I'm a nonfiction filmmaker based in New York City and Chicago. While Present may happen to be my last name, a focus on being present is what binds my work together. Through experimenting with form, structure, and narrative, I hope to capture the connective bonds across humanity and to the environment. My work often focuses on the intersection of issues related to climate, community, and anthropology. I often make work in and about the natural world, and through using unconventional means.
New Jersey raised, I found a love for filmmaking at a young age and attended Northwestern University's Radio/TV/Film undergraduate program. I spent several years in the Chicago area's emerging film community, before returning back east to New York City to continue growing my skills and pushing my abilities as an artist.
My first feature - an essay-documentary titled "American Dendrite" - premiered at the 2025 Lighthouse International Film Festival. It's a film about the thoughts and stories of everyday Americans, connected by water and geography across Mississippi River basin, and is one of just a few features to ever be shot entirely on Super 8mm film. To learn more, go to www.amercicandendrite.com, and follow the film's journey on Instagram and Facebook, @americandendrite.
You can get in touch with me at:
adammarshallpresent (at) gmail.com
973//494//6384