Creator Highlight: Filmmaker, Zack White

By: Myriam Akbar

Meet Zachary White—a filmmaker and content creator who goes by Zack (ZackTalksMovies on Instagram). He was born and raised in Maine, where he currently lives. He started working on short films in 2014 and has been making social media content for about 8 years now. He and his brother, Brandon, have a YouTube series called GreenWitch. They both write, direct, and edit the show. However, Brandon does the music. They shoot it in their home state of Maine and have won several awards. 

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GreenWitch is a multi-genre anthology series about a fictional town. It leans into sci-fi, but incorporates horror, thriller, drama, and dark comedy. It’s currently on its 6th season, with each episode running about 4-7 minutes. White says the best part of creating the show is working alongside his brother and editing the footage. However, the challenges of filmmaking are pushing through days with little motivation and finding time to make it all happen. He adds that it’s also difficult working with zero budget, but they do the best they can with what they have.

White’s love for film and television developed while he was young, as did his interest in storytelling. He used to create in-depth plots with his action figures. As an early teen, he watched Pulp Fiction and became inspired to be a filmmaker. Years later, when Instagram took off, he began posting film reviews and recommendations. “I wouldn’t really call myself a movie reviewer. I’m just a movie lover who loves talking about movies,” he says. His favorite genre is horror, but he will “watch anything as long as it looks cool.” The Thing, Glory, BASEketball, Se7en, and The Faculty are among his most loved films. As for television shows, he highlights Oz, South Park, Twilight Zone, Atlanta, Tires, and Watchmen. 

For everyone, content creation has its challenges. White lists balancing a 9-5 job, moments of low motivation, and struggling to stand out as some of the difficulties. Despite having over 10k followers on Instagram, he finds that a lot of his content is getting lost in the algorithm. “In a perfect world, I’d be doing this all day; but that’s not reality. The best thing I can do is what I’ve been doing and hope for the best,” he shares. He says the best part has been meeting people through social media and becoming close friends with them through talking about movies. He and his brother have been included in several festivals, including DAMNATIONLAND, where they got to travel to Portland, Maine. They had the opportunity to watch their short film among hundreds of people. “It was surreal. It was legit one of the greatest feelings in the world. It’s silly, but there was a scene in the short that made the whole audience gasp. My brother and I looked at each other and laughed. We couldn’t believe we created that. It was so fucking awesome. Legit makes me tear up thinking of that,” he says. 

Looking forward, White wants to incorporate more on-camera reviews when making content for Instagram. He wants to be more active and work towards getting partnerships. “I could make money or not and still be happy doing that,” he admits. He also wants to start a podcast, talking about film and television. And, of course, follow his dreams of advancing in his already impressive filmmaking career. “My brother and I dream of making legit films and television shows one day,” he says.