Maya Baran\u2019s advice to all creators is this: never stop choosing to do what you love, because you never know when that choice might be taken away.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n Born in Jerusalem and based in New York, Maya is an experimental filmmaker, director, and photographer. Through her work, she aims to reveal her subject\u2019s authentic selves and explore the intricacy of human connection. Maya makes sense of life through her camera\u2019s lens and finds solace and healing through her work. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n Maya describes herself as an introvert and has always used creativity as a way of making sense of the world. As a child, she was always drawing, painting, or writing and when she wasn\u2019t doing that, she was watching people. She soaked up her surroundings like a sponge \u2014 absorbing interactions between people and picking up on their body language, energy, and mannerisms. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n Her early years have shaped the way she works today. Her vast catalog of films and videos focuses on the intricacies of human nature and how we interact.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n Maya first picked up a camera when she was a teen. Her high school specialized in art and design, and she was instantly drawn to the photography department. She\u2019d always felt a deep need to hold on to beautiful memories, and with photography, she could finally do it. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n Her father had an old A-1 Canon film camera which he used to document their family life, and he happily gifted it to her once he noticed her new passion. She spent the next few years either taking photos or in a dark room, documenting her life in Jerusalem and turning the outside world into art.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI just fell in love with this machine,\u201d Maya reflects from her apartment in New York. \u201cIt felt so powerful, spiritual, and a little metaphysical. There was something special about the immediacy and the simplicity of it.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n For Maya, just the act of holding a camera felt empowering. \u201cOnce you set up a camera, it affects the energy in a room. It affects the interactions people have, and that was very alluring to me.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n Once Maya graduated from high school in 2008, she joined the army as a military photographer. That\u2019s when she started working with <\/span>digital cameras<\/span><\/a>, and gained access to some of the best equipment in the world. \u201cThe military was a way for me to segue into working with really high-quality gear at a relatively young age and improve my technical abilities at the same time,\u201d Maya says.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n A shift from film to digital wasn\u2019t the only change Maya experienced. Before the military, Maya was mostly taking candid photos of people around her and shots of life in Jerusalem. But the military was like a different planet. \u201cA lot of the time I was in combat zones or in dangerous situations and having to operate a lot of very heavy equipment,\u201d Maya says. \u201cAmmunition, guns, helmets, and just a lot of gear all the time.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n Maya\u2019s subject matter shifted, too. She was suddenly thrown into extreme situations and had to execute her job under vast pressure. \u201cSo the camera became synonymous with adrenaline and action, and represented something totally different than before,\u201d says Maya.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n This experience shifted Maya\u2019s approach to documenting the world around her. She found herself looking for tender, human moments within those extreme situations, and that stayed with her once her service ended. She also came to understand the limits of storytelling with just a single frame, and that led her to explore the world of film. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n After working under such immense pressure, Maya was able to indulge in time and space and dwell on the quiet moments. Her work started to focus on body language, light, expression, and what people do in between the action \u2014because that\u2019s where she feels the truth lies. \u201cI would say my voice as a creator is focused on human interaction, tenderness, kindness, daydreaming, and taking time,\u201d Maya says. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n Since 2011 Maya\u2019s worked with brands, musicians, and artists to help them visualize their stories. Her talent as a music video director is exceptional, and she regularly creates experimental and ethereal moving images for artists from all around the world and all types of genres. Her video for <\/span>Gili Portal\u2019s “The Observer<\/span><\/a>,” for example, explores the intersection of man, animal, and the environment. Filmed on a ranch, the slow-motion, lingering shots dwell on the interaction and communication between man and beast.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n Maya\u2019s music video for \u201cNot Easy<\/strong>\u201d by Benjamin\u2019s Brother won best music video at the Los Angeles Short Film & Script Festival in 2019, and was selected as a finalist for 31 Girona Film Festival and Los Angeles Cine Fest. The video was shot on a frozen lake in Siberia, a space about 3 times the size of Ireland. Maya used drones to depict the full scale of the landscape and showcase beautiful patterns on the ice. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n In the video a man treks across the glacial landscape, fighting against wind and snow to reach his destination. The video opened the door for many more experimental projects and was a pivotal moment in Maya\u2019s career. \u201cI remember standing on this frozen lake thinking this is what filmmaking got me to do,\u201d Maya says.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n Maya\u2019s creative process always starts with a feeling, which leads to a visual, which leads to a frame. Her background is in fine art, so she\u2019ll map out the visuals with a mood board before working on a script. She often incorporates music in her sketching, even if the project isn\u2019t a music video, as it helps her visualize the piece. Although she loves to plan, Maya also welcomes mistakes. \u201cI always try to give myself room for experimentation,” she says. \u201cIn a shoot, I allocate time for messing around and having fun and seeing what happens.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\nA shift in perspective<\/b><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
The creative journey<\/b><\/h2>\n\n\n\n