Maxime Alexandre was born in 1971 in Renaix, Belgium, and at the tender age of five, he relocated to Rome, Italy, with his mother, sisters, and brother. His stepfather, Inigo Lezzi, a renowned figure in the Italian film industry, allowed Maxime to explore the Italian cinema sets, sparking his interest in the art form. As a young actor, Maxime appeared in several films, including "Une Page d'Amour" directed by Elie Chouraqui and "Bianca" by Nanni Moretti in 1984.
As he grew older, Maxime discovered his passion for photography while working on a short film directed by his stepfather. This marked the beginning of his journey as a photographer. In the late 1980s, Maxime and his family moved to Paris, where he began his career in the camera department, working on commercials and learning from esteemed cinematographers such as Darius Kondji, J.Y. Escoffier, P. Lhomme, Vilko Filak, and Italian cinematographers including Tonino Delli Colli and Franco Di Giacomo.
Maxime's earliest work as a Director of Photography was shooting the second unit of a commercial for Michel Gondry. He later collaborated with Alexandre Aja and Gregory Levasseur on Aja's directorial debut, "High Tension," which received international recognition and was hailed as the beginning of the French New Wave of horror in the 2000s. The film was picked up for distribution by Lions Gate Films.
Maxime, Alexandre, and Gregory continued to collaborate on the remake of "The Hills Have Eyes" and "Mirrors." During the making of "The Hills Have Eyes," Maxime met Wes Craven, with whom he worked on "Paris, Je T'aime," an anthology film featuring works from renowned directors such as Alexander Payne, The Coen Brothers, and Vincenzo Natali. The film was selected to screen at Un Certain Regard at the Cannes Film Festival, marking the second time Maxime's work was featured at the prestigious event.
In 2006, Maxime was recognized by Variety as one of its Ten Cinematographers to Watch. Since then, he has worked on numerous films, including "P2" directed by Franck Khalfoun, "The Crazies" by Breck Eisner, "The Voices" by Marjane Satrapi, "The Crawl" by Alexandre Aja, "Shazam" by David F. Sandberg, and "Never Let Go" by Alexandre Aja, among others.
