Mark Raso is a Canadian narrative filmmaker and co-owner of the production company Fidelio Films. He is best known for writing and directing the feature-length film ''

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

'' in 2014, directing ''

Kodachrome Kodachrome is the brand name for a color reversal film introduced by Eastman Kodak in 1935. It was one of the first successful color materials and was used for both cinematography and still photography. For many years Kodachrome was widely used ...

'' starring

Ed Harris Edward Allen Harris (born November 28, 1950) is an American actor and filmmaker. His performances in ''Apollo 13'' (1995), ''The Truman Show'' (1998), ''Pollock'' (2000), and '' The Hours'' (2002) earned him critical acclaim and Academy Award n ...

Jason Sudeikis Daniel Jason Sudeikis ( ; born September 18, 1975) is an American actor, comedian, producer, and writer. In the 1990s, he began his career in improv comedy and performed with ComedySportz, iO Chicago (Improv Olympic), and The Second City. In 200 ...

and

Elizabeth Olsen Elizabeth Chase Olsen (born February 16, 1989) is an American actress. Born in Sherman Oaks, California, Olsen began acting at age four. She starred in her debut film role in the thriller ''Martha Marcy May Marlene'' in 2011, for which she wa ...

, and the

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...

original sci-fi film ''

Awake Wakefulness is a daily recurring brain state and state of consciousness in which an individual is conscious and engages in coherent cognitive and behavioral responses to the external world. Being awake is the opposite of being asleep, in which ...

'' in 2021, which was number one worldwide on the platform when it was released and his Student Academy Award–winning short film ''

Under Under may refer to: * "Under" (Alex Hepburn song), 2013 * "Under" (Pleasure P song), 2009 *Bülent Ünder (born 1949), Turkish footballer *Cengiz Ünder (born 1997), Turkish footballer *Marie Under Marie Under ( – 25 September 1980) was one o ...

'' in 2012. His work has won numerous awards and has been seen by audiences worldwide.

Early life

Raso was born in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

, Canada. After attending the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution ...

where he received a BA in English Literature and Cinema Studies, Raso went on to study directing and screenwriting at

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

where he received an MFA in film. While attending Columbia, Raso wrote, directed, and produced a number of short films that culminated in winning the Gold Medal, the highest honor a student can receive, from the Student Academy Awards of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. After graduating from Columbia in 2012, Raso wrote, directed, his first feature-length film Copenhagen, a critically acclaimed movie that won the Audience Award at Slamdance Film Festival. Since its premiere, Raso has been called "a talent to watch," by New York Times writer David DeWitt.

Awards

Raso's short film ''

'' has received numerous awards including the Student Academy Gold Medal, the CINE Gold Eagle Award, the Golden ACE Award, and the CINE Special Jury award. In addition, Mark received the David Jones Memorial Award for Excellence in Directing and the Hollywood Foreign Press Award for Excellence in Filmmaking. By 2013 he was named on The Tracking Board's "Young and Hungry" list as a rising talent to keep an eye out for. In 2014 his first feature film Copenhagen premiered at the Slamdance Festival, where it won the Audience Award. The film also won the grand jury award at the

Florida Film Festival The Florida Film Festival, produced by Enzian Theater in Maitland, Florida, is an annual international film festival. Overview The Festival includes narrative and documentary features and shorts, animation, midnight movies, and educational forum ...

Gasparilla International Film Festival Gasparilla International Film Festival (GIFF, stylized as gịff) is an annual independent film festival that takes place in Tampa Bay area, Tampa Bay, Florida. The festival is run by the Tampa Film Institute, a non-profit organization dedicated t ...

, and

Slamdance Film Festival The Slamdance Film Festival is an annual film festival focused on emerging artists. The annual week-long festival takes place in Park City, Utah, in late January and is the main event organized by the year-round Slamdance organization, which als ...

Fidelio Films

Raso is co-owner of the production company Fidelio Films, a

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

-based

independent film An independent film, independent movie, indie film, or indie movie is a feature film or short film that is produced outside the major film studio system, in addition to being produced and distributed by independent entertainment companies (or, i ...

production company A production company, production house, production studio, or a production team is a studio that creates works in the fields of performing arts, new media art, film, television, radio, comics, interactive arts, video games, websites, music, and ...

founded by

producers Producer or producers may refer to: Occupations *Producer (agriculture), a farm operator *A stakeholder of economic production *Film producer, supervises the making of films **Executive producer, contributes to a film's budget and usually does not ...

David Figueroa García,

Mauro Mueller Mauro Mueller is an independent Swiss-Mexican narrative filmmaker. He won in the Student Academy Awards in 2013 and is member of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences. He is best known for directing the short films ''Ge.hen'nah'' in ...

and Mauricio Leiva-Cock in 2010. All four of them met while studying at the MFA program in directing and screenwriting at

. The company has produced a number of acclaimed short films, winning twice in a row in the

Student Academy Awards The Student Academy Awards are presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in an annual competition for college and university filmmakers. Description The awards were originally named the Student Film Awards and were first ...

with ''Under'' in 2012 and ''

A World for Raúl ''A World for Raúl'' ( es, Un mundo para Raúl) is a short drama film. The film's run time is 15 minutes. It was written and directed by Mauro Mueller, and produced by Laura Pino and Ivan Madeo. It won a Student Academy Awards in 2013. The fil ...

'' in 2013. In 2014, for the third time in a row, they had a short ''Perfidia'' in the regional final of the Student Academy Awards. Their first feature film ''

'', featuring

Gethin Anthony Gethin David L. Anthony (born 9 October 1983) is an English television and film actor best known for his role as Renly Baratheon in ''Game of Thrones'' from 2011 to 2012. Early life and education Anthony was born in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwicks ...

Bodil Awards The Bodil Awards are the major Danish film awards given by the Danish Film Critics Association. The awards are presented annually at a ceremony in Copenhagen. Established in 1948, it is one of the oldest film awards in Europe. The awards are given ...

winner

Frederikke Dahl Hansen Frederikke Dahl Hansen (born 26 March 1994) is a Danish television and film actress best known for her role in the film ''Copenhagen'' as Effy. Life and career Frederikke Dahl Hansen was born in Copenhagen, Denmark. She began her acting care ...

Sebastian Armesto Sebastian Felipe Xavier Fernández-Garcia Armesto (born 3 June 1982) is a British film, television and theatre actor. He is the son of the historian Felipe Fernández-Armesto. Career Television and film Armesto played Charles V, Holy Roman Emp ...

Mille Dinesen Mille Dinesen (born 17 March 1974) is a Danish actress best known for starring in the film '' Nynne'' (2005), as well as the title role in the television series ''Rita Rita may refer to: People * Rita (given name) * Rita (Indian singer) (b ...

Baard Owe Baard Arne Owe (3 July 1936, Mosjøen, Norway – 11 November 2017, aged 81, Copenhagen, Denmark), sometimes credited Bård Owe, was a Norwegian-born Danish actor who has acted in many Scandinavian films and TV series. He moved to Denmark in 1956, ...

, and

Tamzin Merchant Tamzin Merchant (born 4 March 1987) is an English actress and author, best known for her roles as Georgiana Darcy in the film ''Pride & Prejudice'' (2005), as Catherine Howard in the Showtime series ''The Tudors'' (2009–2010) and as Anne Hal ...

imdb , Copenhagen , Full Cast & Crew
/ref> was theatrically released in North America in 2014.

Filmography

* ''Groomed'' (2004, short film, producer) * ''The Engagement Party'' (2007, short film, writer, editor, director) * ''Tomorrow'' (2009, short film, writer, director) * ''Brand New Day'' (2010, short film, director, producer, editor) * ''In for a Surprise'' (2010, short film, director, writer) * ''

'' (2011, short film, co-producer, writer, director, editor) * ''Un Mundo Para Raul'' (''

'') (2012, short film, co-producer) * ''

'' (2014, feature film, writer, director, editor, co-producer) * ''

'' (2017) * ''

'' (2021)

References

External links

*
official website Fidelio Films Mark Raso
*http://blogs.kqed.org/filmschoolshorts/2014/02/04/interview-with-mark-raso-under/ {{DEFAULTSORT:Raso, Mark Canadian male screenwriters Columbia University School of the Arts alumni Living people Canadian emigrants to the United States Mexican film directors Mexican film producers Mexican screenwriters Student Academy Award winners Film directors from Toronto Writers from Toronto Year of birth missing (living people) 20th-century Canadian screenwriters 20th-century Canadian male writers 21st-century Canadian screenwriters 21st-century Canadian male writers