. So far this year, Ms. Sanchez has assisted approximately 200 photo, video and film projects. As a seasoned professional, she understands all aspects of filming including the equipment and logistical requirements of production companies. Her valuable knowledge insures that important production questions are answered and that pertinent information is communicated to numerous airport internal divisions in order to expedite the final approval process for a shoot.

 Ms. Sanchez and her staff work very closely with the Office of Film and Entertainment to assist with the coordinating and communicating to production companies the rules and conditions of filming and the hiring of off-duty police.

“It’s very rewarding working with the film and entertainment community. Sometimes the timeframes are challenging, but we always do our best to accommodate and meet the needs of productions”, Ms. Sanchez affirmed. “I think it helps that I understand the industry and all the intricacies that go into making a film project work.”

Ms. Sanchez has fond memories of past productions. “They filmed part of “Home Alone 2” in Miami and the scene at Miami International Airport needed to be filmed in the rain. So daily for months and months someone would call me to ask if it was raining. And every time I had to say, nope it’s not raining today. Then I heard on the news that it was going to rain so I called production to tell them, and the whole crew rushed over to shoot the next day."

Maria Sanchez has two sons in their 30’s and two granddaughters, and is excitedly expecting a set of twin grandchildren next March. Her 88 year-old mother lives with her and sometimes accompanies her daughter on antiquing trips. “I love to shop for jewelry and antiques, especially Victorian items”. Her passion for shopping is only surpassed by her need to be socially interactive. “Yes, I am very much known at MIA as a social butterfly!” In a business not known for its wallflowers, this may be another reason she is the production industry’s Shining Star at MIA.