Christopher André Marks

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Christopher André Marks
NationalityAmerican, Greek
EducationNew York University
Occupation(s)Film director, screenwriter, producer
Known forKing Otto (film), 30 for 30

Christopher André Marks (Greek: Κρίστοφερ Αντρέ Μαρκς) is a Greek American film director, film producer, and screenwriter, best known for the 2021 film King Otto.

Early life[edit]

Marks grew up in California. His family was in the Latin music industry, however he was raised Greek, often returning to Athens throughout his childhood.[1] He began his career at The Weinstein Company and moved on to work with ESPN and HBO.[2] He attended New York University's Tisch of the Arts film program.[3] He speaks 4 languages, English, Greek, Italian and Spanish.[3]

Career[edit]

His directorial feature debut, King Otto, on the Greece national team's victory at Euro 2004, opened to wide international critical acclaim from outlets such as the Los Angeles Times,[4] The Guardian,[5] The Australian,[6] Süddeutsche Zeitung,[7] The Times[8] and The Daily Telegraph.[8] It is marked as "fresh" on critic aggregate website Rotten Tomatoes.[9] David Stratton of the Australian said "Full marks must be awarded to director Christopher Andre Marks for telling this real-life feel-good story so well and so entertainingly - even the most unlikely subject, in the right hands, can make for compelling drama."[10] John Macdonald of the Financial Review said, "Christopher Andre Marks’ irresistible King Otto manages to confirm and confound every idea about the contrasts between the Greeks and the Germans." Noel Murray of the Los Angeles Times says "Christopher Andre Marks' entertaining sports film King Otto - is a great story, crisply told" [11] Cris Kennedy of the Canberra Times states that "Marks and his team build their pace and suspense so well that even die-hard fans who saw the footage the first time around will have their hearts in their throats".[12]

It was released theatrically and on streaming platforms in over 75 countries via partners such as Warner Bros. Discovery, Sky UK,[13] Sky Deutschland[14] and Canal+.[15] As the film is about a German working with the Greece national team, Marks states that the film's central focal point is on what "unites us versus what divides us" as people.[16] It was Marks' Greek-American background that inspired him to make King Otto.[17] Marks stated to Kathimerini that his next two projects will be shot in Greece and are currently in development.[18]

In 2015, he directed and produced the film Tiger Hood for ESPN Films' Emmy Award Winning '30 for 30' series.[19] The film had its world premiere at the 2015 South by Southwest and was released in the United States and Canada on ESPN, ESPN2 and SportsCenter.[20]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Christopher André Marks – Movies, Messages, and a Passion for Greece". thehellenicinitiative.org. 5 April 2022.
  2. ^ "U.S. Filmmaker Christopher Andre Marks on creating the 'King Otto' documentary". socceramerica.com.
  3. ^ a b "Christopher André Marks". IMDb. Retrieved 2023-06-14.
  4. ^ "Review: Noomi Rapace on Netflix, a real-life Ted Lasso, and more movies to watch this weekend". Los Angeles Times. March 25, 2022.
  5. ^ "King Otto review – Greece's Euros winner earns his place in football's history books". the Guardian. July 1, 2021.
  6. ^ https://www.theaustralian.com.au/arts/review/reviews-a-quiet-place-2-my-name-is-gulpilil-king-otto/news-story/acd514d0cb46b981d10ffa9b21dc39ad
  7. ^ Gertz, Holger (2021-11-09). "Rehhagel-Doku "King Otto" im Kino: Otto – der Film". Süddeutsche.de (in German). Retrieved 2023-06-14.
  8. ^ a b Media, Bionic. "KING OTTO - Abacus". Abacus Media Rights. Retrieved 2023-06-14.
  9. ^ "King Otto". Rotten Tomatoes.
  10. ^ https://www.theaustralian.com.au/subscribe/news/1/?sourceCode=TAWEB_WRE170_a_GGL&dest=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theaustralian.com.au%2Farts%2Freview%2Freviews-a-quiet-place-2-my-name-is-gulpilil-king-otto%2Fnews-story%2Facd514d0cb46b981d10ffa9b21dc39ad&memtype=anonymous&mode=premium&v21=dynamic-groupa-test-noscore&V21spcbehaviour=append
  11. ^ "Review: Noomi Rapace on Netflix, a real-life Ted Lasso, and more movies to watch this weekend". Los Angeles Times. 2022-03-25. Retrieved 2023-06-14.
  12. ^ "This underdog soccer story is emotive". The Canberra Times. 2021-05-29. Retrieved 2023-06-14.
  13. ^ "Sky Documentaries - King Otto - TheTVDB.com". thetvdb.com. Retrieved 2023-06-14.
  14. ^ "King Otto". Werstreamt.es (in German). Retrieved 2023-06-14.
  15. ^ "Piece of Magic Takes Rights to Soccer Documentary 'King Otto'". Variety. 18 February 2020.
  16. ^ ""Look at What Unites Us, Not at What Divides Us": Interview with Christopher André Marks, Director of KING OTTO". filminquiry.com. 5 April 2022.
  17. ^ ""Not many football documentaries start with a quote from Homer": Christopher Marks on 'King Otto'". greekherald.com.au. 26 May 2021.
  18. ^ Δημουλάς, Αθως. "Βασιλιάς Όττο: Το 2004 από την αρχή". www.kathimerini.gr (in Greek).
  19. ^ "Tiger Hood - ESPN Films: 30 for 30".
  20. ^ "Tiger Hood | SXSW 2015 Event Schedule". South by Southwest.