Thanks to you, Mark, I am still making movies at 70. Thanks to your enthusiastic support and interest I did well in the first RGLA program (religion, language, arts & film) - B.A. 2006. I will never forget you! Dyane Lynch
Mark was by far the best Film Studies professor I had at UBC. When you walk into a room packed of students eager to learn about silent film (some even fighting to get a seat), you know it must be because of an exceptional professor. The knowledge I got from his classes made me realize that no matter how much you are interested in a subject (and I wasn't interested in silent film at all before his class), if you have an outstanding professor, you will learn and have fun while doing it. I will forever cherish our conversations during the breaks and after class and all the incredible knowledge he shared with his students. I will never forget Mark.
As another Vancouver International Film Festival unfolds this year, I miss our friend Mark. He was my Go To Guy for recommendations about what to see across decades of festivals. I still remember the expression on his face as he told me I had to see Tony Gatlif's Latcho Drom back in 1993 -- he was totally enamored with that wonderful flick. Mark was a wonderful human being, one I always looked forward to seeing annually in dark movie houses across the city with his big smile and enthusiastic dialogue about what was cool that year. I miss him.