NYC & Company is the official destination marketing organization for the five boroughs of New York City, with a mission to maximize travel and tourism opportunities throughout the City, build economic prosperity and spread the dynamic image of New York City around the world. They challenged us to paint an authentic portrait of the city in which we visited several boroughs. And they wanted all of it to be through the eyes of HBO Max talent.

Leiomy is a world-famous ballroom Icon and lead judge on HBO Max’s Legendary. She’s also a dyed in the wool Bronxite, so she was perfect for our film. I worked with Leiomy to select locations that reflected her interests and personality, regardless of whether or not she’d actually been there before. Colorful, dynamic backdrops were important to me as well. We shot much of our b-roll on film, and aimed to combine the rawness of documentary (to reflect her authenticity) and the art direction of a fashion film (to reflect her celebrity glamour).