At 18 years old, Roslyn High School graduate Max Novick has already put together an impressive filmmaking resume.
Since he started working professionally when he was 13 years old, Novick, currently a freshman film major at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts, said he has compiled a “six or seven page resume” that lists his work in various roles on a number of different films.
While some might view Novick as an already accomplished filmmaker, he said that his career in filmmaking is just getting started.
“Film is a long-term process,” Novick said. “I wouldn’t say I’ve had my crowning achievement yet.”
On Oct. 25, Novick’s most recent film “Crystal,” which he wrote, co-produced, directed, shot and edited, was shown at the Yonkers Film Festival.
“Crystal,” a 15 minute short film that Novick created as his “thesis film” from The Long Island High For the Arts, is also going to be shown on Friday Nov. 6 at the East Village Cinemas in New York City, he said.
“[‘Crystal’ is] best described as a cross between a traditional romance film and a revenge thriller,” Novick said. “[It] works on the dramatic level, but has a lot to say that is relevant now about gender.”
Novick said that he tried to make an interesting film about the sensitive issues surrounding gender, including gay marriage and bisexuality.
“[I wanted] to make an entertaining film that also deals with gender and sexuality,” he said. [I wanted] to make something that has an artistic statement that is also captivating and fun to watch.”
In August, “Crystal” won the “Award of Recognition: Young Filmmaker 17 and Younger” from the Accolade Global Film Competition, an international film competition that receives submissions from all around the world.
Novick, along with fellow Roslyn High School graduate Will Kim, the composer for “Crystal,” spent a day shooting the film in Roslyn.
Roslyn, Novick said, was chosen as the location for the shoot because he tries to “slip autobiography into everything [he does].”
“A lot of places in Roslyn came [to] mind when [I was] thinking of the construction of the film,” he said.
Novick said he realized his passion for filmmaking when he watched “Fight Club” as a sixth grader.
After seeing the last shot of the film, Novick said, he got a feeling that he wanted to direct.
As a sophomore at Roslyn High School, Novick said, he told his guidance counselor, Melissa Lazzaro, that he “needed [a] more intensive [program] in film and film making” from the school.
Roslyn High School, Novick said, realized the limitations of their film program, and gave him the opportunity to study film and art at the Long Island High School for the Arts in Syosset for his junior and senior year.
“[Long Island High School for the Arts] exposed me to different artists and other kinds of art,” Novick said. “[I] came in contact with people from around [Long Island.]”
During his junior and senior years at Roslyn High School, Novick said that he spent half the day in Roslyn, and the other half at the Long Island High School for the Arts.
Novick said that being a part of multiple NYU student films while he was in high school played a big role in his choice to continue his education there.
“I identify so strongly as a New Yorker,” Novick said. “Whenever I met people they can immediately tell where I’m from.”
Getting his start as a production assistant while working on student films at NYU, Novick said that he worked his way up to becoming a first assistant director, which meant he was responsible for supervising all of the departments and running the set.
Now that he is a student at NYU, Novick said, the courses he is currently enrolled in are everything he hoped they would be.
“The film classes at NYU have been top notch and incredible,” he said.
In addition to filmmaking, Novick said, he is also interested in music.
As a freshman, Novick said that he began playing the electric guitar, and even played in some guitar shows at Roslyn High School.
But, Novick said, film making is where his heart truly lies.
“[I’ve] always been a storyteller in one form or another,” he said. “[I’m] always interested in stories.”
