Mark Polish - Episode 495

Steve Cooper talks with actor/writer/director Mark Polish. Mark broke onto the independent filmmaking scene at the Sundance Film Festival in 1999 with the premiere of his first film Twin Falls Idaho, an atmospheric and heartfelt tale of conjoined twins, which he co-wrote and starred in with his identical twin brother Michael Polish. His second film, Jackpot, received the John Cassavetes Best Independent Film Award at the 2001 Spirit Awards and the New American Cinema Award at the 2001 Seattle International Film Festival. His third film, Northfolk, premiered at the 2003 Sundance Film Festival and was hailed by Roger Ebert as “a masterpiece.” For Lovers Only, a black and white homage to the French New Wave, starred him and Stana Katic as regretful former lovers reunited in France by fate. The film was released on iTunes where it remained at number one for three weeks. His next film, Headlock, which he wrote, directed and stars alongside Dianna Agron, will premiere in 2016. Filmed on location in over 15 countries, the story centers on married intelligence traffickers battling nano-terrorism. He also co-wrote The Declaration of Independent Filmmaking, a practical guide to writing, shooting, editing, scoring and distributing films, published by Harcourt.