Maxim Kelly joins Spindle
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Maxim Kelly’s technical and genre-bending work uniquely blends an unconventional and surrealist style with an imaginative approach to mixed-media.
Director Maxim Kelly started his career assisting commercial photographers around studying for his MA at the University of Arts London. After graduating, he moved to New York and worked alongside some of the leading names in New York fashion photography. Then later returning to London, becoming Juergen Teller's First Assistant for three years.
These fine art and fashion worlds opened Maxim’s eyes to the extent of what can be possible creatively and commercially, and led him to finding a new avenue within music videos. His debut promo, made while on a trip to India, attracted attention of various blogs and festivals, and marked Kelly's arrival as being one to watch.
Since then, he’s gone on to make a name for himself as one of the UK’s most original and exciting promo directors. Embracing an extensive array of genres and influences, his award-winning work displays eccentric creativity and a technically-experimental mindset, while always retaining strong visuals and careful craft.
During the pandemic, Kelly directed a mesmerising, psychedelic trip through the Victorian technique of the phénakisticope for Django Django Spirals. Followed by an unsettling deepfake video for Shame Nigel Hitter, that repurposes and reimagines archival footage from old research centres conducting questionable experiments around the development of children. The film went on to be nominated for Best Rock at UKMVA 2021.
Kelly continued this impressive trajectory in 2022, releasing a string of acclaimed promos. His surreal tribute to '90s rave culture for Belief Dreams was nominated and awarded across UKMVAs, Berlin MVAs, Kinsale Sharks and Creative Circle. The film was included in various Best of the Year lists, thanks to its iconic performance and uniquely original, striking visuals.
His unhinged fever dream of a Western for Black Midi Eat Men Eat and genre-bending epic for Black Country, New Road Concorde both received similar levels of recognition, including multiple wins and nominations at Creative Circle, Shark Awards, 1.4 and UKMVAs, as well as taking up two spots in PromoNews’ Best of 2022 Rock and Alternative list.
Most recently, Kelly released Hot Chip Broken, that reworks obscure vintage corporate film footage to create an alternative history of computing that sees a robot boyband take the world by storm.
This eclectic and genre-spanning approach can be attributed to Maxim’s lens on the world and how he finds inspiration: “I consume a lot of things, films, art, music, archive footage, and photography books. It’s annoying for everyone around me, every time I look at anything or go anywhere, I’m not really present. Instead, I’m thinking about how I could exploit the situation, experience or content by using it in a film.”
Alongside this impressive collection of promos, Maxim has directed successful campaigns for clients including Nike, Valentino, Linda Farrow, Vogue and Sony. He’s also created Fashion Editorials for Red Thread and Hunger Magazine.
On signing to Spindle, Maxim Kelly said: "Spindle is the right fit, they're a young, dynamic crew with a solid growth curve. Their energy and taste drew me in, and I joined because I wanted to be part of that, to contribute and grow with them."
Mayling Wong, Spindle Executive Producer adds: "Maxim’s ability to create in such an innovative way has always inspired me. I remember when I first saw his music video for Belief, I was immediately captivated. The way in which the video’s direction held my attention, despite being so simplistic, was truly a credit to Maxim’s craft and focus on the finer details. I am beyond excited to watch him flourish with the team at Spindle and look forward to bringing his unique imagination to life!"
