We had the good fortune of connecting with Maksym Varenyk and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Maksym, is there something that you feel is most responsible for your success?
I believe that taking action is the most important thing you can do in order to succeed. Sometimes it’s difficult to make yourself to do something especially if it’s something you’ve never done before. But it’s much better to do something and fail than not doing anything at all.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I’d like to think that I’m only at the beginning of my journey and the real challenge of the industry are yet to come. However making any movie is a daunting process no matter how big or small the project is. I just recently learned not to underestimate a power of smaller projects after my 1 minute short film was selected for screening at the Outfest LA this year. It’s funny because I had projects that I worked on for months and they didn’t lead me to anything but the movie I created in a few days got the recognition that I didn’t even hope for. You never know where success will come from, so I try to do my best at everything I do.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Hollywood Sigh hike and Griffith Observatory are probably a few of the most iconic places to see in LA.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
For me it’s really important to see stories that are relatable with characters that represent myself. That’s something I didn’t have growing up in Ukraine. So I’d like to recognize the entire LGBTQ+ community for putting themselves out there and showing the world that we exist. Seeing more queer stories on film and TV, and other forms of art always inspired me and encouraged me to promote diversity in my own work.

 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/maxvaren/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnJZSFENkfEazsbcAU8oExg

Nominate Someone: ShoutoutLA is built on recommendations and shoutouts from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.