No Money No Honey, the new feature documentary from New York-based Chilean filmmaker Nicole Costa, will have its World Premiere in competition at the 22nd Camden International Film Festival (CIFF), taking place September 17–20, followed by its New York Premiere at the 38th edition of NewFest, October 15–25.
Interweaving personal VHS footage recorded between 1991 and 2004 with post-pandemic cinematography, the film offers a raw, sensory portal into three decades of memory, survival, and vibrant queer life across Buenos Aires, Miami, and New York City.
During the pandemic in New York, Máxima Mauricio (she/they)—an Argentine non-binary sex worker—digs out her old VHS tapes and presses play. Recorded by Máxima during the 1990s and early 2000s, the footage captures the parties, friendships, desire, and everyday lives she shared with a close-knit circle of trans Latinx friends. Revisiting those images decades later opens a fluid journey through memory, trauma, survival, and enduring friendship, as Máxima confronts the past while reflecting on the community that sustained her.
Following the death of legendary trans activist Lorena Borjas, Máxima reconnects with her trans-Latinx community and their ailing friend Nellie, confronting the fragility of trans lives and the urgency of mutual aid. Through conversations with her friend Sebastián, a complex relationship with their mother, and a tender bond with a young client named Darius, the film moves beyond survival to reveal moments of emotional reconciliation and profound human connection.
Produced by Daniela Camino of Mimbre Films alongside Costa, No Money No Honey marks Costa's second feature documentary following her critically acclaimed debut The Journey of Monalisa (2019), which premiered at IDFA and DOC NYC and won Best U.S. Latinx Film at the Cinema Tropical Awards. The Chilean-American co-production expands Costa's commitment to collaborative storytelling and queer self-determination, bringing unvarnished trans archive material into dialogue with present-day collective care.
Moving from the analog grain of the 1990s to the quiet reflections of post-lockdown New York and the ocean waters of Miami, Costa approaches Máxima not merely as a subject, but as a co-creator reclaiming her place both behind and in front of the camera. Rather than framing sex work or trans identity through external explanations, No Money No Honey allows Máxima's own voice and personal archive to guide the narrative.
The result is a fearless act of self-determination—a tender, luminous river of images where personal archive becomes a transformative act of freedom, political resistance, and emotional healing.
