
Directing
Max Barbakow
Known for
Directing
Credits
28 titles
Max Barbakow is a director and writer in Los Angeles, CA. Max earned his MFA in Directing from the AFI Conservatory, trained with Werner Herzog at Escuela Internacional de CineTV in Cuba, and is a graduate of Yale University. Palm Springs, his narrative feature debut, premiered at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival, where it was acquired by NEON and Hulu. He also wrote and directed Mommy, I'm a Bastard! (2013), an autobiographical feature documentary about his adoption.
Known for
7.3When carefree Nyles and reluctant maid of honor Sarah have a chance encounter at a Palm Springs wedding, things get complicated when they find themselves unable to escape the venue, themselves, or each other.
Palm Springs
2020
5.9A reformed criminal's attempt at going straight is derailed when he reunites with his sanity-testing twin brother on a road trip for the score of a lifetime. Dodging bullets, the law, and an overbearing mother along the way, they must heal their severed family bond before they end up killing each other.
Brothers
2024
Favorite Ives, an heiress and fashionista whose fortune evaporates overnight, embarks on a two-week search for a rich husband in a bid to fight creditors and keep a roof over her head. She meets eccentric math savant billionaire Oz Bell, who needs Ives’ spirit and spontaneity as much as she needs his money.
Epiphany
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NRAfter the death of his overbearing mother, an awkward outcast searches for his father at a seedy juke joint.
Merrimaker
2013
NRMired in a concussed haze, an ex-NFLer struggles to adjust to life off the field during Super Bowl Sunday.
The Duke: Based on the Memoir 'I'm The Duke' by J.P. Duke
2016
An aging soap opera star who finds himself caught in the absurdities of today's culture wars.
Soapbox
—
Film credits
Behind the camera
7.3When carefree Nyles and reluctant maid of honor Sarah have a chance encounter at a Palm Springs wedding, things get complicated when they find themselves unable to escape the venue, themselves, or each other.
Palm Springs
2020
5.9A reformed criminal's attempt at going straight is derailed when he reunites with his sanity-testing twin brother on a road trip for the score of a lifetime. Dodging bullets, the law, and an overbearing mother along the way, they must heal their severed family bond before they end up killing each other.
Brothers
2024
Favorite Ives, an heiress and fashionista whose fortune evaporates overnight, embarks on a two-week search for a rich husband in a bid to fight creditors and keep a roof over her head. She meets eccentric math savant billionaire Oz Bell, who needs Ives’ spirit and spontaneity as much as she needs his money.
Epiphany
—
NRAfter the death of his overbearing mother, an awkward outcast searches for his father at a seedy juke joint.
Merrimaker
2013
NRMired in a concussed haze, an ex-NFLer struggles to adjust to life off the field during Super Bowl Sunday.
The Duke: Based on the Memoir 'I'm The Duke' by J.P. Duke
2016
NRMired in a concussed haze, an ex-NFLer struggles to adjust to life off the field during Super Bowl Sunday.
The Duke: Based on the Memoir 'I'm The Duke' by J.P. Duke
2016
An aging soap opera star who finds himself caught in the absurdities of today's culture wars.
Soapbox
—
An aging soap opera star who finds himself caught in the absurdities of today's culture wars.
Soapbox
—
NRSt. Louis, 1984: A charismatic televangelist suffers a seizure during a faith-healing crusade, upsetting his veneer of invincibility.
The Touch
2014
NRSt. Louis, 1984: A charismatic televangelist suffers a seizure during a faith-healing crusade, upsetting his veneer of invincibility.
The Touch
2014
Plot details are being kept under wraps outside of the film being set at a wedding that goes off the rails pretty fast.
Disaster Wedding
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NREqual parts documentary, road film, and ethnographic recording, Collasuyo makes most sense as a symphony of the nation of Bolivia.
Collasuyo
2010
NREqual parts documentary, road film, and ethnographic recording, Collasuyo makes most sense as a symphony of the nation of Bolivia.
Collasuyo
2010
NREqual parts documentary, road film, and ethnographic recording, Collasuyo makes most sense as a symphony of the nation of Bolivia.
Collasuyo
2010
4.0A dark comedy about an arrogant improv teacher, and his deranged students, as they desperately climb over each other to reach for the bottom rung on the ladder to fame.
The Improv Guru
2019
NRA young filmmaker considers his adoption and the three families linked by his birth.
Mommy, I'm a Bastard!
2013
NRA young filmmaker considers his adoption and the three families linked by his birth.
Mommy, I'm a Bastard!
2013
NRA young filmmaker considers his adoption and the three families linked by his birth.
Mommy, I'm a Bastard!
2013
NRChildren come together in a world falling apart.
Arcadia
2011
NRMeet Nick. Nick loves his dog, Byron. Nick is obsessive compulsive. He loses his tooth. He sleeps with his girlfriend's twin sister. He gets stranded in the desert. He faces his inner demons. He must decide who he is as a man.
Byron's Theme
2013
NRCollision Bend is a place — a massive curve of the Cuyahoga River in the heart of Cleveland that forces boats and barges into a blind turn. Like Cleveland itself, the Bend is a place where the possibility of sudden disaster is never far. Collision Bend is also home to Quicken Loans Arena, site of the 2016 Republican National Convention. It was here that 2,472 delegates gathered to elect Donald Trump their nominee for President. COLLISION BEND explores the tension between this event and its setting — the often-absurd politics of our time and the often-harsh reality of the lives most affected by them. It is an intimate portrait of a city and its people bearing witness to American history.
Collision Bend
—
NRCollision Bend is a place — a massive curve of the Cuyahoga River in the heart of Cleveland that forces boats and barges into a blind turn. Like Cleveland itself, the Bend is a place where the possibility of sudden disaster is never far. Collision Bend is also home to Quicken Loans Arena, site of the 2016 Republican National Convention. It was here that 2,472 delegates gathered to elect Donald Trump their nominee for President. COLLISION BEND explores the tension between this event and its setting — the often-absurd politics of our time and the often-harsh reality of the lives most affected by them. It is an intimate portrait of a city and its people bearing witness to American history.
Collision Bend
—
NRObserve the tenets of Taekwondo. Respect instructors and seniors. Never misuse Taekwondo. Be a champion of freedom and justice. Help to build a more peaceful world.
Mi Dulcinea
2017
NRObserve the tenets of Taekwondo. Respect instructors and seniors. Never misuse Taekwondo. Be a champion of freedom and justice. Help to build a more peaceful world.
Mi Dulcinea
2017
NRA young fighter meddles in a feud between "business associates," soon descending into a criminal underworld that's all too real.
Destiny
2014
NRA young fighter meddles in a feud between "business associates," soon descending into a criminal underworld that's all too real.
Destiny
2014
5.8A depressed woman must come to terms with her own vulnerability when she hires an eager Professional Cuddler on Christmas Eve.
Cuddle Buddy
2017

