Check Out Maya Albanese’s Story

Hi Maya, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
Becoming a writer-director was an organic process for me. I tried out several careers after university, none of which really made my clock tick – until filmmaking. It came by a combination of diving deep into the things I love most – art, music, color, storytelling, traveling – and a process of eliminating the things I realized over time that I did not. There certainly was a bit of destiny, timing and mentorship mixed in there too. Once I started directing, I had a high school classmate laugh and tell me I was always meant to do this, reminding me that I wrote and directed satires, plays and music back then, and that our yearbook “futures” said something about how I’d become a writer for Saturday Night Live.  I guess I’ve circled back to my calling. As a result, I feel better today than I ever have.

I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle-free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
As an independent artist, especially a film director, you have to be really self-motivated, not only to wake up every morning and write your own destiny, but to allow yourself some work-life balance too. In some ways, I think the latter is actually harder for many artists like myself. When you do your passion for a living, it feels like such a privilege that you do have to make sure to remember all the other things, people and places outside of it that make life healthy and wonderful too. It’s an all-consuming career, but if you hack the balance and love it as much as I do, everything else will fall into place.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I like to craft deep-feeling stories with an aesthetic that leans surreal and dark. My twisted and whimsical elements are motivated by a desire to use the cinema as a means to convey human psychology in ways that no other art medium could.

When I was younger, I don’t think the thought ever occurred to me that I could be a director, partly because I never saw anyone who looked like me directing. I do believe in the old adage, it’s hard to be what you can’t see. Representation is important. When I first started commercial directing, I think 1.5 percent of the Directors Guild of America was women in the commercial contracts division. I look at how hard I’ve worked, through many setbacks, like every director inevitably does, and I feel most proud that I just have not given up.

Any advice for finding a mentor or networking in general?
Finding great mentorship can be a challenge, but it’s absolutely essential. I’d love to see more senior male film directors mentoring emerging women directors, because I think that’s one of the things that would actually move the needle more in my line of work. In terms of networking, my rule is always to force myself to get out there and meet at least one new person. If all that happens when you trek to an intimidating event is that you talk to one new person, that could be worth the trek. All it takes is one person, around any corner, to change your life.