Former student makes directorial debut
AN EDGE HILL alumnus has written and directed his first feature film after discovering a love of filmmaking during his studies.
Mark Brown, who graduated in 2000 with a degree in communication studies, wrote and directed Guardians, a comedy thriller set in the East End of London, recently premiered to soldout crowds in the UK and US.
The film scooped three awards – Best Screenplay, Ensemble and Supporting Actress (for Mark’s fiancée, Victoria) – at the GenreBlast Film Festival in Virginia and was nominated for four others.
Described as a cross between Withnail And I and Panic Room, the film centres around two disparate men who end up living together as guardians of an old townhouse.
But what starts as an odd couple comedy turns sinister when there turns out to be more to the house than meets the eye.
Although Guardians is Mark’s directorial debut, he has written other films, one of which, Heckle, premiered at Cannes in 2013. He has also written films for Hollywood studios, such as Nu-Image Films, and currently has three other projects in the pipeline including Coldfell, a Scottish set thriller, that won Best Screenplay at the 2017 Nola New Orleans Horror Film Festival.
With another feature film planned and two more ready to go into production, Mark feels he was right not to listen to others’ career advice.