The Media Lounge Entertainment

 Filmmaker Mark Harris never set out to make movies. But from an  early age he knew two things for sure: he wanted to be his own  boss and he loved to write. Now, with over 20 film projects  distributed worldwide, this self-taught mogul in the making is  just getting started leaving his mark on the entertainment  industry…..his way.  

Mark grew up in Englewood on Chicago’s Southside. Like many youth from his neighborhood, sports was a positive outlet in an  environment that was filled with loving families, and riddled with  drugs, gangs and violence. Harris would eventually earn a football  scholarship to the University of Wisconsin River Falls and study  English. Then in late 1992, already being a lifelong lover of  films, Harris experienced Spike Lee’s iconic “Malcolm X”, and would  never be the same.  
Soon thereafter, he returned to his hometown and after working a  few stints at various jobs, he landed a position as a sales rep at  a popular furniture store where, unbeknownst to him, he would meet  the first serious supporters of his film career.

In 1997, Mark decided to try his hand at writing a screenplay of  his own. Fiercely independent with a “do for self” motto, he  studied as many books on the art form as possible then got started.  He wrote over 10 screenplays before finally pitching a project  entitled “Zombies in the Hood” to various studios, including ActorProducer Tim Reid’s New Millennium Studios. This eventually led  to a number of industry insider introductions, mentorship and an  opportunity to write spec scripts.
Then in 2005, after writing several spec scripts and waiting for one of them to be produced, Harris realized “if I want to see my  work done, I’m going to have to make the film myself”.  He was known among his furniture store colleagues to talk nonstop  about his love of movies. So when he announced that he was going  to make his first film, “Why Men Cheat”, and finance it with his  own salary, within the week two co-workers handed over $2,000 in  cash to invest in the film. With that push, his production company, 1555filmworks, was born. Since then, in addition to producing films, Mark has created an  online marketing company, Black Films Rock LLC, and in 2010, cofounded the Englewood International Film Festival to bring a  celebration of film and positive entertainment to the community  that raised him. In May 2021, Harris partnered with Vertical Entertainment to  release “White People Money”. The film, starring Drew Sidora  (RHOA, Step Up, The TLC Story) and Barton Fitzpatrick (The Chi,  Bronzeville), enjoyed a limited theatrical release in nearly 40  theatres across the U.S. Several of Mark’s works are also  available on Netflix, Amazon Prime and several other streaming  platforms  

"Ellakisha O'Kelley is the Principal Attorney of E. O'Kelley Sports, Entertainment & Business Law Firm, LLC (ESEB Law), and empowerment speaker who is an advocate and activist for social change, economic inclusion, and ownership. She is widely regarded as an empowerment attorney serving the vulnerable and targeted communities within the sports, entertainment and business industries nationwide. She empowers her clientele by fostering knowledge through contract representation, intellectual property protection, and small business compliance. She is a new best-selling author of a book titled, Code v. Code- The Street Code Versus The Legal Code: Rethinking Your Business Transactions that is available in hardcopy, ebook and audiobook on Barnes and Nobles, Amazon, Audible, and iTunes respectively. This book is an empowerment guide that's written in laymen's terms to help enlightened athletes, entertainers, and small business owners in the areas of copyright law, trademark law, rights of publicity, and contracts. She is also the host of Seek ELLAvation with Ellakisha 'empowercast.' A podcast that just launched on Audible and can also be listened to on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Podchaser, Podcast Addict, and more. She uses this platform to extend her reach in empowering minds and inspiring lives from a legal, professional, and personal perspective.

You can connect with her on FB or IG @ESEBLAWFIRM, LinkedIn @EllaOkelleyEsq. Visit her website www.eseblawfirm.com, to find everything she has going on in one central location."