Mark Harris

 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 

From comedy, music, filmmaking and much more...Ruben likes to have his hand in many hats. He goes by Baby horchata in the stand up comedy scene as he uses everyday life for his sets. But with that he uses life in his film making as well. From the struggles to overcoming. He owns his own Film company called Starpower Film Company that’s based in central Illinois with parter Rapper/Actor Mario canon (which you may know from tv show Fox’s Empire). His drive for giving those opportunities that never had them is what pushes him as he was once a central Illinois entertainer having to travel 3 plus hours for auditions, events and shoots. “Giving the blessings of people’s first speaking roles or first time on set is so amazing, we will continue to keep people busy as we are signed with Vault309 studios for 6 short films and 2 features”

IG: babyhorchataelcomediante