2/25/2020
LGBT History Month Blog Event - Love Is Too Beautiful To Be Hidden In The Closet - A Life of a Transgender in the US feat. Maya Henry part 2
Hi Maya! Could you introduce yourself?
My name is Maya Henry, I am 24 years old, and I am a filmmaker and professional YouTuber.
How would you say the arts and creativity shape your life growing up?
Art and storytelling shaped my life growing up as it was a form of escapism. I felt an enormous disconnect from the world and the relationships I had with people around me, due to being transgender and never having my gender identity validated. Books and films helped me enter alternate universes where I could be whoever I wanted to be, place myself in the protagonists’s shoes and feel a sense of limitless freedom.
I remember watching Xena Warrior Princess and Buffy the Vampire Slayer from a young age, and I would run around the house playing imagination games where I pretended I was them. Growing up, I took pride in female heroines, unable to identify with most of their male counterparts. I had hardly any friends in elementary school and books like the Harry Potter series really occupied the time I could have spent crying about my feelings of isolation. For me, literature and film were my salvation.
When and how did you know you wanted to be a filmmaker?
I got my first camcorder when I was in 6th grade, unable to figure out how to export the files, I spent years creating short films in perfect sequence and re-watching them on the viewfinder. It was until my final year of high school, after creating numerous short films starring my younger sisters, did I realize that filmmaking was a true passion. Film combined everything that I loved about art: visuals, music, stories, actors… etc.
What do you love most about your craft?
The thing I most love about my craft is being able to share it with people. I love the idea of providing escapism from the everyday for others, just as film was able to provide escapism for me growing up. When I would create short films with my sisters I absolutely loved the emotional responses I received from various family members. Whether it was laughter, sadness, awe, or even sheer joy, it was something I’ll never forget. Film brings people together, and that is what I love most about my craft.
Tell me about some of the projects you’re currently working on. Is there a project that you’re most proud of?
I am currently working on a couple of thesis films at Ryerson University. I am the art director for a documentary, as well as editing two fiction films. Over the past summer I had my debut acting role as the lead in a short film starring a trans girl as the protagonist.
As for a project I am most proud of? I have two. Firstly, a short experimental horror film I made in my first year at university. I had such creative control and it was the first time I really realized my potential as a filmmaker; I got such a strong reaction when my classmates and professors viewed it! Secondly, I regard my YouTube channel as an ongoing project in a way; I am proud that documenting my transition in such a public way has inspired and helped so many others within the trans community. It is probably one of the most personal projects I have ever started and continue to make.
Who or what works have influenced or inspired you?
I am inspired by the aesthetic of American Horror Story: Coven, the human conditions explored by the Studio Ghibli films, the talents of Meryl Streep and Cate Blanchette, the creativity and dedication of JK Rowling, and sonically my life’s soundtrack as of right now would be Lorde, Lana, and Frank Ocean on repeat.
If you could have dinner with anyone, who would it be and why?
If I could have dinner with any one woman in media who would it be? Amy Poehler. She is hilarious and I think we have overlapping senses of humour. It would be a riot. She is extremely talented at what she does, yet appears super humble.
Where do see yourself in 5 years? What is your most ambitious goal you hope to achieve in your lifetime?
In five years where do I see myself? In reality? I have no idea. And I’ve learned to come to terms that this isn’t a huge problem. I’m still super young and I think society places too much importance on us to plan out our lives from high school all the way to hitting the nail on the coffin. I’ve learned to let go of my expectations for myself and allow the flow of life to happen around me, and take opportunities as they come.
I never expected to become a YouTube sensation a couple of years ago, and that has lead me to numerous great opportunities. I always try to keep my options open. All I know is that I want to be creating in five years from now. Creating like I am today. Whether that means acting, directing, writing, or still blogging, I do not know.
What advice would you give to your younger self?
You might think you are so impossibly different from everyone else and so inescapably alone in your experiences, but you are not. There are billions of people in the world and some of them are facing similar struggles to you, you just haven’t found them yet. You are not alone.
Being a trans woman and being a filmmaker is important because…
Being a trans woman and being a filmmaker is important because our voices are so seldom heard even in stories being told about our own struggles and community. It is important to have visibility within the industry, to end the sensationalizing of trans women within the media, and to inspire future generations of women and trans women to achieve their dreams and goals. The margins of female filmmakers in the industry vs. male filmmakers is extremely discouraging. Women make up half the population so it is vital that our voices are equally as loud and articulated as men’s.
Click here to check out Maya’s YouTube channel!
