At age 15, Trenton, New Jersey native, Fred Zara, was the drummer for the punk rock band, Prisoners of War, playing venues in the North East, including Manhattan's famed CBGB.

By the late 1990s, Fred began shifting his focus from music to film production. He has since been involved in dozens of documentary and narrative films, both in front and behind the camera. As writer and director his films have screened at film festivals across the US.

His 2009 feature length documentary, Average Community, which chronicled his early days in Trenton, won awards at festivals in Philadelphia, Orlando, and NYC.

In March of 2016, Fred's narrative feature film, Read Me, premiered in New York City at the Queens World Film Festival. The film was nominated for the festivals Best Feature Award and won the award for Best Lead Actor in a feature film.