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Nicole Costa’s No Money No Honey won the Grand Jury Prize in NewFest 38’s Documentary/Nonfiction Feature competition, the festival’s top recognition for a documentary feature. The 81-minute film follows Máxima, a travesti sex worker, through self-recorded VHS diaries made between 1991 and 2004 and her present-day effort to face family history, migration, trauma and chosen family. It premiered at the 2026 Camden International Film Festival and is currently listed with a targeted May 2027 release, but no distributor or streaming platform has been confirmed.
What award did No Money No Honey win at NewFest?
The film received NewFest 38’s Grand Jury Prize for Documentary/Nonfiction Feature, according to a report dated October 26, 2026. NewFest’s 2026 documentary-feature jury consisted of filmmaker Brydie O’Connor, Motto Pictures producer Daniel Torres and writer-filmmaker Imran Siddiquee.
The prize was presented at the 38th Annual New York LGBTQ+ Film Festival. NewFest’s mission is to give LGBTQ+ film and media greater voice and visibility; the 2026 festival presented 144 productions from 23 countries, according to GPS Audiovisual.
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NewFest programming director Nick McCarthy said the film showed “a mature and confident authorial voice” that centers collaboration, agency and dignity rather than sensationalism.
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What is Nicole Costa’s No Money No Honey about?
The documentary follows Máxima, an Argentine non-binary sex worker living in New York, as old VHS tapes found during the COVID-19 pandemic reopen memories from Buenos Aires, Miami and New York. The recordings capture her early adulthood, years among trans performers and sex workers in Miami, and the decades she has spent in New York.
Máxima’s story includes a difficult relationship with her mother, reconnection with chosen family and an attempt to reclaim a past shaped by displacement and survival. Women Make Movies describes the film’s themes as glamour, friendship, trauma, trans-Latinx community, diaspora precarity and the movement from sex work as survival toward agency and control.
NewFest uses “travesti” for Máxima’s identity. The term refers to a distinct socio-political gender identity originating in South America and should not be treated as a generic synonym for transgender.
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Are the VHS tapes in the film real?
Yes. The central footage comes from Máxima’s own self-recorded tapes, rather than an archive created by an outside filmmaker. The tapes span 1991–2004 and form the film’s first-person backbone; contemporary material and experimental editing place those images in conversation with Máxima’s life now.
Costa encountered the tapes while working on The Journey of Monalisa (2019). She has said, “I believed these tapes couldn’t be just kept in a closet. This had to be a film.” The project developed through a deliberately slow, relational process in which trust was established before sensitive experiences were discussed.
Who made the documentary?
Nicole Costa directed the film and is credited as a director-producer by Women Make Movies. Daniela Camino and Gregory Costa are also producers; Melisa Miranda edited and co-wrote the script; and Kato Hideki composed the music. The International Documentary Association describes the finished work as made almost entirely from Máxima’s diaristic, first-person video, supplemented by contemporary footage and experimental editing.
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Costa has explained that she was drawn to Máxima’s ability to transform pain into connection. That approach keeps authorship and interpretation close to Máxima’s own recordings while allowing the present-day film to examine what those images mean decades later.
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Where did No Money No Honey premiere?
The International Documentary Association reported the world premiere at the 2026 Camden International Film Festival. NewFest later presented the film in its 2026 festival, where it won the documentary-feature Grand Jury Prize.
NewFest lists the production as an 81-minute film from Chile and the United States, in Spanish and English. The market listing gives an approximately 80-minute runtime, reflecting the minor difference between listings.
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When will No Money No Honey be released?
The Marché du Film listing gives May 2027 as an expected release target. It also says the project is seeking festivals, sales agents, distributors and gap financing. That makes May 2027 a target rather than a confirmed theatrical, digital or streaming date.
No reviewed listing confirms a DVD, Blu-ray, soundtrack, book, collectible edition or streaming service. Festival availability may therefore precede any wider public release, and dates can change as distribution arrangements develop.
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Because Máxima’s footage is both evidence and self-expression, the documentary does not treat her as only a subject of observation. The VHS images preserve how she presented herself at different points in life, while present-day testimony and Costa’s editing show the distance between those moments.
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The movement among Buenos Aires, Miami and New York also makes migration part of the form, not just the background. The archive records trans-Latinx relationships and precarious work across borders; the contemporary sections ask how memory, family and agency can be rebuilt after those experiences.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Key facts at a glance
| Item | Details |
|---|---|
| Award | Grand Jury Prize, Documentary/Nonfiction Feature, NewFest 38 (2026) |
| Director | Nicole Costa |
| Central subject | Máxima, an Argentine non-binary sex worker and travesti living in New York |
| Format | Máxima’s self-recorded VHS diaries (1991–2004) combined with contemporary material |
| Languages | Spanish and English |
| Runtime | 81 minutes in NewFest’s listing; approximately 80 minutes in the market listing |
| World premiere | 2026 Camden International Film Festival |
| Wider release | May 2027 target; distributor and streaming platform not confirmed |
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Máxima in No Money No Honey?
Máxima is an Argentine non-binary sex worker in New York whose travesti identity and self-recorded videos drive the documentary. Her relationships, migration and chosen family are as central to the film as her work.
Is No Money No Honey in Spanish or English?
It is a Spanish- and English-language documentary. The languages reflect Máxima’s movement among South America, Miami and New York.
How long is No Money No Honey?
NewFest lists an 81-minute runtime. A Marché du Film listing describes it as approximately 80 minutes, so published runtimes differ slightly by listing.
Where can I watch No Money No Honey now?
A confirmed streaming, rental or disc release has not been announced in the available listings. Festival screenings are documented, while broader distribution remains in development.
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