Zach Hammill | Writer | Director | Editor | Film Reviewer

Zach Hammill
Writer | Director | Editor | Film Reviewer

So, tell us a bit about who you are, and how you first got involved with Epiphany Space.

I’m a writer/director, editor and part-time film reviewer based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. I love to work in sad comedies, funny dramas, and genre blends that are secretly character studies. I like to make comedies about things that maybe you shouldn’t make comedies about as a means of talking about hard things. I’m also a member of the Minnesota Film Critics Association, but I generally try to only write reviews of movies I love, because life is too short to rip apart something that someone worked hard on.

I lived in LA for 11 years and worked mostly in TV Post Production, but did a little bit of everything. While I was there, I became friends with Melissa Smith, Cortney Matz, Erin and Jake Thomas through the church we were all going to at the time, and I first got involved with Epiphany Space through their periodic Write-a-Thons. Those weekends were so valuable to me as I made so many wonderful friends and did in fact have many epiphanies about different scripts I would’ve been working on at the time. I found the table reads to be especially valuable and encouraging, both having my stuff read aloud, and also getting to be a part of other people‘s readings as an actor and as a sounding board.

Who inspires you? What creative people or creative works make you say, “I want to do that”?

These are maybe not the most original answers, but I don’t care. I’m going to site two films and two filmmakers that spawned this whole journey for me: RAISING ARIZONA, the second film by Joel and Ethan Coen, was the film that made me want to become a filmmaker. It was so wildly original and yet scrappy. It’s one of those films that is completely entertaining while still being unpolished enough that you could understand how the film was made as you’re watching it, scene by scene, shot by shot, and maybe the first film that I found truly empowering, like, “I could do that!“ I’m from Minnesota, so when I learned that the Coens were also from Minnesota, that really meant a lot. The second was Paul Thomas Anderson‘s MAGNOLIA. Oh my God. I was so moved by seeing a filmmaker give everyday lives such sweeping, grandiose, operatic treatment. That film informed the type of filmmaker I would like to be: one who makes things that have people say, “a movie can do that? You can tell a story like this in that way?“

Those were the early inspirations. I take inspiration from everywhere, from film (other influences are Hal Ashby, Robert Altman, Michael Mann, Bong Joon-ho, Nicole Holofcener), and from daily life. Now I have a lot of heroes that I know personally who are doing great things, and I root for them!

What are some of the challenges you’ve faced along the way, and how did you deal with them?

I think the first challenge that we all have to overcome as artists is one of confidence, in believing in yourself, and even more than that, believing in the material you’re creating. I tend to work slow on things that are personal to me, but when I finally get what I wanna do solidified, I cannot wait to make it. I think I have found things that I can do for myself to make myself feel proud and confident, and that just comes from daily routines: making sure that I’m eating well, sleeping, moving my body, and creating. And even on days when I write a bunch of garbage, just having the attitude of, “well, there’s more where that came from.“

Another big challenge is that of making enough money to be able to finance the personal work. I’ve had to get very savvy about how I fill my days and what I choose to do to earn a living. While most of my living comes from editing corporate documentary-style videos, I also rely on working at my kids’ school, substitute teaching, and odd jobs with a couple different friends who own their own businesses. The challenge then becomes prioritizing the work when there’s a lot of of it, and balancing that out with the actual time to do the writing I wanna do, which will lead to the filmmaking I wanna do. And of course, balancing that with providing for and raising a family.

Are you working on anything cool or interesting right now? Anything you’d like to tell us about?

I’m currently writing a short film called BYE FOR REAL that I’m developing with an actress here in Minneapolis. It’s a dark comedy that centers around value, mental health, and capitalism. The script is looking great, and I’m hoping to shoot that this year. I’m also developing a feature-length dark comedy/genre blend, which would be my narrative feature debut, and one for which I will keep plot details under wraps for now, but that could be in production next summer. We shall see! I’m also currently editing a feature documentary about a retired pro wrestler looking to get back into the ring for one more match called WRESTLING WITH TOMORROW, directed by my good friend Jason Schumacher. (There is a Kickstarter going right now for it here: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/mikekinney/wrestling-with-tomorrow-documentary-0 )

Where do you see your creative journey taking you? What would you like to be doing, say, five years from now?

I would love to have two completed features under my belt five years from now, having made some good headway on what I want to be my body of work. Tangentially, I would love it if the only things I were doing to earn a living were writing movies, making movies, and writing about movies. But until then, I’m super open for editing work!

What advice would you give to other artists and creatives in your field? 

I think I’ve spent a good chunk of my creative life really learning my craft, and now I’m writing stuff that I really feel like no one else can write but me. My advice would be, find out what you have to offer that no one else can offer, and I think that answer really just comes from living a full life.

Any words of wisdom for those looking to follow in your footsteps?

I would not encourage anyone to follow in my footsteps, because it has been really hard. What I would say is exercise, and put money away. If you’re looking for something more art life related, I’ll give you a line that my therapist uses all the time, which is “don’t stew, just do.” Don’t worry about the results of something, just do things. Creative work begets more creative work. As I said earlier, there’s more where that came from, so don’t be afraid of making a mistake or looking foolish. What else? Art is not a competition, but take it seriously. Don’t worry about trends and don’t listen to the doomsayers. Just put your head down and do your work. Watch a lot of stuff! Good, bad, older, international, and then steal from it!