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Max

@vanmaxcarlson

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Filmmaker • Editor • Co-Owner at @reb3lav • Music Maker

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Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico - 2026 🇲🇽

#guadalajara #mexico #streetphotography #travelphotography #jalisco taken in Guadalajara, Jalisco by @vanmaxcarlson

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25 days ago

In this scene from THE TROLL, a woman at the edge of taking her own life is saved by the mysterious creature living beneath the bridge.

Starring Patrick J. Saxon and Petra Wright, the scene was filmed in the Los Angeles River beneath the original Sixth Street Bridge in downtown LA, preserving a glimpse of the now demolished landmark before it was replaced.

THE TROLL is a dark fantasy love story about isolation, longing, and an unlikely connection between two very different worlds.

Watch the full film on YouTube here:
https://youtu.be/9PFtLC6TWJE

#shortfilm #indiefilm #bridge #fantasy #trolls taken in 6Th Street Bridge Los Angeles by @vanmaxcarlson

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2 months ago

In this scene from Bhopali, my friend Sanjay speaks about his brother Sunil, who lived through the Bhopal gas tragedy and was forced to cremate seven members of their family.

Years later, Sunil died by suicide.
While people demanded that Union Carbide chairman Warren Anderson be hanged for the disaster, Sanjay reflects on the terrible irony:
“The only person who was hanged was my brother.”

A deeply personal reminder that the human consequences of Bhopal did not end when the gas cleared.

Bhopali is now available to watch for free on YouTube.

A short documentary about Sanjay, produced by @hrexdada , is also available on YouTube.

Rest in peace, Sanjay.

#bhopal #documentary #humanrights #neverforget #history taken in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh by @vanmaxcarlson

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2 months ago

When a social worker recognizes Alicia at a veterans center and tries to take her away, she and her father Bo realize they need to get out — fast.

We filmed this sequence inside a real government building in downtown Los Angeles, which gave us these incredible hallways and corridors to build the escape around. Mapping out the chase through the building was one of the most fun parts of the day.

Several of the veterans in the scene were real veterans, including the man who confronts security. Rather than tightly scripting his dialogue, I asked him to improvise from his own frustrations and experiences dealing with the VA, which brought something very real and unpredictable to the scene.

Clip from Princess of the Row, directed by Van Maximilian Carlson.
Executive Produced by Morgan Freeman
Produced by A. Shawn Austin
Featuring Edi Gathegi and Tayler Buck

Fun Fact - Will Guirola, who plays the security guard chasing Alicia and Bo through the building, also appears in my film The Piñata Man.

Princess of the Row is available to watch online now.

#indiefilmmaker #filmmaking #veterans #ptsd #moviescenes taken in Kenneth Hahn Hall of Administration by @vanmaxcarlson

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2 months ago

I traveled to Bhopal, India to make Bhopali, a documentary about survivors and families living with the aftermath of the 1984 Union Carbide gas disaster — one of the worst industrial disasters in history.

As part of the film, I had the opportunity to sit down with Noam Chomsky and talk about corporations, profit, responsibility, and the systems that can allow enormous human harm to occur.

I’ve always admired Chomsky, and I was incredibly grateful to have his perspective be part of Bhopali.

This is a short excerpt from that conversation.

Bhopali is now available to watch in full on YouTube.

#noamchomsky #documentary #humanrights #activism #environmentaljustice taken in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh by @vanmaxcarlson

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2 months ago

My great-grandmother Daisy was born in 1883 and lived to be 104 years old.

In this family interview, she remembers a world of horse-drawn buggies, the earliest days of movies, Charlie Chaplin, picking cherries, and life in a two-room home with a barn, windmill, stock tank and garden.

Her memories offer a firsthand glimpse into how dramatically everyday life changed during her lifetime and how much fun could be found in a simpler way of life.

#familyhistory #oralhistory #americanhistory #1800s #history taken in Fort Lupton, Colorado by @vanmaxcarlson

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3 months ago

A scene from THE CARNIVAL, a psychological horror short filmed guerrilla-style during a real carnival in Vernon California in a single chaotic night.

Starring Flannery Lunsford, Tony Abatemarco, and Emma Choy Brown Written, directed, shot, and edited by Van Maximilian Carlson

Watch the full film on YouTube.

#shortfilm #indiefilm #horrorfilm #horror #carnival taken in Vernon, California by @vanmaxcarlson

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3 months ago

Behind the scenes from one of our multi-interview days—recording conversations for a documentary series exploring consciousness, near-death experiences, past lives, the afterlife, and other experiences that challenge our understanding of reality.

This was only one small part of a much larger journey, but a very full day of fascinating stories and perspectives.

#filmmaking #afterlife #metaphysical #behindthescenes #documentary taken in Los Angeles, California by @vanmaxcarlson

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3 months ago

What were trolls actually believed to be—and why were they considered so dangerous?

While researching my fantasy short film THE TROLL, I sat down with Professor Timothy Tangherlini, a folklorist and expert in Scandinavian folklore, to learn where troll legends came from, why trolls were said to live beneath bridges, and what made them far more terrifying than the friendly creatures we often see today.

This was an especially fun interview because Professor Tangherlini treated trolls not simply as fantasy monsters, but as an important part of traditional folklore and belief. Portions of our conversation ultimately made their way into THE TROLL, a short film that I directed.

Watch the full short film THE TROLL on YouTube now. 
#folklore #mythology #trolls #shortfilm #scandinavian taken in Los Angeles, California by @vanmaxcarlson

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3 months ago

A mythical troll falls in love with a human woman… and the elder trolls come to warn him.

From my fantasy short film: The Troll

A mythical troll living beneath one of downtown Los Angeles’ old bridges falls in love with a human woman — and risks everything when the other trolls discover he has broken their most sacred rule.

Shot in downtown LA and the LA River.

Starring Tony Abatemarco, Patrick Saxon, and Petra Wright

Watch the full short film The Troll on YouTube.

#shortfilm #indiefilm #fantasy #romance #film taken in Downtown Los Angeles by @vanmaxcarlson

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3 months ago

One of the most intense scenes from Princess of the Row.

In this moment, a homeless veteran struggling with PTSD, played by Edi Gathegi, slips into a terrifying flashback as his daughter, played by Tayler Buck, tries to bring him back to reality. Powerful performances from both of them.

We shot this at an old, funky motel somewhere near Santa Clarita / Agua Dulce.

Princess of the Row is now available to watch online.

#veteran #indiefilm #ptsd #homelessness #filmmaking taken in Agua Dulce, by @vanmaxcarlson

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4 months ago

A true story from my 20s.

Years ago, while walking in the Los Feliz hills, I helped an elderly man who had fallen. He invited me into his house for tea as a thank you.

What happened next still bothers me to this day. I still don’t know if I was in true danger or if I just got spooked by an old man.

#shortfilm #horrorfilm #horrorshort #creepystories #truestory taken in Los Feliz by @vanmaxcarlson

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4 months ago