Review Fix Exclusive: Inside ‘Two Strangers’

Review Fix Exclusive: Inside ‘Two Strangers’

By Patrick Hickey Jr.

Review Fix chats with “Two Strangers” writer and director Marcus Markou, who discuss his creative process behind the film and more.

About Marcus Mark:

Writer and Director Marcus Markou made his first short film The Last Temptation of Chris starring Ed Stoppard in 2010 and quickly created his first feature Papadopoulos & Sons, starring Stephen Dillane. In 2014, Markou was nominated by the London Critics Circle Awards in the Breakthrough British Filmmaker category and founded the production company Double M Films. The talented director is currently working on a number of original feature film and TV projects with Movie Collective; a new crowd funded production company he co-founded with Hollywood producer Cassian Elwes.

Review Fix: How did you get involved with this project?

Marcus Mark: I was working hard on getting a new feature film project off the ground but I was struggling. Struggling with the story, getting a cast and struggling to gain momentum. Sometimes to gain back that momentum and energy on a project, you have to turn to something else. So I decided to make a short film. And then that energy from the new project refuels the other project. This is why it’s good to always have two or three creative projects on the go. And short films can happen quicker, because you need less money and less time but you are still engaging the same process as you would when shooting a feature. So this is what I did.

Review Fix: What attracted you to it the most?

Mark: Most short films are seen as a stepping stone or a calling card to a bigger project but the short film format has it’s own rules. It’s a very difficult art from to try and get right. You are effectively trying to take an audience on the same emotional journey as you would with a feature film but in a matter of minutes. So it’s a very attractive challenge for a film maker.

Review Fix: What have you learned from it?

Mark: I think it established again what I love most about filmmaking – which is the ability as a director to empower other people.

Review Fix: What was the feeling like on set?

Mark: I love it. I’m energised. It’s where I need to be.  

Review Fix: How did this film affect you?

Mark: I have loved the responses from audiences. It’s now approaching 60 film festivals and it has won many as either best short voted for by the audience or a jury.

Review Fix: How do you want people to be affected by this film?

Mark: I want to make films that touch the human heart. And I hope I have done that.

Review Fix: Who will appreciate this film the most? 

Mark: Judging by the audience responses, I think older people – middle aged people – and women – have responded very well to it. Perhaps it’s because older people have a greater sense of their own mortality.  

Review Fix: Why should people see Two Strangers Who Meet 5 Times?

Mark: It’s only 12 minutes and 12 seconds long and you won’t regret it. That’s a personal guarantee (I wanted to add “or your money back” but I suspect this could get me into all sorts of issues). 

Review Fix: How would you like it to be remembered?

Mark: A film about the power of kindness.  

Review Fix: What inspired this film?

Mark: It was inspired by this wave of intolerance to foreigners and immigrants after Brexit and Trump. All the differences we ascribe to each other – skin tone, religion, culture, nationality, accent – are invented stories. There really is no difference. There is only one human race. 

Review Fix: What’s next?

Mark: We are currently in the process of casting my next feature film – Crazy Blue.

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About Patrick Hickey Jr. 13819 Articles
Patrick Hickey Jr. is a full-time Assistant Professor of Communication & Performing Arts and Director of the Journalism program at Kingsborough Community College and is the chairman of the City University of New York Journalism Council. He is the Founder and Editor-In-Chief of ReviewFix.com. He's also a former News Editor at NBC Local Integrated Media and National Video Games Writer at Examiner.com where his work was mentioned in National Ad campaigns by Disney, Nintendo and EA Sports. Hickey was also the Editor-In-Chief of two College Newspapers before he received his BA in Journalism from Brooklyn College. Hickey's work has been published in The New York Daily News, The New York Times, Complex, The Hockey Writers, Yahoo!, Broadway World, Examiner, NYSportScene Magazine, ProHockeyNews.com, GothamBaseball.com, The Syracuse Post-Standard, Scout.com and the official sites of the Brooklyn Aces and New York Islanders. His first book, The Minds Behind the Games: Interviews With Cult And Classic Video Game Developers was released in April 2018 and is chock full of interviews with legendary developers. His second book in the series, The Minds Behind Adventures Games, was released in December 2019. His third book, The Minds Behind Sports Games, was released in September 2020. His fourth book, The Minds Behind Shooter Games, was released in March 2021. The Minds Behind Sega Genesis Games and The Minds Behind PlayStation Games were released in 2022 and The Minds Behind PlayStation 2 was published in January 2023. Hickey is also a contracted comic book writer, currently penning his original series, "Condrey," as well as "The Job," "Brooklyn Bleeds" "Dem Gulls" and "KROOM" for Legacy Comix, where he serves as founder, owner and Editor-in-Chief. Hickey Jr. is also a voice actor, having starred in the 2018 indie hit and 2019 Switch, PS4 and Xbox One release, The Padre (also serving as English language Story Editor), from Shotgun With Glitters. The sequel, The Padre: One Shell Straight to Hell was released in February 2021- Hickey also served as a Story Editor and Lead Voiceover performer. He has also done narration and trailers for several other titles including The Kaiju Offensive, Relentless Rex and Roniu’s Tale. Hickey is also the lead voiceover performer on Mega Cat Studios’ upcoming title WrestleQuest, responsible for nearly 90 characters in the game, as well as Skybound's Renfield: Bring Your Own Blood, where he voices both Dracula and Renfield, as well as several other characters. He also stars in Ziggurat Interactive’s World Championship Boxing Manager 2, where he performs the VO of nearly every male character in the game. He also worked on the Atari VCS’s BPM Boy.

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