We are happy this week to feature Kevin Marks, regular RS contributor and story editor of From The Dust.
From the Dust is a documentary exploring the range of Christian thought on God’s method of making the world from creationism to evolution. I (Elijah Davidson) heartily recommend the film for anyone interested in the subject of Earth’s origin and the orthodoxy of various theories of that origin. The film features interviews with prominent theologians of all persuasions including Drs. Nancey Murphey, N.T. Wright, Alister McGrath, Jason Lisle, Clay Brinson and many others.
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Kevin Marks
Story Editor
From the Dust
Creative Director
Highway Media
1) How did you get involved in filmmaking and why?
I think I became a filmmaker at age thirteen when my good friend Mark Yoshikawa essentially commandeered his father’s new VHS camera. Our neighborhood group of friends instantly became actors, producers, and costume designers. We made a lot of Miami Vice-esque crime dramas with rubber masks, fake fight scenes, and lots of people getting thrown off balconies and run over by cars.
Looking back, it was a new way to experience the world, and to manipulate yourself and your environment. We would goof around with slow motion and stop motion, and this was the 80’s so we did a lot of music video. Boys are perpetually bored, and making films with Yosh helped us (I think) stay sane through adolescence and laugh at ourselves. Filmmaking has been a part of my life off and on since then.
2) What project(s) are you particularly excited about (current or past) and why?
Being involved in From The Dust was a true thrill. I’ve always been a fairly right-brained person, so it was exhilarating to watch the footage come in – of these great minds reasoning through some extremely deep intellectual and spiritual issues. From there it was a great exercise in storytelling; how do we organize all of these thoughts into a compelling narrative line?
In terms of current projects, last month Highway Media had the chance to film the great Dr. John Perkins in Mississippi. His is not just the story of a great Christian brother, but the story of a great American. We are working on funding and a way to present Dr. Perkins’ story to the world as a true picture of the civil rights struggle in this country, and a true story of what the Gospel looks like when it fully overtakes a man.
3) How does your faith influence your filmmaking?
God is a great narrative architect, and I tend to believe that the only way human beings actually learn and change is through story. Whether it’s music, songs, films, poetry, faith communities, or reality television, we are searching for stories, and matching our lives up with what we see. We are building our perceptions. I’ve been involved in spiritual filmmaking for years, where we’ve tried to render issues of the faith visually. Because of that, I’ve had a very visual faith, and each has informed the other. Film is a way to work it all out with fear and trembling.
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For more information on Kevin Marks and his other projects with his production company, Highway Media, visit their website. and if you want to read more of Kevin’s writing, visit his profile on our site.
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Trailer for From the Dust
