During UK Lockdown 1, I was desperate (like many) to get back out there and create. Alex (the writer) and I discussed various ideas and RHYME OR DIE was an obvious choice. It combined Alex’s love of wordplay and the kind of heightened and conceptual narratives that I want to explore. A key challenge at the time was COVID distances, so we devised a rule for the character's placement. If the characters left their zone (each a minimum of 2 meters apart), the collars they wore would aggressively tighten and suffocate them. By showing this early on, the audience would know why the contestants don't run, and we in turn would be COVID-safe. Aside from practicalities, the film was inspired by the cut-throat nature of the creative industries and how, as artists, we are often forced to compete against one another with frequently destructive consequences. Consequences that will affect our artistry and sometimes our health. Be the best, or ‘die’. The film takes inspiration from BATTLE ROYALE (2000) and THE CIRCLE (2015). When developing the script, we wanted to ensure that the rhymes not only revealed more about the characters but that they were accurate to the rhyming schemes requested in each round. To ensure this Alex thoroughly tested the script and even ran it past a person who tests games. The key result was that our initial unrhymable word PURPLE does in fact rhyme! The dastardly word is HIRPLE (*Scottish, to walk with a limp). After briefly questioning the nature of our reality, we discovered a new unrhymable word, WARMTH.

Max is an Irish/Australian director born in Hackney, London. Fuelled by his love of exploring genre, he creates heightened narratives that frequently descend into nasty endings. His short RHYME OR DIE, a horror-comedy where five strangers must rhyme or get brutally murdered, won BEST HORROR SHORT at the Atlanta Underground Film Festival and won BEST SCREENPLAY SHORT at the BIFA Qualifying Manchester Film Festival. It also played at Screamfest LA, Méliès D’Argent Qualifying Razor Reel Flanders Film Festival, and the BIFA Qualifying Beeston Film Festival. It premiered on Short of the Week / Directors Notes and will be released on Watch Alter (Jan ’24). PINEAPPLE, a short drama that explores creative jealousy between a couple set to the backdrop of the art world, was part-funded by Stefan Allesch-Taylor CBE. It screened at BIFA qualifying Shortest Night and internationally at LGBTQI+ film festivals. Stephen Fry described it as "entirely captivating. Funny, sad, beautifully performed and shot... Divine. A million congratulations". It is now streaming on LesFlicks. WINNING MARGE (commissioned by Channel 4's Random Acts) premiered at BAFTA/OSCAR qualifying Foyle Film Festival. Then, later won Video of the DAY (VOTD.tv). It's a heightened drama about a twisted breakup. Max has created three stylised super 8 horror shorts, including THERE CAN ONLY BE ONE, which reached the 2020 Straight 8 London Premiere screening. Then later released on Watch Alter. BAG FOR LIFE will play Film Quest in October 2023. During summer ’23 Max was accepted as a BAFTA member through their Connect scheme.