Marcus Stokes is a director whose talent for innovative storytelling and amazing visuals is truly unique. After starting his directing career in commercials, Marcus developed his storytelling skills while working closely with industry mentors Tim Story and F. Gary Gray. In fact, his very first narrative film as writer/director, The Catalyst, was acquired by HBO and aired on their networks for two years.In addition to storytelling, Marcus also has an incredible visual style. He attributes this to his background as a visual effects artist at George Lucas’ Industrial Light and Magic, where he created photorealistic effects for several blockbuster films. This visual mastery is most evident in his latest VFX film, The Signal, starring Michael Ealy and Grace Phipps. Before Marcus’ life in the film industry, he worked in the field of Architectural design, in which he holds a Master’s degree from the University of California, Berkeley. He also spent three years working in rural Japan as a language instructor and translator for the Japanese Ministry of Education.Today, Marcus has joined forces with producer Cody Zwieg (The Lazarus Effect, The Hills Have Eyes). Together, they are working to bring Marcus’s latest original screenplay, a post-apocalyptic thriller entitled O2, to the big screen.