NEW YORK CITY · 2026Brazilian filmmaker in New York
Filmmaker · Director · Producer · Actress · Content Creator
Visually driven stories about human relationships, identity, intimacy, silence, and emotional transformation.
Selected films · 01
Independent films recognized by festivals and competitions around the world.
01Director · Producer
02Director · Writer · Producer
03Director · Producer
04Director · Producer · Director of Photography
05Director
Recognition from New York to London, Los Angeles, Paris, Brazil, and beyond.
About · 02
Maria Maya is a Brazilian filmmaker, director, producer, actress, and content creator based in New York City and working between the United States and Brazil.
Born in Rio de Janeiro and previously based in São Paulo, Maria built a successful acting career in Brazil before moving behind the camera and establishing herself as an award-winning filmmaker working between Brazil and the United States.
Her work spans narrative film, theatre, documentary, television, branded content, and commercials. Through visual storytelling, she explores what people reveal—and what they keep silent.
Selected recognition · 03
MANHATTAN FILM FESTIVAL · NEW YORK01Manhattan Film Festival
02Golden State Film Festival
03New York Movie Awards
04Lois Weber Film Festival
05Sixth Borough Film Festival
06London Movie Awards
07LGBTQ+ Los Angeles Film Festival
08All That Moves International Film Festival
09Tietê International Film Awards
10Cecil County Independent Film Festival
Beyond film · 04
Direction comes first—supported by decades of experience with actors, stages, cameras, and creative teams.
Selected credits across television, film, and theatre.
Direction, assistant direction, casting direction, and cinematography across commercials and television.
Directing reel · 05
A selection of narrative directing across film, music, movement, and performance.
DIRECTING REEL · 02:37Commercial direction · 06
Selected advertising work across direction and assistant direction for commercials, branded films, and institutional productions.
DIRECTOR · ADVERTISING REEL · 01:04Content + Brand · 07
Selected on-camera collaborations created for beauty, lifestyle, and fashion audiences.
View media kit ↗Beauty · Branded ContentRennova Care
Beauty · On CameraRennova
Fashion · Social ContentLooks Elevados
Selected collaborations
In development · 08
Original projects rooted in specific lives and imagined for international audiences.
An unexpected pregnancy forces a prosecutor to confront a buried family lie, inherited trauma, and the meaning of care.
View pitch deck ↗A sharp, affectionate portrait of the everyday neuroses that make New Yorkers wonderfully human.
View pitch deck ↗An intimate look at the assistants who organize empires, absorb chaos, and protect the private lives of the ultra-rich.
View pitch deck ↗Three young musicians share a New York recording studio as fiction, live competition, and audience choice collide.
View pitch deck ↗On a Hell’s Kitchen rooftop, two close friends share one final sunset as their bond reveals a fractured truth.
View pitch deck ↗Contact · 09
Available for directing, development, creative partnerships, festival conversations, branded content, and selected acting opportunities.
Connect on Instagram ↗