Was it healing to make the film? 

 

To some extent, it was. It was delightful and poignant to relive Max’s life as seen through the eyes of his friends and family. It really helped me to see what a difference he made to so many people. 

 

It was also incredibly difficult to relive the accident and our loss over and over again as I worked on the film. There were several times during the making of the film where I had to stop working on it for several weeks and then come back to it later.

 

Is the film depressing?

 

There are definitely sad parts to the movie. It deals with grief and loss. Most of the film deals with his life and is very much a celebration. Max was a pretty goofy, one of a kind person so there is a lot of humor in the movie as well.

 

Who was interviewed for the film?

 

Most of the people in the film were interviewed soon after the accident. I know it was difficult, but no one refused to be interviewed.

 

Max’s friends Courtney Spencer and Daysha Watson were interviewed for the film. They survived the car crash. His friend Cidney Thomas was also killed in the crash. Her mother Kelly Ferguson was  interviewed for the film and she tells us about Cidney’s life and how she is coping with her grief. We interviewed over a dozen of Max’s friends. 

 

The film also contains interviews with the first responder who arrived on the scene to help Max and his friends. It contains an interview with a person in another car who was almost hit by the drunk driver minutes earlier. It features news footage and 911 calls from the actual crash. 

 

How was Max’s last day covered in the film?

 

By all accounts, Max had a great last day with his friends, which is incredibly well documented. Because his phone survived the car crash, the film features astonishing video of his amazing last day, which he spent with his friends at an amusement park in Ohio. In his car we found photos taken in a photo booth at the amusement park. They are also in the film.

 

We were able to obtain 911 calls, news footage of the actual accident and interviews with Greg Hyde, the first responder who tried to save Max as well as Michael Taddio, who was almost hit by the drunk driver minutes before the accident.

 

A relatively short time is devoted to Max’s last day and then the film transitions to tales about his short life and it’s aftermath.

 

Is this your first feature film?

 

Yes. I’ve done a couple short films  previously. When I started the film, I intended the Max movie to be a short film. In fact, the film was originally called “Max: A Short Film for a Short Life”. However, once I started working on the movie it became obvious it needed to be a full length film in order to tell the story properly.

 

How was the music created for the film?

 

The music for the film is composed by Gideon Freudmann. He has done the music for several Sundance award-winning films as well as TV shows and advertising campaigns including Apple. Gideon was a friend from many years ago when we both lived in Northampton Massachusetts. I’m so happy that Gideon agreed to create the music for the film. His eccentric, massively creative music is perfect for the film.

 

How was the animation created for the film?

 

Animated sequences are created for the film by a crew of 17 students of the Cleveland Institute of Art as part of the Animation Community Projects Course, supervised by professional animator Anthony Scalmato. These students often find employment in major animation studios upon graduation. I am an Associate Professor at the school.

 

Although the film is mostly live action, there are over 60 short animated sequences. I don’t think the animation could’ve been completed in a timely fashion in any other way. Again, the film was lucky to have a large crew of talented young animators working in assembly line fashion to create the animation in a relatively short span of time.

 

What do you think Max would think of the film? 

 

I hope he would like it. As I mentioned in the movie (jokingly), the last thing I’d want when I was 19 was for my dad to tell my life story, so I thinks it’s important that we got lots of other view points. His friends have a completely different perspective. When talking to his friends, it was a revelation to hear how much he had helped people and changed their lives in unexpected ways.

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Frequently asked questions can be downloaded as part of our Press Kit for "Max: A Short Life"