"There is nothing accidental in the frames filmed by me — my light, the way the image looks and how it is composed. Each frame contains a part of me, of my soul, of that particular 'I' existing on the set at the time of filming."
— Max Lemnij
— Max Lemnij
Education
1990 — 1994
UNATC — National University of Theatre and Film, Bucharest
Film and TV Image section. Class of teachers: Vivi Drăgan, Vlad Păunescu, Radu Nicoară, Alexandru Solomon — renowned Romanian Directors of Photography.
His love for light and photography began earlier, as a young assistant to his father — who taught him framing, light measurement and film development in a darkroom. "It was kind of magic to see how the black and white pictures started to appear slowly, in the red light, on the photographic paper."
Early Career — Film & Music Videos
1994
DoP — "Lindenfeld 1994"
Documentary directed by Radu Muntean, Visual Arts Foundation (FAV).
1995
DoP — Fiction short film for French Television
First in a series of 5 fiction short films.
1996
DoP — "Life is elsewhere" & "The tragic love story of the two"
Directed by Radu Muntean. FAV / TVR 1996. (Image in collaboration with C. Chelba).
1998
Cameraman — "Shrunken City"
Feature film, Castel Films. Cinematography by Vivi Drăgan, directed by Ted Nicolaou.
1998
Music Video DoP — Atomic TV
Invited by Tudor Giurgiu. Collaborated mainly with director Vali Hotea. Notable videos: "Don't forget me" / RACLA & Anda Adam, "Stop pulling us over" / Vama Veche, "Casino" / IRIS, "Adeline" / Timpuri Noi, "With burnt soles" / BUG Mafia, "Family problems" / La Familia, "I want to forget you" / 3SE, "By your heart" / Vunk & Maria.
1998 — 1999
TV DoP — Prima TV
8 months collaboration with directors Titus Muntean and Vali Hotea. Filmed the New Year's Eve show "Revelion 1998–1999" as TV Director of Photography.
1998
DoP — "Legacy" (musical feature film)
Directed by Vali Hotea.
2008
DoP — "Nina" (fiction short film)
Directed by Ruxandra Ghitescu.
Later music videos
Additional notable music videos
"I'm going to Mars" / Smiley & Cheloo, "The Child Who Runs to the Sea" / VAMA, "Scandal" / Spike, "Turnin'" / Fat XXL ft Alex Velea and many others.
TV Commercials — Director of Photography
Starting from the late 1990s, Max was increasingly requested for TV commercials at Castel Films, where he met and collaborated with some of Romania's most celebrated directors:
Cristian Mungiu
Banca Transilvania, Leroy Merlin, Vodafone, OvidiuROM, Bonux, FocusSat, Andreea Marin
Cristi Puiu
Altex
Bogdan Naumovici
"Laser, brother!" (Teletech), "Batman Batman!", Altex Star Wars, Altex Bocica, Bergenbier Vaca, UPC
Tudor Giurgiu
Dorna w/ Simona Halep, Gilette, Bergenbier
Radu Bărbulescu
Lidl (multiple), Dedeman (multiple), Albalact, Scandia
Matt Vane
Danone Activia (multiple), Hochland, Always
Damian Groves
Coca-Cola, Rama, Morarita, Albalact
Anton Groves
KFC Cheltuitorii, Raureni, Yoplait, Policolor
Tony Fiori
Bucovina, Enchanteur, Ariana, Chisinau Beer, Koronet
Chris Bartle
Always, Lenor
Saso Podgorsek
Telekom (multiple)
And many more
Henri Bassil, Vali Hotea, Gus Olafsson, Enrico Satta, Ziad Barazi, Eduardo Vasquez, Florin Serban, Iulian Moga, Spike, Olivier Legan, Andrei Cohn, Hypno, Can Ulkay, Vishal Mangalorkar and others.
Tabletop & High-Speed Specialty
2003 — present
Romania's First Tabletop & High-Speed Cinematography Specialist
Starting in 2003–2004, Max began specialising in liquid and food slow-motion cinematography, becoming the first Romanian professional in this field. His expertise attracted international producers, leading to tabletop and high-speed projects in:
He became the first Romanian tabletop director and also the first Romanian to film such commercials abroad. His approach combines technical expertise with Phantom Flex high-speed cameras and specialised lighting formulas developed over decades.
Director — Selected Works
In recent years Max has increasingly directed TV commercials — particularly food and product spots — working with Film Factor (recommended by Tino Furtuna / Holograf). Notable directed works include Edenia, KFC, Pizza Hut, Müller, Olympus, Kandia, Tofu, Vel Pitar, Zaraza, Ardealul, Devin Bulgaria, Kazakhstan projects and many more.
2020
"The pipe overhead" — Director
Documentary short film about Paralympic champion Florin Milciu, directed independently with humor and humanity.
Production Houses & Agencies
Production Houses
Castel Films, Mitra Film Bucharest, Film Factor, Avanpost Production, Family Film Bucharest, Multi Media Est Bucharest, Saga Film Bucharest, 116 Films Vietnam, Dijital Sanatlar Istanbul, Bang-Bang Film India, Rising Sun Films India, Global Films Lebanon, Silver Gray Saudi Arabia.
Advertising Agencies
McCann Erickson Bucharest, McCann Erickson Bangalore India, Leo Burnett Bucharest, Ogilvy & Mather, Grey, Draftfcb, Y&R, Graffitti BBDO and many more.