No more 'sadvertising': How to film emotionally charged topics sensitively

Several years ago, I burned out. After a decade building a production company and directing commercial work for clients like Nike, Audi, National Geographic, and Tiffany & Co., I found myself jaded and disconnected from why I started making films in the first place. 

The pressure to perform, please, and package stories at scale had eroded my creative centre. So I stepped away from directing for a while to recalibrate.

As a director, you are not just delivering a treatment. You are carrying the emotional weight of someone’s lived experience

I had to return to the roots of my work: a few people, honest conversation, deep presence. Using the camera to honour, not extract.

That reset changed everything. Not just how I approach my personal films, but how I approach emotionally charged projects of all kinds. Today, I work with brands, pursue independent film, and coach filmmakers to tell human-centred stories that move people without feeling manipulative or forced. When the process is rooted in trust and intention, audiences can feel it. And that is where the best work lives.

Above: A still from Jon Bregel's emotive film Selah, which explores traumatic grief at a carefarm in Arizona.

It starts with conviction

When you are working with stories about trauma, mental health, grief, transformation, or anything deeply personal, you are holding something sacred. As a director, you are not just delivering a treatment. You are carrying the emotional weight of someone’s lived experience.

Without trust, stories become performative. With trust, they become real.

That kind of responsibility requires conviction. And that conviction must be rooted in this: we serve the subject and their story. Everything else follows.

If you forget that, the work might still look good, but it will feel emotionally flat. Pretty, maybe. But forgettable. Authenticity cannot be faked. It must be earned.

Build trust early and often

Trust is the foundation of emotionally resonant work. Whether you are directing a branded spot, documentary, feature film, or a 90-second PSA, trust has to be earned from the start; from your subject, the client, and your crew.

Small teams make room for intimacy. There’s less noise, less pressure, and more space for truth to surface.

This doesn’t happen just because you have a strong reel. It happens when you lead with care. When you listen more than you talk. When you demonstrate that you understand the emotional terrain you are stepping into and are prepared to hold it with integrity.

Without trust, stories become performative. With trust, they become real.

Use micro-crews to create space

I prefer working with micro-crews on emotionally sensitive projects. Small teams make room for intimacy. There’s less noise, less pressure, and more space for truth to surface.

On my latest film, Selah, which explores traumatic grief at a carefarm in Arizona, I invited collaborators who either had firsthand experience with loss or had worked closely with me before. When the material is this emotionally charged, creating a safe, empathetic environment is essential; for the subjects, and for the crew.

As directors, it is our job to protect the emotional integrity of the piece. That means doing the work upfront; showing the client your approach, inviting them into the process.

The moments we captured were only possible because of mutual trust. The crew trusted me to lead with care. I trusted their intentions completely. And the films subjects trusted us as a result of months of prep work and pre-interviews. That clarity of purpose from day one allowed trust to grow naturally.

Protect emotional integrity in commercial work

This becomes even more complex in advertising. Clients and agencies are juggling goals, strategy decks, and performance metrics. Within that ecosystem, emotionally charged storytelling can easily get flattened into a tactic. A sad piano track. A well-timed tear. A version of what some people call “sadvertising.”

I have been part of projects like that. I know how quickly a story can lose its soul.

As directors, it is our job to protect the emotional integrity of the piece. That means doing the work upfront; showing the client your approach, inviting them into the process, and building enough trust that they understand you are not just trying to make something emotional. You are trying to make something true.

In the past, I have directed emotionally-grounded campaigns for brands like Gap, ACLU, Zappos, Pfizer, and National Geographic. I have also traveled with musicians like Taylor Swift and documented deeply personal stories. In every case, I have found that the best results come when the team is aligned on one core goal: telling a story that respects its subject.

Directors who lead with conviction

There are many directors doing this work beautifully, but these three come to mind:

Back to School Essentials, directed Henry-Alex Rubin for Sandy Hook Promise is a powerful PSA because of its restraint. The horror unfolds gradually, with a precision that respects the weight of the subject. Nothing feels forced , and that’s why it hits so hard.

John X Carey’s Dove Real Beauty Sketches remains the most-watched ad in history because the vulnerability was sincere. It wasn’t a trick. It was the point.

Haya Waseem’s Seize The Awkward PSA works because of its emotional honesty. The quiet pacing, natural performances, and respect for the weight of the message come together to create a piece that feels intentionally crafted, speaking directly to the audience with care and clarity.

These are not just technically skilled filmmakers. They are emotionally fluent storytellers who understand their job is to protect the heart of the story from pitch through post.