Mark Borchardt

Mark Borchardt (born August 20, 1966) is an American independent filmmaker. He is best known as the subject of the 1999 film American Movie: The Making of Northwestern, which documented two years he spent writing, shooting and editing his horror short, Coven (1997).

Early life

Borchardt was born and raised in Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin. His mother Monica is Swedish. He started making films at the age of fourteen with a super-8 camera that was given to him by a guy who lived down the street from him. After serving three years in the military, he continued his cinematic endeavors at the local university. In the mid-nineties, he wrote and produced Halloween radio dramas which were broadcast annually and won a fellowship from the Milwaukee Art Futures Board.

Career

Filmmakers Chris Smith and Sarah Price began filming Borchardt while he was attempting to put together funding for his unfinished feature Northwestern. After the project collapsed, Borchardt decided instead to finish Coven, which he had started years earlier. After Coven was completed, Smith and Price compiled their footage into American Movie, which was picked up by Sony Classics and won the Grand Jury Prize at the 1999 Sundance Film Festival.

American Movie

American Movie is a 1999 documentary directed by Chris Smith. The film chronicles the real 1996-1997 making of Coven, an independent horror film directed by an independent filmmaker named Mark Borchardt. Produced for the purpose of raising capital for another film that Borchardt intends to make, the epic Northwestern, Coven (which Borchardt mispronounces with a long 'o') suffers from numerous setbacks, including poor financing, a lack of planning, Borchardt's burgeoning alcoholism, and the ineptitude of the friends and family Borchardt hires to staff the production team. The documentary follows Borchardt's filmmaking process from script to screen, and is interspersed with footage from both developing projects. American Movie was produced by Sarah Price, edited by Jun Diaz and Barry Poltermann and directed by Chris Smith. Filming for American Movie began in September 1995 and concluded in August 1997. The film was a critical success upon its debut and went on to win the Grand Jury prize for Documentary at the Sundance Film Festival, and has since gone on to become a cult film.

Mark

Mark may refer to:

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