Max Hellier

Managing Director

(He/Him) Max Hellier is a storyteller and filmmaker on a mission to reclaim entertainment from becoming pure escapism. He believes film should offer more than distraction from the mundane, it should be a glimpse into a different life, a way of living, an act that resonates so deeply it has the power to change the world in the most significant ways. As Co-Founder and Managing Director of Who Let The Docs Out, his strategic vision is building the infrastructure that makes this possible; funding, mentorship, and community that ensures films that need to be seen, are seen.

Under his leadership, Who Let The Docs Out has assembled a global community of 55+ filmmakers across 16 countries, launched competitive grant programs reviewed by industry leaders and has built a strategic support system that helps filmmakers craft stories with mainstream appeal and measurable impact. Max leads the R&D Lab and grant review process, heads technical due diligence, and oversees the Film Impact Evaluation Framework, ensuring that resources go to films with the highest potential to reach audiences and drive action.

Before Who Let The Docs Out, Max co-founded Root The Future in Thailand, where he ran campaigns and large-scale public events that united thousands of participants around shared impact goals. His work as a director and DOP spans 15+ years, with credits featured on HBO Asia, National Geographic, Discovery, BBC, and ITV. His 6-part docuseries Thai Street Food: Best Kept Secrets was acquired by Warner Brothers Discovery, and his Bangkok mass-transit campaign reached millions of daily commuters across the city's skytrain network.

Max's films have earned recognition at festivals worldwide, winning Best Director at Frome Climate Festival, Best TV Series at the Milan Independent Awards, and Best Series at Sugarloaf Film Festival. His drive is pushing back against the tide of entertainment becoming only escapism, and making sure that films that need to be seen - the films that offer a glimpse into different ways of living, learning, and acting - actually reach the people who need them.

Max earned a BA (Hons) in Media Production and Cinema Technologies from the University of Winchester. He grew up in Eastbourne, UK, and has lived and worked across Dubai, Bangkok, and Phuket before settling in Berlin, where he continues producing documentaries that challenge, inspire, and change minds.