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William Szarka
Raised in the Bronx, William Szarka began his filmmaking journey at age eleven by creating super 8 films.
At 16, he earned top honors in The Kodak Teenage Movie Awards, surpassing 800 competitors with his parody of "The Godfather," titled The Grandfather. The film attracted the attention of Frank Yablans, then President of Paramount Pictures. Impressed by Szarka's skills, Yablans helped him secure a position at a renowned New York film editing company, where he mastered editing movie trailers, TV commercials, and music videos.
Szarka went on to write, produce, and direct his first feature film, South Bronx Heroes, starring Mario Van Peebles (New Jack City). The film premiered in New York and Los Angeles, appearing on Variety's list of the 50 Top Grossing Films during its opening week.
Returning to his Godfather inspiration, Szarka wrote, produced, and directed a 14-minute parody, The Godson, starring James Madio (The Basketball Diaries, Band of Brothers, The Offer). Martin Scorsese, a fan of the film, played a key role in getting it screened at the Sundance Film Festival. It was also shown at the USA and Cleveland International Film Festivals.
He produced and directed two feature-length documentaries, Animals and The Untold Christmas Story, the latter exploring the behind-the-scenes making of the iconic film A Christmas Story.
For the past three years, Szarka has been researching and writing a mini-series titled REBELS, about James Dean, Natalie Wood, Sal Mineo, and the making of Rebel Without a Cause. The pilot episode was selected as one of the Top 20 Semi-Finalists in the 2024 Big Break Contest.
For more information and reviews, visit William Szarka's LinkedIn profile.
