Max brings the sensibilities of a documentary filmmaker and the production knowledge of a commercial director to each of his projects, elegantly balancing his passion for both styles of visual storytelling.
Commercially, Max is represented by Sweet Rickey and has directed spots for Google, Jack Daniels, DraftKings, Dunkin’, Liberty Mutual, Fidelity Investments, and Reebok among others. In addition, Max has helped numerous social justice focused non-profits amplify their brand voice through short documentary campaigns.
His first feature length documentary, Paper Lanterns, earned the attention of Caroline Kennedy and others in the Obama administration's State Department to influence the iconic meeting of Former President Obama and the subject of the film, an atomic bomb survivor and historian named Shigeaki Mori, during Obama's historic visit to Hiroshima in 2016. In his speech, Obama mentioned the work Mr. Mori has done over the course of his life, much of which was brought to light in the documentary. Paper Lanterns notably screened at the United Nations Headquarters in New York, as part of the UN Conference on Disarmament Issues, as well as at the Museum of Fine Arts Boston.
His most recent documentary, Flashpoint: Protests, Police and the Press, was commissioned by Columbia University’s Knight First Amendment Institute and was acquired by the LA Times Short Docs series where it will be streaming in the spring of 2024.
A compassionate, calm and collaborative approach to filmmaking has offered Max the opportunity to fully immerse himself in emotive stories with inspiring subjects. His documentary work with veterans earned him a Citation of Merit for Filmmaking from the Massachusetts House of Representatives while his non-profit work with the Ad Council advocating for young girls learning STEM was recognized by Google at the South By Southwest (SXSW) Film Festival. Showing a breadth of styles, his collaboration with New Balance & Bodega was featured by Hypebeast while he has also been sought out to direct documentaries for a world-leading private equity firm.
Max has guest lectured on visual storytelling at his hometown alma mater, Boston University, where he was also a member of the university's Division I Track and Field program.
He now runs much less competitively in Brooklyn, NY.
Reach out at:
maxespo@gmail.com