Superlative signs filmmaker April Maxey

For her part, Maxey wanted to be represented by a company not hesitant to embrace the unique voice and sensibilities of a queer Latina director. “I believe that by telling stories from underrepresented perspectives, we challenge current points of view, creating space and validity for stories not yet seen,” says Maxey, who holds a BFA in Film/Video from Pratt Institute. My directing approach is framed by my work as a cinematographer, editor and actor. I want to challenge perceptions by telling stories through a lens of depth and truth.”

Maxey directed her first spot/branding campaigns while working at 422LUXE, a NY-based production company specializing in LGBTQ perspectives. Her multi-spot campaign for TomboyX gender neutral fashions is indicative of Maxey’s approach to brand outreach. In the spots, Maxey chronicles making people’s differences visible. It’s about equal representation and celebration of all people’s differences as their superpower,” says Maxey. 

In Maxey’s highly lauded 13-minute short Work, the audience follows Gabriela (played by Marisela Zumbado), a woman who impulsively goes back to her job as a lap dancer after a painful breakup. A return to sex work at first provides a false sense of control, until time allows her to reclaim her true identity. “As humans, we all feel a longing for connection,” says Maxey. “I wanted to tell this story of a queer Latina, at a crossroads in her life, searching for a way forward. It’s a densely packed 13 minutes and I hope that it is able to linger with the audience long after they watch it.”