My Friend, Max Hate

Directing for Video - Single

2025

Bensimon Byrne / Narrative XPR, Toronto, ON
e: letschat@bensimonbyrne.com
w: bensimonbyrne.com

Chief Creative Officer: Joseph Bonnici Executive Creative Director: Debbie Chan Creative Director: David Mueller Associate Creative Director: Ana Segurajauregui Sanchez Art Director: Zoë Gray Writer: Nate Houseley Agency Producer: Michelle Pilling Senior Strategist: Pat Martini Program Director: Oliver Glover Account Director: Cole Douglas Senior Account Manager: Samantha Sartor Account Manager: Kanishka Punjabi, Aaron Short Executive Producer: Amanda Morrison Director: Angie Bird Director of Photography: Mat Barkley Line Producer: Kailey Shanque Offline Producer: Sam McLaren Offline Editor: Michelle Czuker Offline Assistant Editor: Matt Blakely Online Producer: Andrew Tavares Online Editor: Saba Zahir, David Whiteson Colourist: Eric Whipp Shoot/Edit (Social): Marco Libretti Audio Producer: Julia Vasiliev Audio Director: Jared Kuemper Engineer: Jared Kuemper, Marcel Hidalgo, Tyler Young Client: White Ribbon

Winning Entry: youtu.be/SQHztQBinvA?si=Qmp3ctgAnNXvHvMC

Our director captured so many nuances in each character's performance, building tension and empathy. No young boy sets out to become the person we see in the final scene, so our director had convincingly show how a child can transition from relative innocence to full-blown hate—even toward his own mother. Working closely with our VFX team, they also helped craft the look and feel of the puppet, a visual metaphor for how young boys are tricked into becoming 'puppets' of misogynistic hate.