About/

James W. Hawk, Filmmaker - Screenwriter

James "Jim" W. Hawk was born on March 22, 1945 in New Eagle, Pennsylvania. He is of German, Irish, Scottish and Native American (Seneca) decent. At the age of three, his family moved to Cleveland, Ohio. In 1972, he pursued a career in industrial sales and marketing with a Fortune 500 company which resulted in he and his wife, Karen, being relocated to Rochester, New York; South Bend, Indiana; and finally, New Haven, Connecticut.

Jim began his passion for filmmaking by videotaping the weddings of relatives and he has been hooked ever since. After spending six months teaching himself non-linear editing programs Jim attended a training program for studio equipment at a local television station.

His first project as a filmmaker was a two hour, four-part documentary called The Old School Roadster on a Budget featuring Larry, a local car guy who built a Roadster in his garage. It aired on television stations throughout Connecticut. Jim's next filmmaking project was a commercial for Doritos. The winner of the contest would have their entry shown during the Super Bowl. He didn't win, but he made an outstanding creative work nonetheless. Having these first works under his belt, Jim needed the next greater challenge...he wanted to make a short narrative film.

Fulfilling a life-long passion, he wrote, produced and directed Alpha To Omega: Part IV with limited resources but plenty of ingenuity. He wanted to keep it simple, so he developed a storyline and script about the “last man on Earth.” After much work—and with the help of a “few good men”—it came together as his first narrative short film.

Since that time, Jim has produced, written and directed several short films, documentaries, music videos, high-end wedding videos, and industrial presentations. For two years he served as an Associate Producer and Director for the Connecticut Film Industry Training Program, producing a “behind the scenes” video of the short film they were filming. He has been interviewed on television about the making of one of his short films, and his films have been well received by local television stations and Connecticut film festivals.

Jim continues to work with the professors and study the art of filmmaking at Quinnipiac University in Hamden, Connecticut—and he is always either planning or searching for his next greater challenge.