Brian Zahm

Brian is an award-winning multidisciplinary artist whose work has been exhibited worldwide. Riding the analog-to-digital wave for twenty-five years, he works in narrative, documentary and experimental filmmaking, and performs/produces electronic music. Having spent much of his career working in the commercial film and media industry, over the past several years his reputation has grown as a prolific outsider artist due to bold and diverse stylistic explorations with such films as “Le Nu,” “Auraprint,” “Wiggah,” “Milquetoast,” “Tea Party,” and “Audition For Death.” No matter what artistic direction, he strives to create a timeless, unforgettable experience through his work. To do this, he is always pushing, continually cross-pollinating concepts and techniques from any number of disciplines. This aim was cemented with the documentary feature “Headspace: The Sound of Life,” (produced by Firelabs and Haxon Films who produced “The Blair Witch Project”) for which he was the writer, cinematographer and editor—the film called “visionary” by The New York Times. His latest projects include the web series “Other People’s Children” (starring “Second City” and “IO’s” who’s who of Chicago Comedy) for which he was producer/cinematographer that was directed/produced by Brad Riddell (Writer “American Pie: Band Camp” and writer for MTV Films) and Anna Hozian (part of New York Women in Film and Television’s Writers Lab that’s funded by Meryl Streep), cinematographer/camera operator on the surrealist documentary “Big Paradise” directed by J.P. Olsen (Production Executive HBO) and Kristen Nutile (Sundance Film Labs/Heroin(e) Editor), camera operator on Jennifer Reeder’s “Signature Move” (called “one of the 50 most anticipated movies of 2017” by Filmmaker Magazine) and finally he is also finishing up a short Latino hip-hopera, “Don Chipotle” (based on the popular Chicago/NYC Stage Play) for which he was co-director/cinematographer that was written by Juan Villa (Steppenwolf/Chicago Shakespeare/Goodman/Chicago PD) and executive produced by Joe Minoso (star Chicago Fire). He currently teaches Film Production (specializing in Directing, Music Video and Experimental Filmmaking) at DePaul University School of Cinematic Arts in Chicago.