Hello All!
I’d like to introduce myself…. My name is Mark Vicente. I am a Director / Cinematographer / Writer / Producer / Trouble-Maker from South Africa, currently living in Los Angeles. I was introduced to Steemit by my lovely wife 
A little about me. I was born in Johannesburg but have lived all over the world. South Africa, Portugal, Brazil, Canada and now the US. I developed a love for filmmaking early on, after seeing Star Wars when I was 13 years old. (More on that and how I ended up marrying an actress from Star Wars, later.)
My childhood dream was to be a filmmaker and my obsession when I was a teenager was - I had to make a movie that was important by the time I was 26. At 26 I started shooting the film “Sarafina” and it was released when I was 27. I was extremely proud of the film and felt like I had just squeaked in under my goal! I also had the distinct pleasure of meeting Nelson Mandela, who came to visit the set for a day. That was a moment I will never forget. Sarafina’s critical success gained me entry into the larger world of filmmaking and to Hollywood.
My pursuit in life has been to create media that effects people in the deepest possible way. It was my dream to get to Hollywood and in doing so, I worked with some incredible people: Whoopi Goldberg, Patrick Swayze, Halle Berry, Rufus Sewell, Minnie Driver, Josh Brolin, Marlee Matlin, James Spader to name a few.
As a cinematographer I shot a number of films I was very proud of but I was yearning to express my own voice about things that moved ME. Directing was the obvious next step. That yearning began to come too fruition with the release of “What the Bleep do we Know?!” Along with my partners Will Arntz and Betsy Chasse we came up with the crazy notion to get ideas that were relegated to musty weird bookstores - out into the mainstream. And we did exactly that! The impact of that film opened my life up to so many new adventures and people.
The dream has always been the same. Make films that matter and effect people deeply. I am currently in the middle of production on a series which promises to do just that, in a profound way. Also, I’m in early development on a Science Fiction film about Artificial Intelligence, a Ghost Story and a number of other short form projects. I love directing like nothing else in the world.
I decided to jump onto the Steemit platform for two reasons.
- I love a community that seeks to nurture and develop voices in all kinds of fields and...
- I have a lot I’d like to express! I might have to do a little work to temper my insurrection, politically incorrect sense of humor and outspoken views - but hopefully I can bring value to this amazing platform and meet other awesome people.
I’ll likely be posting about:
- The making of films I’ve been involved in
- Films I’m currently in production on
- Some of my film work
- Video and photo contemplations
- My spirtitual quests in life (the good the bad and the pitfalls)
- My heroes
- Video interviews with fascinating people
- My passion for Science Fiction, Philosophy, Science and Art…
- My evolution as an artist
And more importantly… my work-in-progress realizations as a human.
See you soon!
Mark
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