Never before have so many excellent films, docuseries, and TV shows been produced about many important topics…historical events, political upheaval, stories of courage and personal triumph, true crime, and of course…athletes and artists.
To learn more about this golden age of documentary filmmaking, Yasi and Steven talk to award-winning filmmaker Marius Markevicius. His new film that just debuted at the Austin Film Festival is “Thug Rose”, about famed UFC straw-weight champion Rose Namajunas. Her career is legendary, and Marius goes behind the scenes to capture her training, fighting, and performing…classical music on piano.
Marius also talks about his 2012 Sundance award-winning documentary “The Other Dream Team”, focusing on the Lithuanian Olympic Bronze-medal winning basketball team in 1992, whose story of perseverance and success amid political strife in a war-torn country fighting for its own independence would have been the main story that year, had the NBA not sent their own Dream Team to Barcelona.
To see the trailer for "Thug Rose", go to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CEKwzbxDb80
For information on Marius' film career, go to https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2101256/
Biography:
Marius Markevicius is an award-winning filmmaker and founder of Sorrento Productions based in Santa Monica, CA.
In 2022, Marius completed “THUG ROSE”, the feature length documentary about Rose Namajunas, a two-time mixed martial arts world champion fighter who is an advocate for mental wellness and also a classical pianist. "THUG ROSE" will be premiering at the Austin Film Festival October 30, 2022 and will be released on UFC's Fight Pass network on November 9th, 2022
He is currently producing a documentary film “THE WIFE OF”, about the Women of the Belarus independence movement featuring opposition leader Svetlana Tsikhanouskaya.
In 2018, Marius directed and produced "ASHES IN THE SNOW”, the film adaptation of the New York Times best-selling novel “Between Shades of Gray”. The film stars Gotham Award winning actress Bel Powley (Diary of a Teenage Girl) and Martin Wallstrom (Golden Globe winning TV series Mr. Robot).
Marius also directed, produced & wrote the documentary feature film “THE OTHER DREAM TEAM,” which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival. The film was distributed internationally by Lionsgate and Disney and was nominated for Best Documentary of the Year by the Producers Guild of America (PGA).
He was a producer and raised financing for the 2016 feature film “1 Night” starring Kyle Allen (Westside Story) which premiered at the Austin Film Festival and was distributed by Level Films.
Marius was a co-producer on "LIKE CRAZY," the 2011 Sundance Film Festival Grand Jury Prize-winning film starring Felicity Jones (Academy Award Nominee) and Jennifer Lawrence (Academy Award Winner). The film was purchased and distributed by Paramount Pictures.
In 2010, Marius served as Associate Producer on "THE WAY BACK," a feature film from Academy Award-nominated director Peter Weir starring Ed Harris, and Colin Farrell.
Marius attended the University of California Los Angeles for graduate studies, where he received a Master’s Degree in fine arts (MFA) from the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television.
