Mark Ezra Stokes

Mark Ezra Stokes has two passions in life: education and social improvement, and his career path reflects them both.With an M.A. in Screenwriting and Film Studies and an M.F.A. in Screenwriting, both from Hollins University, he has extensive experience as a professor of screenwriting, film studies and stage drama at multiple colleges and universities. Additionally, he has taught elementary-aged special education students with severe-to-profound disabilities, learning advanced behavior management and educational techniques in the process.Mark is also the founder and coordinator of Savannah Filmmakers, a democratic body of well-connected members of the Savannah, Georgia film community. Through steady online and in-person interactivity, the organization serves as an information hub for its members, and it provides enrichment and social activities for local film community growth.After shooting a documentary in Ethiopia in 2010, Mark returned to the U.S. to establish Sustaining Hope, a 501c3 nonprofit organization dedicated to meeting the life-threatening needs in developing countries through providing a thriving network of socially-conscious entities. Their current project is the complete elimination of the Gojo Sefer slums of Ethiopia, and the relocation and eventual self-sustenance of its residents.Whenever he writes, produces or directs documentary or narrative projects, Mark continues to seek out stories that both educate and raise social consciousness. This dedication is sprinkled throughout his other written pursuits, including his contributions as a film critic for Hollywood Jesus-a million-hit-per-day site devoted to catalyzing spiritual discussions about mainstream films. Mark is also an award-winning print journalist, and he has served as a writer, editor and script consultant in a variety of vocational sectors.He is the father of preschooler Ben, whose appreciation for the tenets of Aristotle's Poetics is uncanny, and he's married to filmmaker and creative nonfiction writer Kasey Ray-Stokes. Show less «