THE TWO I'M PROUDEST OF

Bachelor of Science, Northwestern University, class of 2005:
major in radio-television-film, minor in English literature.

Eagle Scout, BSA.

AWARDS AND HONORS

Films written and/or directed by Adam have
won awards, nominations and citations from…
ReelHeART International Film Festival, Bare Bones Film Festival,
Chicago REEL Shorts Fest, Houston Comedy Film Festival,
Washington DC Independent Film Festival,
Fargo Film Festival, Downstream Independent Film Festival,
Macabre Faire Film Festival, CUNY Film Festival,
Chain NYC Film Festival, California Indie Film Festival,
Kapow Intergalactic Film Festival, End of Days Film Festival,
Kite Film Fest, Los Angeles Cinefest, Hollywood South Film Festival,
New Jersey Film Festival, Queens World Film Festival,
Chautauqua International Film Festival, The Indie Gathering,
Hudson River International Film Festival, Philadelphia Independent Film Awards,
International Family Film Festival, Fresno Films Involving Local Movie Makers,
Fresno State Student Film Festival, Katra Film Series,
Ischia Global Film Festival and the Young Artist Awards.

… and screened at such prestigious venues as…
New Filmmakers / Anthology Film Archives, the Tribeca Cinemas,
St. Louis International Film Festival, LA Shorts Fest,
Rhode Island International Film Festival, BAFICI,
Dances with Films at the Chinese Theatre
and WNET 13, the largest PBS station in America.

His feature film screenplays have been honored
at numerous screenwriting competitions, including…
ScreenCraft (quarterfinalist)
Writers on the Storm (semifinalist)
Beverly Hills Film Festival (semifinalist)

FEATURE ARTICLES

Theater in the Now
"Even when I’m riffing on Shakespeare, everyone is really based on someone I know…"

Visible Soul: People You Should Know…
"I don't go in for verbal minimalism."

Jen's Favorite Authors
"I guess I figured, huh, I'd better write some books now."

Ten Minute Interviews
"What is your personal Mount Rushmore of movies?"

Let's Interview Authors
"His path has been, to say it simply, meandering."

Short End Magazine - "The Idiosyncratic and Fantastical Adam Bertocci"
"… there’s a playfulness with the lines of fantasy and reality.
It's as if Bertocci is constantly jumping from one side to the other,
blending and separating the two at will."

Northwestern Chronicle - "Who you gonna call? Bertocci!"
"When first asked what he will do when he graduates, Bertocci says, 'starve.'"

PRESS AND PRAISE FOR INDIVIDUAL PROJECTS

for "Travailing Through Time"

A Ruined Chapel by Moonlight — "Ingenious… witty and entertaining… a perfect choice."

for "The "I Want" Song"

A Ruined Chapel by Moonlight — "Bertocci does not lack for flair, and he has plenty of unique ideas. That’s why I love his fiction. … Witty prose and relatable characters."

for "End of Story"

Esquire México

for "I'll Never Forget You"

A Ruined Chapel by Moonlight — "Maybe this will be too emotionally trying for some people to read."
Umney's Alley — "Poetic, jangled, full of parenthetical notes and asides… creates a mood and feel that’s hard to shake… Five stars."

for "The Hundred Other Rileys"

A Ruined Chapel by Moonlight — "Mind-bending… every writer I know will want to read it. And that goes double for millennials, to whom Bertocci speaks like no other writer I’ve read. … Inventive and original."

for "Samantha, 25 on October 31"

A Ruined Chapel by Moonlight — "Has the power to say things I always thought, but never could articulate, even to myself."
Lydia Schoch — "Bertocci did a marvellous job of playing around with the audience’s expectations… He clearly knew this genre well and wasn’t afraid to turn certain tropes upside down in order to keep me guessing. … Samantha, 25, on October 31 was perfect."

for "Few of Many"

Page Six

for "Miranda from Stormville"

Culture Catch — "A compassionate, funny, and invigorating production."
Theater in the Now — "Bertocci's writing has a sense of whimsy, but with a twist… There is an ambitious concept within Miranda from Stormville that is poignant today."
OnStage Blog — "Adam Bertocci manages to capture the spirit of Shakespeare's original play while adding a refreshing modern twist."

for "Wordsworth, Wilde & Wizards"

Umney's Alley — "I can’t help but enjoy the lengths to which Bertocci goes for some quality jokes."

for "Your Move"

Umney's Alley — "Bertocci's ability to get into the heads of his narrators has rarely been on better display… I had a blast… Four and a half stars."

for "The Gossamer Girls Go for Glory"

Umney's Alley — "The plotting here is fun, with Bertocci, as usual, nailing the banter between friends and the way they navigate inter-group drama… an engaging, well-told read… Four stars."

for "Laura & Maura"

Umney's Alley — "Pure classic broad comedy fare… giving us a pair of well-realized female characters defined not by relationships or love interests, but by their own concerns, fears, and desires for life."

for "A Brilliant Monster"

Kevin Smith — "Pretty impressive."
That Moment In — "A chilling, ambitious independent film that does the genre right, taking smart risks that offer plenty of challenges."
IndyRed — "If you like horror films that actually try and get under your skin… this one's for you."
Dread Central — "One of the strongest films to come out of the indie horror scene in 2017."
Starburst — "A cut above… shot through with jet black humour… it poses a few intriguing questions."
Warped Perspective — "An ambitious framework… refracted through an earthy, plausible script… good at balancing its touches of humour."

for "Bandit Beloved"

Umney's Alley — "Bertocci writes teenage girls well, and that’s no small feat… It’s a great little romantic tale, one with a good heart."

for "Crappy Valentine's Day"

A Ruined Chapel by Moonlight — "If you haven’t read any Bertocci, despite my prior exhortations, then this is a good introduction to his style."

for "Ex Marks the Spot"

A Ruined Chapel by Moonlight — "It captures the warm nostalgia of Halloween in an unapologetically fond way." Umney's Alley — "Bertocci nails both the rhythms of teenage patter but also the way that relationships can loom so large over the world when you’re that age."

for "Caitlin Among the Beasts"

Ain't-it-Cool-News — "A funny short that taps into family issues."

for "The Snow Queen of Somerville High"

A Ruined Chapel by Moonlight — "Bertocci has a gift for taking a simple, even mundane concept, and infusing [it] with interesting philosophy and cleverly constructed wordplay."
Umney's Alley — "Bertocci writes teenage girls well, and that’s no small feat… It’s a great little romantic tale, one with a good heart."

for "The Caddywhompus Years"

Film Threat — "A healthy dose of comic authenticity… honest and grounded."
Sara Benincasa — "Check out The Caddywhompus Years! It's a short film with dancing and smart feelings and thoughts."

for "Go Scratch: A Dreamer's Documentary"

Film Threat — "There's no denying that it's a well-shot film… intriguing."

for "Watching Wonderful"

A Ruined Chapel by Moonlight — "As is typical of Bertocci, he uses his deft knack for dialogue and his ability to blend cynicism and sincerity, often in the same sentence, to paint a vivid picture."

for "Veronica's Vengeance"

The Library Police — "About as pitch-black a black comedy as you can get… hilarious… plays out in no way like you expect it's going to."
Umney's Alley — "It makes for hilarious, scathing reading… beautifully ironic and surprising."

for "The Usual Werewolves"

MotherEffingBooks — "It's funny and adorable and I cannot believe how much I liked it."
A Ruined Chapel by Moonlight — "Bertocci’s writing is something to behold."
Umney's Alley — "It's sweet, charming, funny, and just a general delight."

for "Overthinking Ghostbusters"

Caitlin Moran — "Amazing."
Sara Benincasa — "I will read this forever."
Charlie Jane Anders / io9 — "A great in-depth look at every aspect of Ghostbusters."
NPR

for "Kiss Me, I'm Iris"

A Ruined Chapel by Moonlight — "I really liked Iris. She reminds me of me, when I was that age… a fun YA short story, told with Bertocci’s typical wit and clever phrasing."

for "The Fairfield County Friday Night Gridiron Bonanza"

The Library Police — "A really well-realized character study… nails these high school interactions to a huge degree… It's a really great piece of work."
Umney's Alley — "Bertocci takes his time here, perfectly recreating the atmosphere of high school students—the surprising depth and the remarkable shallowness, the abrasive cruelty and the unexpected caring."

for "Two Gentlemen of Lebowski"

Entertainment Weekly
USA Today
The New Republic — "This is so good I'm publishing multiple excerpts."
GQ — "A blast to read."
The Wall Street Journal (article about the project)
The Wall Street Journal (brief mention)
The Guardian
The Toronto Star — "Valiant."
The Atlantic
People
San Francisco Chronicle … and again
Metro (UK) — "Adam Bertocci's brilliant."
Back Stage — Critic's Pick
BroadwayWorld (review) — "The script is quite brilliant."
BroadwayWorld (special feature) — "Written by the incredibly talented Adam Bertocci, it is arguably one of the most inventive pieces ever created."
RSC Shakespeare (The Royal Shakespeare Company) — "Hysterical."
Folger Magazine (The Folger Shakespeare Library) — "Laugh-out-loud funny."
Cinematical — "It's the greatest thing since Geoffrey Chaucer."
Film School Rejects — "A hilariously astute effort."
JoBlo — "Fascinating."
Wired — "One of the best."
Time Out New York — "Clever."
Library Journal — "Recommended."
Bookish — "The cream of the crop."
The Bookish Kind — "I honestly can't come up with a single thing I don't like about this book."
Feathered Quill — "Extremely intelligent humor… will literally make you laugh yourself out of bed."
Creative Loafing Tampa — "It's a great read, man… The best book I read this year."
Conan O'Brien Needs a Friend
Marina Galperina / Inside New York — "Adam Bertocci's brilliantly-crafted script is… replete with Shakespearean wit, film-geek puns and general hilarity."
The Rundown — "Off-Off-Broadway's hottest ticket… a smartly written parody of Shakespearean comic archetypes and quotable pop culture."
Culture Mob — "One doesn’t like to use the word ‘genius’ casually, lest it lose a measure of its shine, but what Bertocci has achieved here is in the same ballpark."
The Authors Speak — "By far, this is one of the most inspired little pieces of comedy that I've come across in some time, and it's one of those gems that I'm telling everyone about. You just have to procure this book."
The Library Police — "Brilliant—and I really can't say enough how brilliant… it just fires on every cylinder."
You Don't Know Lit — "It's hilarious… He's so attentive to the little details… As a Shakespeare scholar, I love being able to see that done well."
Lebowski Podcast
The Dudespaper
Oxford University Press — "Bertocci has proven himself a hell of an Achiever. Am I wrong?"
AOL PopEater — "A magical thing."
NY Press
De Standaard
De Morgen
WUTC Chattanooga (NPR)
The Tuscaloosa News — "Lovely madness."
Boomtron (with interview) — "Tearfully hilarious."
Boston Lowbrow — "Bertocci's writing is solid, clever and witty."
Wilmington Star News — "Smart-mouthed English majors could love this to death."
Onomotopoeia — "I'm not alone in my admiration for Bertocci's script."
The Hob-bee Hive — "Impeccable use of iambic pentameter… within the first five pages, I was hooked."
Uproxx — "Points for thoroughness."
Mental Floss — "Highbrow."
The Las Vegas Sun — "Funny."
Australian Stage — "Ingeniously thorough… altogether bizarre."
As It Happens (CBC Radio)
Open Culture — "An impressive feat… Bertocci really shines."

for "Love: The Movie"

The Independent Critic — "An audience pleaser… How can you not love a film with such spirit?… 'Love: The Movie' gives us a promising director."

for "The Chopped-Off Hands of Star Wars"

Vlogbrothers — "Genius."
E! Online — "Have you ever wondered what happened to Darth Vader's chopped-off hand? Well, neither have we. But Adam Bertocci has, and he wants you to know."
Maxim
IGN — "Sure to make drooling Star Wars fanboys everywhere crap their pants laughing."
USA Today
Chicago Sun-Times

for "Sparky"

Film Threat — "Three stars… a younger Woody Allen."

for "Run Leia Run"

DVD Review — "Wilder than a night out in the bars of Mos Eisley."

MEDIA APPEARANCES

Here and Now, NPR, November 25, 2021
WCBS-FM, August 11, 2017
Nightline, ABC; August 24, 2012
CNN.com, October 25, 2010
Lugar Incomum, Brazilian TV, date unknown

SPEAKING ENGAGEMENTS

Anthology Film Archives
New York Comic-Con
Lebowski Fest
Constellation.TV

MISC.

Time (briefly profiled)
A Ruined Chapel by Moonlight — "Bertocci’s fiction is what I consider quintessentially millennial… Bertocci is the millennial Oscar Wilde."
The Independent (quoted)
CBC (tweet roundup)

AND OF COURSE

Time Magazine — Person of the Year, 2006