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Marcus Markou

British filmmaker, playwright, and Internet entrepreneur

Summary

British filmmaker, playwright, and Internet entrepreneur

Marcus Markou is a British film maker, playwright and internet entrepreneur.

Markou's debut feature film Papadopoulos & Sons, starring Stephen Dillane, was completed in 2012. The film was self-distributed by Markou in UK cinemas in April 2013, achieving the second highest screen average of any film in that weekend. This success placed the film among the top five self-distributed UK films in the past 15 years. The film went on to be bought by the BBC, ARTE and Netflix.

Markou's approach to distribution included cold calling Greek Orthodox priests asking them to announce the film in their Sunday services.

Markou speaks extensively about self distribution at film industry events and film festivals and is the subject of self distribution case studies.

His play Ordinary Dreams; Or How to Survive a Meltdown with Flair was staged in May 2009 at the Trafalgar Studios with actors James Lance and Adrian Bower. Age-Sex-Location, his play about chat rooms and virtual worlds, was staged at the Riverside Studios in 2004 with actor Ed Stoppard.

In 2014, Markou was nominated by the London Critics Circle Awards for Breakthrough British Filmmaker.

On 11 April 2018, it was announced that Marcus Markou was embarking in a new crowdfunding film and TV venture, along with US producer Cassian Elwes. Their company, dubbed Movie Collective, aims at financing film projects through an innovative crowdfunding approach that allows any investor to share the risk and the rewards, should a film be profitable.

In 2023, Markou self-distributed a micro-budget feature film about a couple breaking up called The Wife and Her House Husband together with a short film, Two Strangers Who Meet Five Times – as a double bill. The Guardian described The Wife and Her House Husband as a "worthwhile movie that genuinely gets under the skin of a long marriage" but added that the drama could feel "overworked" at times.

Film critic Mark Kermode reviewed the film on an episode of his podcast Kermode and Mayo's Take. Kermode praised Markou's resourceful storytelling, saying "It is ambitious and it aims high with very scant resources". He also noted Markou's background as a playwright lending to the film's "stage quality", going on to say at times, the film could be "too theatrical".

Markou is the co-founder of BusinessesForSale.com, a global marketplace for buying and selling small and medium-sized businesses.

References

References

  1. The British Theatre Guide. "Marcus Markou - Theatre Review".
  2. Varikos, Joanna. (April 30, 2012). "Director Marcus Markou Talks About Anticipated New Film 'Papadopoulos & Sons'".
  3. "The British Theatre Guide: Interview with Marcus Markou".
  4. The Telegraph. (19 July 2004). "A nation of publicans".
  5. The Wimbledon Guardian. (12 August 2011). "Cameras roll for film stars".
  6. Birmingham Mail. (5 April 2013). "Graham Young talks to Brummie director of chip shop film Papadopoulos & Sons".
  7. Birmingham Mail. "Brum fish and chips movie Papadopoulos & Sons set for wider release after beating Hollywood blockbuster in London".
  8. Young, Graham. (3 April 2023). "Chip shop film-maker charges £1 for new movie screenings at Mockingbird Cinema".
  9. Sight and Sound Magazine. "The Numbers - Papadopoulous & Sons". Sight and Sound Magazine.
  10. Den Of Geek. (9 August 2017). "Kevin Smith, self-distribution, and the future of cinema".
  11. Markou, Marcus. (29 May 2015). "How I self-distributed my feature film".
  12. The Guardian. (29 May 2015). "How I self-distributed my feature film".
  13. The Huffington Post. (30 March 2015). "How to Self-Distribute Your First Film".
  14. The Stage. (11 March 2004). "Age Sex Location - Review".
  15. Lathan, Peter. (2004). "Age-Sex-Location".
  16. Hollywood Reporter. (17 December 2013). "'12 Years a Slave' Leads London Critics' Circle Film Awards Nominations".
  17. Screen International. (11 April 2018). "Cassian Elwes launching crowdfunding production venture".
  18. (28 February 2023). "Marcus Markou's Innovative New Distribution Scheme For THE WIFE AND HER HOUSE HUSBAND".
  19. Bramesco, Charles. (31 January 2023). "Want to see a new movie for a pound?".
  20. Czyzowska, Elise. (2 March 2023). "Marcus Markou brings feature to UK cinemas".
  21. Maria, Duarte. (9 March 2023). "Film round-up: March 9, 2023".
  22. Askew, Robin. (4 April 2023). "CINEMA FOR A POUND COMES TO BRISTOL".
  23. Clarke, Cath. (6 March 2023). "The Wife and Her House Husband review – divorce drama gets under the skin of marriage".
  24. "Meet Me in the Bathroom, The Wife and her House Husband, Woody Harrelson Movies, Plus MORE Andy Serkis".
  25. Kermode and Mayo's Take. (2023-03-09). "Mark Kermode reviews The Wife and Her House Husband - Kermode and Mayo’s Take".
  26. Kermode and Mayo's Take. (2023-03-09). "Mark Kermode reviews The Wife and Her House Husband - Kermode and Mayo’s Take".
  27. Strick, Katie. (2020-03-19). "The new meeting tech rules during the coronavirus shutdown".
  28. "TECHKNOW: Lessons from Web Alley".
  29. Taylor, Anthea. (2019-01-06). "Online business sales providers talk about getting established".
  30. Hardoon, Abby. (2003-12-18). "Buying a business – the rules for non-UK citizens".
  31. Young, Graham. (2013-04-05). "Graham Young talks to Brummie director of chip shop film Papadopoulos & Sons".
Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

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