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Adam James Stolfo, young upcoming filmmaker and director, was always destined to be a creative person. Following in the footsteps of his father, production designer Otello Stolfo, “Last Man Standing” (2005), “Journey To The Center Of The Earth” (1999), “Nightmares and Dreamscapes: From the Stories of Steven King” (2006), Adam discovered filmmaking in high school (1997) after experimenting with a variety of creative outlets throughout his early years. It was only a matter of time before Adam found himself enthralled by the visual storytelling power of the movies.

More than likely, every filmmaker in existence has had a memorable childhood experience at the cinema. A lot of the filmmaking giants of today, namely masters of Science Fiction, George Lucas (the “Star Wars” (1977-2005) saga) and James Cameron (“Aliens” (1986), “Terminator 2: Judgment Day” (1991)), have stated in countless interviews and discussions that the film that really sparked their interest in the medium was Stanley Kubrick’s “2001: A Space Odyssey” (1968). For Stolfo it came in the form of two science fiction classics of the 80s – “Back To The Future” (1985) and “The Terminator” (1984). “I wanted to create those images! I wanted to write those stories! I became obsessed with wanting to tell stories visually,” says Stolfo. “The “Back To The Future” trilogy is one of the many reasons I do what I do. Those films have everything I want to go to the movies for – they’re so entertaining. Entertaining filmmaking of that calibre is what I’m ultimately trying to achieve.”/p.
Stolfo attended Carey Grammar in Melbourne from 1993 to 1998. It was here that he met young aspiring visual artist Michael Hadjion and a creative collaboration was born. “The energy, loyalty and creative suggestions Michael willingly displays to every single one my projects is second to none. I couldn’t do it with such vibrancy without his ongoing support and guidance.”

It started with two overly ambitious youngsters in the schoolyard. Whilst deciding on an original idea for their year 11 communication project, and with Hadjion’s guidance, Stolfo wrote, directed and starred in a humorous, and action packed, take-off of “The Terminator” (1984) – a personal favourite of the duo – “Terminator: War Against The Machines” (1997). “We’d never made a film before and knew next to nothing about the craft. Being such an amateurish production, it’s pretty hard to watch it with any fondness these days, but in hindsight, every filmmaker has to start somewhere. I probably wouldn’t be doing what I’m doing today without the experience of making that film.”

Stolfo immediately caught the filmmaking bug, and pursued his passion throughout his final year at high school. Spending more time in the Media suite than the Maths room, his year 12 Media project “Late Night With Don Milne” (1998), a television talk show spoof, was part of that year’s top CATs (Common Assessment Tasks) exhibition.

Between the years 1999 and 2003, Stolfo attended RMIT and Deakin Universities where he studied Video Production and Media Arts respectively. “You can be sat down in a classroom and told how to make a film, and technically everything you learn is very important. But when it all comes to it, I like to refer to a quote first spoken by the late, great Stanley Kubrick – the best education in film is to make one. I think he hit the nail on the head with that statement.”

Throughout 2000, frustrated with the creative limitations on university projects, Stolfo decided to attempt his first low-budget feature film project. “Slick & Sly” (2002), originally pitched and written by Stolfo and colleague Don Milne that same year, was this proposed idea. Starring both Stolfo and Milne in the lead roles, Slick & Sly actually took a few years to come to fruition. The film went through numerous re-writes, and was ultimately deemed a lost cause, eventually shelved as Stolfo looked for more suitable material. But there was something about this silly little independent comedy idea that refused to die, and “Slick & Sly” was eventually resurrected, re-written and re-arranged by Stolfo and Hadjion. The film took a completely new direction, with an overhauled script, and began production in 2001.

Unfortunately, due to priorities and creative differences, the ambitious project was never completed. In 2002, with the help of Kris Walker, Stolfo and Hadjion put together a 'preliminary cut' of “Slick & Sly” featuring the film's completed footage with explanatory commentary and hand-drawn stills to give the project a narrative, as well as a sense of satisfaction and closure to the cast, crew, fans, and everybody involved.

Stolfo and Hadjion were disappointed, but agreed to put the film to rest in its preliminary cut form with a number of screenings in late 2002 and early 2003. Stolfo reflects, “The unfortunate demise and overall experience of making, and ultimately not finishing the film taught me a lot about filmmaking and the creative process that goes with it. It was a very significant learning experience.”

A considerable period of time passed as Stolfo and Hadjion pondered over various short and feature film ideas, of which very few got to the scripting stage. “Michael and I put a lot of pressure on ourselves when deciding on original film ideas. I suppose it’s because we both have a very similar taste in films, and can be extremely critical of other people’s work. If it doesn’t entertain us, or inform and engage us in some way then we’re probably going to hate it. One of the main reasons it takes us time to find new ideas is because of this critical nature. If we’re going to put the time and effort into a film, it needs to be something really worthwhile. Something original – something that hasn’t been done before. We want to challenge ourselves, and take the next step with each and every film that we make.”

The idea for “Alaina” (2004) came squarely from Stolfo. Interested in telling the “last man on earth” story from a personal and engaging perspective, the first draft of the screenplay was written in a short 3-4 hour burst of frenetic creative energy. Even though the screenplay was rough, the meat of the narrative was there from the very beginning. Stolfo, then wanting some constructive criticism, took the first draft of the screenplay to Hadjion and close friend Damon Quah. It was at this point that Quah was brought into the writing process and helped shape the script into its final incarnation.

“Alaina” was accepted into Sydney’s 2004 Sour Grapes Film Festival, and screened to as many as 1500 people during the festival’s final night. “We were finalists alongside thirteen other shorts. There’s nothing quite like the excitement of showing your work to a room full of strangers. No one is bias.”

In July 2005, “Alaina” was accepted into the 6th Melbourne Underground Film Festival, and was screened as part of the festival’s Mini MUFF program. “Alaina” also found it’s audience with screenings in the Angry Film Festival, as well as the first annual Westgarth Film Festival, eventually coming away with a Highly Commended Prize in the latter, alongside the other 4 festival winners.

Stolfo admits that he probably could have taken “Alaina” a little further in the festival circuit. “People who got to see Alaina loved it, and that, in itself, was very satisfying for a young filmmaker trying to catch a break, especially considering that it was such a change in genre from my previous work. Naturally, we didn’t get into everything we submitted it to. But it was my first experience with festivals, and I didn’t really know how to take rejection well. I’ve learnt heaps about their selection process since then. I’ll be taking this knowledge into consideration next time around.”

Stolfo hoped that the success of “Alaina” would help him find the right follow up project in the not too distant future. As Stolfo stated at the time - “I must admit to feeling a little bit of pressure in regards to the next one. I am considering adapting someone else’s screenplay too. I don’t necessarily want to write the next one. I think my strength lies with the directing side of filmmaking. Directing an actual screenplay written by a talented writer presents a whole new exciting challenge.”

And that opportunity came along in early 2006. Young aspiring writer and producer Daniel Bernardi contacted Stolfo with the possibility of directing a new short film of his – “Missive” (2007). Bernardi was impressed with what Stolfo was able to achieve on “Alaina”, and wanted his film to have a very similar (but unique) visual style. Stolfo jumped at the opportunity, and signed on to the project based on the strength and character of Bernardi’s screenplay.

Stolfo and Bernardi expect to hit the national and international film festival circuit throughout 2007, in the hope of getting “Missive” both seen and distributed by film fans and distributors respectively.

Currently residing in Melbourne, Australia, Stolfo is very excited about the prospects of more major American projects finding their way to the new Docklands studios and the potential employment opportunities it brings to young Australian talent. “You just never know who might see your work and see it’s potential,” says Stolfo. “Alaina turned out pretty well for something that was made for $1000. And Missive turned out superbly for something that was made for $8000. The goal for Daniel and I now, as a team, is to convince potential investors that we’re a viable duo, capable of great things in the art of film”.

As for the long term future, Stolfo's dream project would be to turn John Marsden's popular "Tomorrow, When The War Began" teenage book series into a series of feature films. “Those books are some of the most compelling and awe inspiring stories I’ve ever read. They’d make really exciting and emotional films. I think the hardest part of making those films would be obtaining the rights and convincing Marsden that I’m the best man for the job!”