No Money No Honey

SYNOPSIS

No Money No Honey follows Máxima Mauricio (she/he), an Argentine non-binary sex worker in New York, as she confronts her past and reclaims her future. Revisiting her self-recorded VHS tapes from 1991–2004, Máxima unearths moments of glamour, friendship, and trauma across Buenos Aires, Miami and New York. Interweaving this archival footage with contemporary 4K scenes filmed post-pandemic, the film constructs a deeply personal, first-person narrative that explores survival, identity, and healing.

As she reconnect s with fellow trans -Latinx sex workers, their shared stories of resilience emerge against a backdrop of systemic marginalization and diaspora precarity. The film challenges voyeuristic portrayals by centering Máxima’ s own lens , both as protagonist and videographer. Through her voice, we witness the transformation of sex work from a means of survival into a space of agency and control, where adult desire becomes consensual and empowered.

Director Statement

I made this film because I was fascinated by Máxima’s ability to transform pain into connection. Through decades of self-recorded VHS tapes, she created an extraordinary archive of friendship, migration, joy, and survival. I deeply admire the way she confronts childhood trauma and loss with honesty, humor, and radical tenderness.

I was also drawn to the complexity and courage of her perspective. Máxima’s story challenges many of the assumptions and stereotypes that surround both trans identities and sex work. Rather than fitting into a narrative of either victimhood or empowerment, she occupies a more nuanced and often uncomfortable space, inviting us to question the social taboos that shape our understanding of trauma, desire, agency, and consent. Her reflections on sex work as a site of self-determination and bodily autonomy open a conversation that is rarely represented with such honesty and complexity.

This film emerged from a desire to accompany her in that process and to create a space where her voice, her memories, and her authorship could be fully seen and valued.

- Nicole Costa

Supporter Statement

“The film reflects a mature and confident authorial voice, one that resists sensationalism and instead centers collaboration, agency, and dignity.”
— Nick McCarthy, Director of Programming, NewFest

“Her collaborative and care-centered approach offers a compelling model for ethical, non-extractive documentary practices.”
— Bernadita Llanos Mardones, PhD, Professor of Latin American Literature and Women’s and Gender Studies, Brooklyn College (CUNY)

ABOUT FILMMAKER(S)

Director/Producer Nicole Costa

Nicole Costa is a Chilean-born, New York–based filmmaker, actress, educator, and producer whose work explores memory, migration, identity, and the ethics of representation through deeply collaborative creative processes. Her feature documentary The Journey of Monalisa (2019) premiered at DOC NYC, IDFA, and DocsBarcelona, won several international awards, and was named Best Latinx Film in the U.S. by Cinema Tropical. Her work has also been presented at universities, and cultural institutions across the Americas and Europe, where she frequently speaks on documentary storytelling, authorship, and social change.

Drawing from a background in theater, community arts, and documentary filmmaking, Costa creates intimate character-driven films that challenge dominant narratives and center voices historically pushed to the margins. In No Money No Honey, she continues her commitment to consent-driven, ethics-forward filmmaking through a collaborative practice rooted in radical tenderness, shared authorship, and long-term relationships with her participants.

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