FALLEN TEXAS STAR

Mark Sawyer
(1966 - 2010)

Recently, filmmaker and longtime SWAMP supporter Mark Sawyer passed away at his home in Mexia, Texas. Originally from Houston, Mark found support and mentoring at SWAMP as an up and coming young filmmaker. His films were included on THE TERRITORY, our Texas PBS broadcast series. Ed Hugetz, founding director of SWAMP, had this to say about Mark:

"I met Mark in the mid-80s when he was 16 and I was 40. I was a professor of film at UH-Clear Lake across the street from the suburban neighborhood where Mark and his family were living at the time. The first film he showed was "Dawn of Terror". The film was way beyond what you would expect from a 16 year old. The simple premise of the film was, what if that stuffed animal on your bedroom floor suddenly jumped at you. At the time, I was going around the state promoting Super 8 film as a low cost medium for independent makers to practice the art of film. Mark had used every bit of Super 8's capabilities to make a truly terrifying film. It was especially so because everything seemed so middle class, the bedroom, the house, Mark, himself, and the Sesame Street doll. I was surprised and delighted and so were my colleagues at SWAMP, Marian Luntz and Tom Sims." ~ Ed Hugetz

Mark's sister Kris Rhodes and his family have requested that Mark's memory be honored through contributions to SWAMP. Here is what she had to say:

"Mark held SWAMP near and dear to his heart. Filmmaking was a passion of his and SWAMP was such an integral part of his journey. As his family, we so greatly appreciate your investment in Mark and his projects. For allowing him to create." ~ Kris Rhodes

SWAMP would like to express our deepest sympathy to Mark's family during this difficult time. We sincerely thank them for providing SWAMP with this opportunity to raise funds to support our on-going programs. We believe Mark would be pleased to know that the funds raised in his memory will go towards helping future filmmakers on their own creative journeys. To read more about Mark and to make a tax-deductible donation to SWAMP in Mark's memory, please follow this link: http://www.swamp.org/mark.html