While Benny Safdie may have denied a rift between himself and Josh Safdie, it’s always possible they’re not on speaking terms in their personal lives and don’t want their issues to surface publicly. Nevertheless, the only official word on the matter comes from Benny Safdie, who calls the split mutual.
He began describing their split as amicable in July 2023 after he departed the untitled Adam Sandler film. “It just felt like, okay, there’s things that I want to explore that don’t necessarily align right now with Josh,” he told GQ. “He wants to tell this story, he can go and do that. I’m going to go and do a couple of other things. It seems like a natural progression for how things have happened.”
At that point, Benny Safdie was clear he and Josh Safdie still ran Elara Pictures together. Now, the state of their working relationship seems murkier. Notably, Benny Safdie confirmed that the Sandler movie is on hiatus and told Variety he’s unsure whether or not he’ll direct alongside his brother again. Elara is also absent from the production credits of Benny Safdie’s upcoming collaboration with Dwayne Johnson. So, while there may not be any ill will behind their split, it appears the Safdies will remain separate entities for the foreseeable future.
