Marcus Markou is a British film maker, playwright and internet entrepreneur. Markou's debut feature film ''

Papadopoulos & Sons ''Papadopoulos & Sons'' is a 2012 British comedy-drama film written and directed by Marcus Markou and self-distributed in the UK and Ireland by Markou's own company Double M Films through an agreement with Cineworld on 5 April 2013. Cineworld i ...

'', starring

Stephen Dillane Stephen John Dillane (; born 27 March 1957) is a British actor. He is best known for his roles as Leonard Woolf in the 2002 film ''The Hours (film), The Hours'', Stannis Baratheon in the HBO fantasy series ''Game of Thrones'' (2012–2015) and T ...

, 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 Trafalgar Theatre is a West End theatre in Whitehall, near Trafalgar Square, in the City of Westminster, London. The Grade II listed building was built in 1930 with interiors in the Art Deco style as the Whitehall Theatre; it regularly staged ...

with actors

James Lance James Frederick Grenville Lance (born 29 September 1974) is an English actor, best known for his appearances in a number of British comedy series and as Trent Crimm on the British-American comedy series ''Ted Lasso'', for which he was nominat ...

and

Adrian Bower Adrian Bower (born 20 August 1970) is an English actor and voice over artist. He is best known for his role as physical education and geography teacher Brian Steadman in the first three series of the British comedy series ''Teachers''. In 201 ...

. ''Age-Sex-Location'', his play about chat rooms and virtual worlds, was staged at the

Riverside Studios Riverside Studios is an arts centre on the north bank of the River Thames in Hammersmith, London, England. The venue plays host to contemporary performance, film, visual art exhibitions and television production. Having opened in May 1976, th ...

in 2004 with actor

Ed Stoppard Edmund Stoppard (born 16 September 1974) is an English actor. He is the son of playwright Tom Stoppard and doctor Miriam, Lady Hogg. his credits include ' (2002), ''Joy Division'' (2006), '' Ancient Rome: The Rise and Fall of an Empire'' (2006) ...

. 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 Cassian Cary Elwes (born 7 August 1959) is a British independent film producer and talent agent. Early life and education Cassian Elwes was born on 7 August 1959 in London. He is the son of Dominic Elwes, a portrait painter, and Tessa Kennedy, ...

. 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 ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' 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.

References

External links

*
Movie Collective : company's website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Markou, Marcus British dramatists and playwrights Living people Place of birth missing (living people) British male dramatists and playwrights Year of birth missing (living people) Long Island International Film Expo award winners