We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Mark David a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Mark , thanks so much for taking the time to share your insights and lessons with us today. We’re particularly interested in hearing about how you became such a resilient person. Where do you get your resilience from?
My parents were a huge part of shaping who I was and who I’ve become. They Immigrated from Cairo, Egypt to Houston, Texas in 1967. They came here with very little except for their education. I saw both of them work very hard while growing up, and both became very successful as a result. So, I learned at a very early age that nothing comes easy in this life. That you can’t expect anything to come easy in life or depend on or expect luck. You have to earn everything with blood, sweat and tears.
Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?
I’ve been a filmmaker since 1996. I directed and shot my first feature film at the age of 23 in the late nineties. I grew up shooting films on celluloid, which requires one to learn a certain level of skill , dedication and discipline . Film is a commercial art form, which can be a conundrum in itself. So, resilience is a must if you want to succeed in the film business. It can be very unforgiving at times, especially at the beginning of your career. I moved out to LA in 2000 and my first job out here was scoring a couple of movies while I tried to put together features I could direct and shoot. I was a teacher’s assistant in the mornings for a while, then a doorman at a popular bar in Weho called St. Nick’s pub. All the while, I was playing in a couple of bands with my best friends from Texas. Music was my first love and was how I transitioned into filmmaking. Finally in 2002, I shot a film called “Intoxicating”, my sophmore feature which starred Kirk Harris, Eric Roberts and John Savage. That really cemented my decision to stay in LA and pursue this career. I worked at film festivals like Method fest and slamdance to meet other filmmakers. “Intoxicating” did the film festival circuit and sparked a new chapter in my career. I also had the opportunity to score the film with my bandmate at the time, William Tabanou, who still does the sound mixes for all my films. We did tracks with Coolio, SenDog of Cypress Hill, Brother Marquis from 2Livecrew and several others. It was a very fulfilling experience, combining everything I love – film, music, photography , storytelling and acting. I scored two more of my films down the line, “American Cowslip” in 2009 starring Val Kilmer, Ronnie Gene Blevins, Diane Ladd, Rip Torn, Bruce Dern, Peter Falk, Lin Shaye, Blake Clark, Priscilla Barnes. It was amazing directing and shooting these silver screen legends. It was a dream for me. I went on to Direct and Scott “Jonny’s Sweet Revenge”, “Texas Heart”, “:Starfucker”, “Boy Makes Girl” and “Sunlight “which comes out in 2024. It’s won several awards including best Director and Best Cinematography. The film stars Bobby Laenen and Tom Sizemore, in his final performance, as well as many other brilliant actors. All the while II’ve become a career DP. I’ve lensed close to 60 feature films and have traveled the world doing it. I love sculpting light and framing stories. I feel blessed in so many ways. I feel like I have the best job in the world.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
In hindsight, I think learning to shoot on film was the basis for my filmmaking career. You learn to make every decision count. In the Digital world, you can slip into a much less focused form of filmmaking because the boundaries of the cost of shooting on film put me in an environment where I had to think of the best way to circumvent any hurdles. That usually boosts your creativity as well. Another thing that helped me tremendously was shooting indie features in particular. You never have enough time or money. And time Is money, so I learned to light and shoot FAST, without compromising quality. You flourish at things like producing, art dept, wardrobe out of neccesity because you often enough do not have the people to help make those decisions on idle films. Finally, my musical sensibilities helped me profoundly. There is a rhythm to films- and I’m a drummer. Whether it’s the cadence of the dialogue and blocking or the timing of the cuts, it all dances together.
All the wisdom you’ve shared today is sincerely appreciated. Before we go, can you tell us about the main challenge you are currently facing?
I look at challenges as a good thing. The digital world has caused an overflow of creators. So, a pool has turned into an ocean. But, possibly the biggest challenge at the moment is the political climate. You don’t necessarily get a job because you are the best or work the hardest. Whether it’s nepotism, ageism or race or gender discrimination, there are many more boxes to check now. The strikes were also very difficult for many of us that work in film and television. And it came so quickly after covid. You have to be very resilient and kiss the ground every morning with gratitude to do this as a career and stay positive.
Contact Info:
- Website: markdaviddp.com buffalospeedwayfilmco.com
- Instagram: @markdaviddirector
- Facebook: Mark David
- Other: imdb: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0202999/?ref_=ext_shr_lnk
Image Credits
1st image – Adam Gan 2nd image – Lorna Larkin
