Hype Empire is a global award-winning commercial film production company with an obsessive focus on visual storytelling within the world of sports, lifestyle, culture and technology.
As a powerful collective of creative trailblazers, we’re anticipating the future by embracing the unconventional. Through radical collaboration and a curated talent network, we produce compelling, visual stories that deliver results.
Maxim has spent the last decade experimenting with different genres and filmmaking techniques, to develop a unique cinematic style that strives to evoke an emotional response above all else.
His career was born in New York where he made a name for himself with his directors duo, BBGUN, crafting promos for some of the biggest names in hip hop. His frequent collaborations with J. Cole and Kid Cudi, made way for opportunities to shoot for commercial brands such as Nike, LG, Morgan Stanley, Converse, Soundcloud, Sony, Bally Swiss, AT&T and Air Jordan.
Chris has an established career in documentary filmmaking, beginning with his time at Vice news as well as heading up Viceland’s #1 rated show, Desus and Mero.
Most recently he premiered his feature documentary on Bitcoin and Cryptocurrency, “Banking on Bitcoin.” “Banking on Bitcoin” was an extensively researched, three year process which premiered at the number one position on iTunes and held a top ten documentary position for a remarkable six month span on Netflix.
Alongside short form and feature length documentary filmmaking, Chris has directed global commercials and content campaigns for brands such as Kia, GQ, Nike, Reebok, Samsung and IBM.
Mustafa’s keen eye for casting and subtle performance has marked him out as fresh talent that has already seen him be shortlisted for the Young Director Award in Cannes.
His commercial career started with a kinetic high energy piece for Adidas whilst his short film directing debut THE CORNER, was officially selected for The Palm Springs Film Festival and his second short I NEED SHINE screened at Sundance Festival.
Mustafa's unique and evolving eye has seen him now shoot commercials for Nike, Seat, Société Générale, Ministry of Environment and agencies DDB, TBWA, Mullen Lowe, Fred and Farid and Grey.
Jacques is an award-winning film director, writer and storyteller who generates films with a strong visual style and has a knack for making the talent feel comfortable and natural in front of camera, working with people from all walks of life, from some of the worlds biggest sports stars to children’s first time on camera.
Jacques spent the first years of his career working for Sky, writing and directing major campaigns for Sky Sports where he was able to hone his craft in the Sports world.
His cinematic approach and storytelling ability always has his audience fully engaged and his work has received industrywide recognition, earning him the ‘Best Director’ at the Kinsale Shark awards for his F1 work.
He has been lucky to direct around the globe, shooting in NZ, USA, Brazil, Caribbean, Europe, UAE, South Africa and India working with brands such as Standard Chartered, The FA, Bupa, Arsenal x Adidas, Pokerstars, Paypal, Virgin Media, LNER and Rolex along the way.
Jim is well known for his attention to detail, distinctive visual style and the importance of sound within his work. He began his career as an editor working with such talents as Ridley Scott, Oliver Stone, Jonathan Glazer and Jake Scott to name a few.
He first broke into music videos as an editor in London cutting for bands such as Unkle, Blur, Radiohead and U2; followed by commercials soon after and was awarded a D&AD Pencil for Outstanding Editing for Adidas.
On Sir Ridley Scott’s suggestion, Jim started directing and subsequently has been working on commercials across the globe and to date he has worked for brands such as Sky, Guinness, Reebok, BMW, Volvo, Sony, Rolex, HSBC, Barclays Bank and many more, winning numerous accolades along the way.
Originally from sunny Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Carolina is an Afro Latina film director based in New York and Los Angeles.
With a solid production background she’s no stranger to troubleshooting creative ideas and translating them to visual solutions.
She’s always looking to engage with projects and brands that promote a diverse creative landscape and pushing equality in the commercial filmmaking space.
Carolina has a love for all things fashion, sports and lifestyle which bought her to not only directing celebrated athletes from LeBron James to Kelly O’Hara and Sue Bird but also to crafting loyal relationships with brands such as Reebok and Puma.
Hailing from Belgium, Hans is an award-winning director and photographer who’s worked across many blue chip brand campaigns globally. His style is best to be described as eclectic storytelling often with a surreal twist.
Hans is on a constant mission to elevate stories through a meticulous visual edge and innovative cinematographic technicality, that ultimately translates into a refreshing approach to film craft.
Never afraid to explore new creative territories, Hans was previously part of the Helvetica director’s duo, internationally known for their visually sophisticated and occasionally surrealist style of live action film making.
A dynamic multi-hyphenate duo consisting of directors Justin Lee and Philip Kim, representing a whole new generation of innovative and original filmmaking talent.
Having initially met while working at a Toronto ad agency, Justin and Philip instantaneously envisioned a creative future together.
By pushing their cinematography, advanced mixed-media, and VFX expertise forward through genre-bending technicality, ANDRAS brings together a diverse range of eclectic perspectives in their unique storytelling.
Fostering their talent in an environment of creative collaboration to execute the highest level of output, ANDRAS are renowned to create and introduce a very unique visual language that is as conspicuous as it’s distinguished.