Mark Tapio Kines

Mark Tapio Kines (born 1970 in Danvers, Massachusetts, U.S.) is an American film director, writer, producer and owner of West Hollywood-based Cassava Films. Kines is perhaps best known for being the first filmmaker to employ crowdfunding to partially finance a film.

Kines grew up in Cupertino, California. In 1989, he began studying film and experimental animation at California Institute of the Arts and graduated in 1992 with a BFA in film, with emphasis in experimental animation. After graduating, Kines moved to Los Angeles and began working full-time as a graphic designer, including a four-year stint at Paramount Pictures in Hollywood where he worked as art director for the official Star Trek and Entertainment Tonight websites.

In 1996 Kines began writing what would become his first feature film, Foreign Correspondents. The film went into production in 1997, was released in 1999, and received distribution in 2001. The film was shot on 35mm and had a $500,000 budget.

The film stars Melanie Lynskey, Wil Wheaton, Corin Nemec and Yelena Danova and is split into two entirely separate stories, the first entitled "Dear Jenny" and the second "Love, Trevor."

After principal photography was completed, Kines and his producer did not have the money to finish the film. Kines then designed a website for the film, which raised over $125,000 in investments and donations during 1998. Kines was thus the first filmmaker in history to utilize crowdfunding to help finance a feature.

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