Maz Makhani’s path to cinematography began in a darkened movie theater at eight years old. Watching E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, he was overwhelmed by the world Steven Spielberg and cinematographer Allen Daviau had created—its organic beauty, intimacy, and emotional power. “It annihilated me,” he recalls. That experience sparked a lifelong fascination with how light and imagery can make an audience feel.
By 21, Makhani was working as a music video cinematographer, beginning a career that would encompass approximately 1,000 videos across hip-hop, R&B, rock, country, and pop. His music video credits include work with Beyoncé, Lady Gaga, Jennifer Lopez, Coldplay, Taylor Swift, Maluma, Bad Bunny, and Katy Perry, including her landmark video “Roar,” which has surpassed four billion views on YouTube. That prolific creative environment became his training ground, developing his instinct for bold imagery, experimentation, and resourceful filmmaking. He brings that same inventiveness to his narrative and commercial work, shaping a visual language around the needs of each story.
His commercial credits include work for Apple, American Airlines, Nike, Sony, Netflix, Visa, Samsung, Bulgari, Maserati, BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Porsche, Pepsi, and The Home Depot.
Makhani’s narrative work includes Netflix’s The Guilty, directed by Antoine Fuqua; #FreeRayshawn; and Princess of the Row, for which he won Best Cinematography at the Manchester Film Festival. He also served as second-unit director of photography on The Equalizer 2.
His extensive collaboration with Fuqua encompasses documentary projects including What’s My Name: Muhammad Ali, Legacy: The True Story of the LA Lakers, and Death Row Records. Both What’s My Name: Muhammad Ali and Legacyearned Sports Emmy Awards.
At the heart of Makhani’s approach is collaboration: understanding a director’s vision and discovering how to give it visual and emotional expression. He brings the technical resourcefulness of his music video roots together with a sensitivity to performance, atmosphere, and story. Across formats, his ambition remains rooted in that first experience at the movies—to create images that stay with an audience because of how they make them feel.
