We were lucky to catch up with Mark Samuels recently and have shared our conversation below.
Mark, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. What do you think Corporate America gets wrong in your industry? Any stories or anecdotes that illustrate why this matters?
There is a lack of diversity in the executive positions in television and the film industry. Every network is looking for diversity and inclusion yet the people who make the decisions lack the diversity that they are aiming to represent.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
I have been a producer/director in South Florida for 15 years. I have produced content for a variety of television networks such as NBC, Univision, Telemundo, Fusion, Hearst TV and more. I also own MBS Media Group which is a production studio specializing in feature films, documentaries and shorts.
I am most proud of our studios first feature film “Murder Gardens” which was released in 2019 and has broken barriers for independent filmmakers in South Florida. This film was picked up by a variety of platforms such as Peacock, Apple TV, Tubi, Amazon Prime, Sling TV, Redbox, and so much more.
Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?
I come from a neighborhood were most don’t get the opportunity to explore a career in the film industry due to a lack of resources and knowledge from people who have actually made it. My goal is to create more stories about my people and the communities that I come from . I want to be a walking example to the next young black man who wants to become a director or producer or writer that anything is possible with the right amount of focus on determination.
Any fun sales or marketing stories?
Our first feature film “Murder Gardens” wasn’t created with a huge hollywood type of budget. It was a self funded project that required a lot of blood , sweat and tears to get it done. During the filming of the project, the nay sayers were everywhere trying to convince me not to continue and to wait until I can get a big budget to shoot it. I’m glad I didn’t listen, funded it myself, created a marketing campaign around facebook and instagram and before you knew it we had a hit independent project.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.murdergardens.com
- Instagram: @kingcolosus
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mark-samuels-57439399/
- Twitter: @kingcolosus
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCBzbq-gX1Hj4Lsn5jBS28DQ
Image Credits
n/a