We recently connected with Zachariah Williams and have shared our conversation below.

Zachariah, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. It’s always helpful to hear about times when someone’s had to take a risk – how did they think through the decision, why did they take the risk, and what ended up happening. We’d love to hear about a risk you’ve taken.

I have been mulling over this interview thinking about risk taking, risk management, and I cannot seem to put elqoently the intensity of this emotion. I, with my entire heart, am enarmoured with filmmaking. The risk of jumping into a creative career was not a risk to me, it was necessity.

The first risk I ever took was moving across the country at 18 years old. I grew up in a town just outside of Lubbock, and knew more than anything I wanted to leave. I have come to love my hometown, quirks and all, but an unstoppable angst pushed me to jump. I moved to Kalamazoo in 2019. The time there was intense. I worked long hours, while going to school, in addition to a studio internship, and filming shorts of my own with some of my new friends. In April of 2020, I realized I might be over my head. I was 27 hours away from home, and the world was seemingly ending. Traversing back across the US, it felt as if states and hotels were closing as I left them.

I spent the next 5 months at home. I wanted to go back to Michigan, but there was too many logistical and fiscal questions. After heavy consideration with my parents, I decided I would move to Austin. I had never been before moving there, but I had been told I would fit there. (This statement was made with varying degrees of sincerity) I had applied to Texas State and UT, and heard from neither. I got set up in an East Austin apartment, spending hours applying to jobs. Nothing. Nothing. Nothing.

The Moving Company near by was hiring every Wednesday for anyone who could somewhat piss clean, and I started working there 7 days a week. By December I had finally heard that I had gotten into UT. They made it well known that they rarely accepted transfers.

Each thing led to another, and now I am a graduate, the second in my family, and I am paying my bills doing what I love. My lovely poet friend told me that I have the tendency to “cliff dive into puddles”, and I am glad that I do. I believe that if you are passionate enough to do impossible things, you will know exactly what puddle is deep enough.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

Zachariah Williams is a thoroughbred Texan with a penchant for horror, a preference for beer, and, strangely, a voracious appetite for gushy romantic poetry. Hailing from Wolfforth, Texas, Zachariah tramped around the country for a bit, filming and wasting money, before landing in Austin where he is an independent filmmaker. Whether it’s storyboarding music videos, hosting radio programs, directing, editing, writing, shooting, or loving, he can get it done under any circumstances.

How do you keep your team’s morale high?

As a director, your main job is to lead. First, in vision, your idea is what the construction crew of wonderful artists will create; however, perhaps more importantly. you must be a leader. This means ensuring that your crew is inspired and that the inevitable bad day is met with positive leadership. The idea of an asshole, abusive auteur is a poorly romanticized dream, that is frankly not realistic in filmmaking today. The beautiful things we create are an amalgamation of artists working together toward a common goal.

Have any books or other resources had a big impact on you?

I read a lot of poetry. I find that poetry is inspiring because it is so economical with the words, yet presents such heavy emotions.

Contact Info:

• Website: In Progress
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/z.h.williams/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/zachariah-williams-0688721a2

Image Credits

Sharayna Gupta

Evan Estep

Robbie Lopez

Lilli Long

Erica Grifaldo

Nina Corso

Rose Worley