Maxime Alexandre

Biography

Maxime Alexandre (born in Ronse, Belgium, in 1971) is a Belgian-Italian cinematographer best known for horror films, above all for his work with Alexandre Aja and David F. Sandberg.

He moved with his family to Rome at the age of five. His stepfather, Inigo Lezzi, an assistant director to filmmakers such as Marco Bellocchio, Gianni Amelio and Nanni Moretti, introduced him to the great names of Italian cinema. As a young man he acted in several films, including Une page d'amour, directed by Elie Chouraqui. He first became interested in photography on the set of a short film made by his stepfather. In the late 1980s the family settled in Paris, where he started in the camera department on commercials.

In 2001 he met Alexandre Aja and Grégory Levasseur while shooting second unit on Break of Dawn, directed by Alexandre Arcady, Aja's father. The three later worked together on Aja's debut, High Tension (2003), which is often cited as the start of a new wave of French horror. In 2006 Variety named him one of its Ten Cinematographers to Watch. Most of his work has been in horror, and he has also directed features, including Holy Money (2008). He has been a member of the Italian and American societies of cinematographers since 2023.

Key films

• High Tension (2003): his first collaboration with Alexandre Aja and a landmark of the new French horror wave.
• The Hills Have Eyes (2006): a horror remake shot with Aja that drew wide attention.
• Annabelle: Creation (2017): cinematography for a prequel within the Conjuring universe.
• The Nun (2018): one of his best-known commercial horror titles.
• Shazam! (2019): an example of his move into large-budget superhero productions.