Films

All films Written & Directed by Mark Anthony Games.

The Boot

Demons
A sequel to silent war

December 2015. In the time I dedicated to writing and researching I had to explore parts of my past I had long buried. Abuse is a sensitive subject and often people can be very defensive about their experiences and feelings. I knew writing this film would expose me to public opinion and bring focus onto my own experiences. The character of Ben Adams was based on my Stepmother and Stepfather. Though not at the same time they both did so much damage to my soul and to my life. Long after they had both gone I continued to allow their judgement and action to dictated the choices I made in my life. That is why embracing my creativity has been so liberating. This is my favorite script I have written to date and actor Nathan Lowe gave a masterclass.

Call of The Wild

February 2015. In keeping with tradition to date, I tried to do a light film after a heavy one. This was also a chance to work with some of my friends before they graduated and moved away. I was not seeking anything glamours with this film, just some lighthearted fun.

Mind Set

July 2014. The subject of Mental Health is of vital importance to me. I have battled demons most of my life and often barely won. I failed the subject with this film, perhaps letting the content overpower me. I should have abandoned the prose entirely and focused on character. This remains one of my biggest failings to date as a filmmaker.

However, as a director I handled over 40 actors on this shoot and managed a tight timeline. I learnt so much about the craft and my abilities. I hope to one day return to this subject and do it justice.

March 2018. Historically all films were financed by my student loan and part time job. All cast and crew were volunteers and the films made not-for-profit. When many of my connections moved away after graduation I was left without a crew. I then graduated in 2016 and as such no longer had student Loan to finance films. With a lack of spare cash and no way to raise money, filming stopped. In the three year gap I secured acting roles, writing roles and directed a few films for other production companies.

I was hungry to film something of my own again and so I wrote this. I had to limit locations and camera angles to make it cheap, quick and easy. With all members being volunteers I was struggling to find an editor that would commit the time required, and so all filming stopped. Eventually I decided to edit myself and as such the quality of the film suffered. In light of this I have decided to cease making films until I have the finance to pay all cast and crew.

So unless I secure a decent job, Human Voice Productions is on permanent hiatus. I continue to write, direct and produce for other companies.

Silent War

December 2013 This short film started life as a 5 minute prose film but soon transformed into my first ever screenplay. During adaptation of the prose I realized that I could create a deeper meaning in the story if I wrote dialogue and characters. I started to read screenwriting books and turned to You Tube once again for direction. For the first time in my writing journey I interviewed victims of Domestic Violence, read articles and researched in order to get the characters and their world as accurate as possible.

I met actress, Melanie Michele White, as a fellow actor on 'In Silence' (2013) and invited her to audition for the lead role. I auditioned over 30 actors for the two lead roles, an amazing and insightful experience. Writing this film allowed me to explore those dark corners of my mental health that I had long been ignoring. I quickly understood that this is what I wanted to do with my life, so I switched degree to study joint honors Drama & Performance and Screenwriting.

My Local

JUNE 2013 - I only recently discovered the world of film and acting and my idols were my fellow students. I wrote this prose as an excuse to work with those who inspired me. Ant Lightfoot and Alex Orchin were two of the most talented and nicest people on campus. I wanted to gather as many of my peers into one room as I possibly could, I was astonished when so many accepted my invitation.

I wrote this prose in 2007, a deliberate attempt to write something rubbish to prove I was a victim of 'Vanity Publishers' Overtime the prose grew on me and ended up being the perfect prose for two great comedy actors.

Some dreams

May 2013 - Elizabeth Bloor and Andy Cantillon were essentially acting royalty on university campus. Andy was also the lead actor in 'Rise' (Kindling Films, 2012). The filmmaker, Johnny Blox was a student at the same University and yes, I did stalk him slightly. Andy was an inspiration to me as he always gave such a genuine performance in all his films. I was keen to work with them both and this prose I wrote in 2003 was just perfect for the occasion.

I had also by this point began to spend lots of time with Drama and film students, I felt like I had found my people and a sense of my true self. I founded Human Voice Productions, and set myself the task of converting my poetry and prose into short film that highlighted social and community issues.

Human waste

April 2013 - This film would be yet another landmark in my future. I cast Mark Winnett as the lead in this short film and was asked by him to provide direction on the narration, and the only way I knew to do this at the time was to perform it myself. I was then persuaded by mark to take on the part, so my first ever acting role was to perform live in a busy town center.

A few weeks later I started auditioning for acting work, securing my first role in short film Polarity. I made my feature film debut just five months later in Drinking Class (Millard, 2013)

Love left town

March 2013 - I was at University, studying Sports Science. It was not what I wanted to do with my life, but I was convinced I had nothing else to give. My mental Health suffered in menial 9-5 jobs and I knew, at the age of 30, I had to find another way. Whilst procrastinating on a Bio-mechanics essay, I found a short film on You Tube. The short film, 'Rise' (Kindling films, 2012), was narrated with prose and it inspired my biggest ever life change.

Without any previous experience of making films, I assembled a crew of film students and 'Love Left Town' was the result. I wrote the prose in the early 2000's after watching a girl I liked date my best friend. The process of visualizing the film would lead to my discovery of screenwriting. This was the first time I ever had to 'cast' a film. I had two wonderful actresses in Elizabeth Bloor and Arika Kondo but had to decide who would be the lead. I can assure you that all these years later the casting process is still emotionally very challenging. Arika's voice was soft and more emotive and so she won the lead and provided a lovely narration. This is the second of four films that I would cast actor Mark Winnett in.