ROCKPORT — William Joseph Castellucci, filmmaker, musician, husband, father, brother and son, died unexpectedly on Sunday, March 1, at his home in Rockport. He was 38. Born in Providence, Rhode Island, the younger son of John and Marion Castellucci, he grew up watching the movies of Akira Kurosawa and so, perhaps predictably, decided to work in the film industry.

Will attended LaSalle Academy in Providence, where he joined just about every band, playing bass in such student productions as “Into the Woods” and “Godspell.” After LaSalle, he attended Vassar College, where he majored in film and wrote, shot and directed a humorous short feature entitled “A Day in the Life of Death,” in which a seen-it-all grim reaper tries to get a young woman killed in a car accident into Heaven, where she belongs.

After earning a bachelor’s degree at Vassar, Will went into film and television production, working as crew on the influential TV series “16 and Pregnant,” shooting documentaries about singer-songwriter Billie Eilish, political activist Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and Bollywood legend Shah Rukh Khan.

He helped make feature films, including “Madeline’s Madeline” and Sundance award winner “The Miseducation of Cameron Post.”

In 2024, after 15 years in Brooklyn, New York, Will moved with his wife, Blythe, and their son, Ian, to Rockport to become Film Production Manager at Maine Media Workshops and College, falling in love with the Midcoast region and drawing on his experience in the film industry to teach.

Besides Blythe and Ian, Will is survived by his parents, of Cranston, Rhode Island; his brother Peter, sister-in-law Sara, and their children Jonah and Talia, of Boston, Massachusetts; mother-in-law Lynn, sister-in-law Zoe, brother-in-law Rufo, and nephews Rio and Renzo of Denver, Colorado.

A memorial service followed by a reception will take place Saturday, March 7, at 2 p.m., at the John Street United Methodist Church, 98 John Street, Camden with the Rev. Marty Pelham officiating. The live stream link for the service can be viewed at https://www.youtube.com/@JohnStreetUMC/streams.  

Condolences and memories may be shared at www.longfuneralhomecamden.com. Arrangements are with the Long Funeral Home & Cremation Service, 9 Mountain Street, Camden.