Dream Teams: The Weiland Brothers Refine Each Other Into Something Greater

Max Weiland has been a celebrated commercial filmmaker for some time, known for the acclaimed short film ‘An Arm’s Length’, the award-winning ‘Tiny Dancer’ music video, and spots for McDonald's, Samsung, Google and more. However, he recently embarked on a creative venture with his writer brother, Joe Weiland, forming a directorial duo. Unsurprisingly called ‘Weiland Brothers’, the pair is now signed to the production company Love Song - Max’s home as a solo director - in the US.

Joe only made the switch to directing in 2023, making his first creative mark with the short ‘Gorka’, after years of observing the filmmaking process from the writers room. With the influence and support of brother Max, the transition has been smooth, already having won a Gold Award at Ciclope for his short film ‘Marion’, which premiered at Venice and TIFF this year. “I felt ready to take on the responsibility of directing, and bring my own voice to the projects we work on together,” he says. “It’s been an exciting challenge, but one that feels like the right path for me.”

For Max, it’s also been “a refreshing and inspiring change” to team up with his brother, opening up new creative possibilities behind the camera. The pair have a natural shorthand and can effortlessly bounce ideas off each other, combining the best of their individual strengths. “That synergy has allowed us to take on projects with a unique blend of vision,” he explains. “Plus, it's just been fun - there's a certain energy you get from working with family that you can't replicate elsewhere.”

Growing up, the brothers always had a “good dynamic” when collaborating creatively - often making “dodgy” (yet formative) short films, and thus unwittingly learning the foundations of storytelling with no budget.

That said, all sibling relationships can be something of a balancing act. 

“It can definitely be testing at times,” says Max. “No matter how close you are, working with a sibling -  especially a brother - brings its own set of challenges.” Knowing each other so well is sometimes a double-edged sword - they have deep trust and respect, but also know exactly which of each other’s buttons to push. Fortunately, they’ve learned to navigate any tension flare-ups by maintaining honesty and knowing when to take a step back, and it’s these moments that make the work even stronger.

“Being brothers makes us more resilient,” says Joe, “because, at the end of the day, we can have a heated argument about a shot or a scene, but then we’ll laugh about it later.” 

“Yeah, there's that unspoken understanding that we're in this for the long haul - both as brothers and as collaborators,” agrees Max. “We both know that the project comes first, and that tends to pull us back together even when we butt heads.”

Luckily, the duo often align creatively. With similar tastes and a shared vision, their end goal is usually the same, even if they disagree on how to get there. “The key is that we respect each other’s strengths, and we’re both willing to let go of our own ego if it’s what’s best for the project,” says Max.

“And the creative tension, when it does happen, has actually been healthy,” adds Joe. “It pushes us to think harder and come up with better solutions. Ultimately, I think that’s where the best work comes from - when you’ve got two different perspectives pushing and refining each other into something greater.”

During production, the duo’s roles are kept flexible, collaborating from writing through to the shoot and ensuring that every story has sufficient depth, pacing, and emotional beats. And while they always work together with a DOP for the cinematography, the process, says Joe, is never rigid. “We trust each other’s instincts when it comes to storytelling.”

The brothers have always found their work spilling into their personal lives, discussing ideas at family events long before they were directing together. However, they share that there’s been a gradual, albeit subtle, shift since teaming up professionally. “Working together has made us even more connected outside of the job,” says Joe. “It’s just natural at this point, but we’ve learned to compartmentalise it too.” 

“That said, I don’t think it’s a huge departure from how we’ve always been,” adds Max. “It's just part of how we relate to each other, and I think that's always going to be there, work or not.”

This slight shift is a result of the pair’s “journey to understand each other’s creative process,” says Joe, allowing them to push creative boundaries as their dynamic becomes more fluent with time and practice. “It’s a push and a pull,” says Max. “When you’re away on jobs, it’s nice to have each other to bounce ideas off and not feel alone in the process. That’s the magic of a duo. Collaboration is so key.”

After recent commercial work for the likes of Huggies and Lays, the Weilands suggest the audience should also be on the lookout for upcoming collaborations in the narrative space too, including a potential feature film - “which is such an exciting prospect,” says Joe. Over the next year, the plan is to maintain this momentum, adds Max, as they grow their shared portfolio with more ads and long-form content alike. “We’re both excited about the potential and the opportunity to combine our approaches in a way that showcases our strengths. Something that feels fresh.”