Mark Bakaitis
b. April 21, 1969, Melbourne, Australia.

BIOGRAPHY:   Mark began making Super-8 shorts with his grandfather's camera as a child.

The early '80s saw the growth of the music video, and Mark was very influenced by this medium as an artistic form.

He studied Film and Video Production at a Tech Course in 1987, were he met fellow music video director Mark Hartley.

Mark crewed on many student Swinburne films and attended classes and lectures without officially being a student from 1988-90.

Through the magazine Film Threat and his interest in the punk/hardcore scene he discovered New York's "Cinema Of Transgression" led by filmmakers such as Richard Kern and Nick Zedd.

Influenced by this style he made Mercy (1992) which was screened at Jon Hewitt's Panorama Cinema in Fitzroy, and reviewed by Film Threat USA.

This led to work as a music video director throughout the '90s, directing over 150 clips with bands including: Spiderbait, The Fauves and Bodyjar.

He also crewed on many bigger budget clips for City Films with directors Paul Goldman and Mark Hartley.

In 2000 he directed the cyberpunk, guerrilla, feature film Narcosys. It won "Best Film" at The Melbourne Underground Film Festival, as well as "Best Gratuitous Use Of Violence" (2000).

	Cult Girls

Narcosys had festival screenings/DVD distribution in the US, Brazil, Thailand and Switzerland. This included a double DVD release with Phillip Brophy's Bodymelt.

An Evening with Mark Chopper Read (2013), documented Chopper's last ever public appearance before his death.

Punk documentary Why Do People Hate Us? (2016) won "Best Director" and "Best Documentary" in The Setting Sun Short Film Festival, as well as official selection in St Kilda Film Festival, Punkfilmfest Berlin and Revelation Perth International Film Festival.

Cult Girls; a folk horror narrative feature shot in Lithuania, Germany and Australia, was completed in 2019. It premiered at Monster Fest in 2019 and it won "Best Director" in the First Hermetic International Film Festival, Italy in 2020.

It is released by Umbrella Entertainment (Aus/NZ) and ITN Films (Worldwide). www.cultgirlsfilm.com

View his music video/film history here: http://vimeo.com/46068371

	Cult Girls

CRITICAL OVERVIEW:   When I started making films I was very much influenced by and drew parallels to the punk, hardcore and underground music scenes.

The basic idea was to pick up a camera and express yourself in a very primal sense, without trying to mimic the Hollywood formula.

With no real formal training in scriptwriting and directing dialogue, my films have been very influenced by the strong visual aesthetic of the music video.

I started out as a filmmaker exploring gritty subject matters and used shock tactics and a guerrilla style in my work to create an impact.

Working in advertising has taught me to refine my visual aesthetic, however my personal projects continue to explore underground culture.

Mark Bakaitis, October 2012.

Directing Cult Girls

FILMOGRAPHY:

	Mercy

Selected Early Super 8 Shorts:

Invaders (1982, 6 mins, Super-8)

A Bleak Future (1987, 5 mins, Super-8)

Tanz Debil (1987, 5 mins, Super-8)
"An early work of Bakaitis that has a pseudo-goth feel, with an attempt at a psycho-narrative..."- Film Threat USA.

Archaic (1989, 6 mins, Super-8)

Mercy (1992, 10 mins, Super-8/Video)
"This one's sure to impress the Goths in the audience.overall it seems Bakaitis is good with rock video moodiness..." - Film Threat USA.

Feature and Short Film / Documentary:

Narcosys (2000, 85 mins, Video)
"Combines stomach churning violence with a highly distinctive, painstakingly realized visual aesthetic" - Beat Magazine.

	Narcosys

Midnight In Melbourne (2002, 40 mins, Video)
"This, the first documentary of its kind, traces Drum and Bass down-under's history, giving an informative insight" - IDJ Magazine UK.

Elementz (2004, 30 mins, Video)
Documentary on DJs touring Australia.

Missy Higgins - You Tell Me Yours I’ll Tell You Mine (2006, 70 mins, Video)
Editor

The Black Sorrows - 4 Days in Sing Sing (2009, 70 mins, Video)
DOP/Co-Editor

The Hellfire Club (2010, 30 mins, Video)
Director.

The Last Days Of Joe Blow (2012, 85 mins, Video)
Associate Producer/Editor.

An Evening with Mark Chopper Read (2013, 70 mins, Video)

Why Do People Hate Us? (2016, 11 mins, Video)

Cult Girls (2019, 85 mins, Video)

Awards:

Narcosys
"Best Film" - Melbourne Underground Film Festival, Australia 2000.
"Best Gratuitous Use Of Violence"- Melbourne Underground Film Festival, Australia 2000.
Screened at Lausanne Underground Film Festival- Switzerland 2001.

Why Do People Hate Us?
”Best Director" , ”Best Documentary" - The Setting Sun Short Film Festival (2016)
Official selection - St Kilda Film Festival, Punkfilmfest Berlin, Revelation Perth International Film Festival.

Cult Girls
”Best Director” - First Hermetic International Film Festival, Italy (2020)
Official selection - Monster Fest (2019)

SELECT BIBLIOGRAPHY:

"Mark sees a future shock" by Adam Zwar, Herald Sun. July 23, 2000.

"On your mark" by Ramon Laboto, Melbourne Tribe, Aug14-20, 2000.

"The Inaugural MUFF" Beat Magazine Issue 715, July 19, 2000.

"Swines Before Pearls"; MUFF Directors by Steve Proposch, SainUnlimited Aug 2000.

"When Guerrilla Filmakers Attack" by Rebecca Sutherland, Large Magazine June 2001.

Cult Girls, Mark Bakaitis interview, Glenn Cochrane, STACK Magazine JB, 2019.

Mark Bakaitis on IMDb

Mark Bakaitis on Vimeo

Contact Mark Bakaitis

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