The Berkshire International Film Festival is celebrating its 15th birthday this year, and to do that, we’d like to honor some of our new filmmakers. For our Filmmaker Four article series, we sent all our BIFF first-timers the same set of four questions—the answers, of course, are delightfully different.
Adam Zax studied film and creative writing at Emerson College, before embarking on a career through the worlds of film production, film programming, and writing. He splits his time between California and the Berkshires, so in a sense, this is a homecoming for him. Hello, Bookstore also has the honor of being not only Zax’s first BIFF film but his first feature as well.
What was your first experience on a film set?
My first set experience was on Gregory Crewdson’s “Beneath the Roses” photograph shoot here in the Berkshires. I was an intern scrambling around the county, totally enthralled and intimidated by the amount of people, lights, care and craftsmanship that went into one single image. Every day was a breathless master class.
What was the first film you directed/wrote?
Blood on the Apple, a deranged fairy tale, filmed in college on 16mm. My first real film is Hello, Bookstore, premiering at BIFF. I went on many journeys in between, but they all led me to The Bookstore.
Who is your favorite filmmaker?
So many, from Agnes Varda to Powell & Pressburger to Terrence Malick to Wes Anderson… But one inspires me the most: Andrei Tarkovsky. His films are fearless poetry. Each one feels like something that has never been seen before, or even dreamed of before.
What are you working on that no one knows about?
I’m currently developing a new documentary project in my head; nobody knows about it, not even the subject. I’m also writing the pilot to a modern ghost story set in the Berkshires.