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July 24, 2009
A filmmaker with obvious talent
Adam Bogoch has just premièred one movie and is already working on his next project.
CYNTHIA RAMSAY
Adam Bogoch has been making films since the age of 12 and he just completed his first full-length professional film, which premièred at the Ridge Theatre May 31. About a journalist struggling to deal with his father's death and his own life in general, it's hard to believe that Avoid Confrontation was written and directed by a 17-year-old, but it was.
The King David High School student was born and raised in Vancouver. His parents are divorced and his mother has remarried, giving him two older step-siblings.
"I am treated like an only child because both my brother and sister are married, so there is absolutely no competition," he told the Independent. "However, being an only child isn't always the greatest I must say, with positive attention comes negative attention. But my parents and I don't really have a normal parent/child relationship. Especially my father and myself, it's more of a friendship; obviously, there is parenting to be had, but it's different than the average."
Bogoch said his interest in filmmaking comes from watching DVDs and their special features.
"I have a large DVD collection of both films and television shows. I've watched them all, and all of their bonus material several times and plan to watch them several more times, though the film that said to me 'This is what you are going to do with the rest of your life' was The Lord of the Rings by Peter Jackson. That's the scale of films I would eventually love to do, obviously not at the moment, but eventually that would be great for me. Steven Spielberg, Tim Burton and Steven Soderbergh are also huge influences on me when it comes to filmmaking."
Bogoch has taken courses at Galiano Island Film and Television School and Vancouver Film School. He has stage managed for King David's theatre program for three years.
"I plan to stage manage for my last time in my graduating year, starting next fall," he said. "I have also been heavily involved with the theatre/acting courses at KDHS run by Andrea Superstein. Though all the courses I have taken have been extremely beneficial, the best way to learn and get experience is by actually going out and doing things, failing mostly. The more you fail, the more you learn. No film is perfect and there are always flaws – you just want to have less and less of them as time goes by."
While by no means perfect – the acting of the smaller roles is weak – Avoid Confrontation is a well-written and well-directed film, with an engaging storyline and some touching and humorous moments. Bogoch said he has sent the movie to seven film festivals across North America so far and would like to send it to some 15 more.
"My goal is to get into at least one film festival," he said. "I think that would be superb."
Bogoch is not waiting on the success or failure of Avoid Confrontation though. He is already working on another project – a new film, which he's planning to shoot next spring and complete by September 2010.
"Without giving away too much, it is a sweet film, with some nasty bites to it.... I don't want it to be like Avoid Confrontation; it is less dark but also way more realistic," said Bogoch of the movie. "It is about a guy and a woman that meet each other and fall in love quickly. However, we have a few fantastic antagonists to act as great foils to our two leads. It's frustrating, which is a lot like Avoid Confrontation.
"I love frustration, and it's in my blood," he continued. "My mom's side of the family are all from England, New Zealand and Australia and their humor in television and films is either gross out humor, though it has more style and substance (if you could call it that) than American gross out humor, but is mostly based on frustration. If you've seen Fawlty Towers, you'd know what I'm talking about."
In this project, Bogoch said he is going to add acting to his directing and writing duties, casting himself in a small role as one of the antagonists.
"So far, I'm loving the new script, it is coming to me so easily," he said. "And with my busy schedule, I have been taking long breaks in between writing sessions, but when I open that document up and continue the story, it flows like a river. The characters and their issues stay with me. Though I am only completing my first of three drafts, it is coming so much easier than Avoid Confrontation.
"It's going to be much bigger and more expensive, so we will have to apply for some grants in the near future to ensure an even better film than Avoid Confrontation."
Bogoch has his own production company, called Redhaired Productions. (Bogoch is red-haired himself.) While his father was very involved with Avoid Confrontation and will also play an important part in the making of his next film, Bogoch said his key "industry team" go-to guys are Ron Philips and Dean Williams.
"Ron and I have worked together for five years," explained Bogoch. "He is an incredibly gifted composer and has a real talent for scoring and is continuing to express his talents in that area.... [At] the end of Avoid Confrontation, the song 'It's You' was played – this was co-written and recorded by Ron and by one of his students, Chelsea McBride. Not only that, but Ron wrote and preformed the entire score, which included eight other tracks played throughout the movie, [and were] made in less than seven months."
Williams, said Bogoch, "is a local Vancouver Film School graduate who has a large range of talents. He worked on Avoid Confrontation as the main associate producer, editor and director of photography. Any question that you could possibly want an answer to regarding film he can answer. He is basically the human equivalent of a film encyclopedia. He's an awesome, reliable and talented guy."
Bogoch noted a few other people with whom he works, adding, "There are, of course, many other people I am forgetting to mention, however. As for actors, I love to get a new batch every time I do a project, however, I may once in a while throw in a familiar face now and again if we are so lucky to be graced by their presence."
If anyone is concerned that Bogoch will be swept away by any fame or fortune that may result from his work in the film industry, they should put those worries to rest. He seems very grounded, noting that the vast majority of his ideas for scripts come purely from his imagination – and not from situations in his own life.
"Truth is," he said, "my family, including myself, aren't that devoted to anything but caring about one another and supporting each other's decisions, which is all that matters."
Anyone interesting in becoming involved in either the creative or financial aspects of Redhaired Productions should e-mail [email protected].
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