Today we’d like to introduce you to Martez Cornelius.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Martez. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
Well growing up in Detroit, I wanted to be a star, an actor to be exact. I fell in love with black cinema and all it had to offer, I just knew I could relate and I loved that feeling. I moved to Phoenix when I was 16 to stay out of trouble. In mid years of high school I picked a camera and started doing photography to learn the camera so I could eventually start doing videos. I started a production business while in college and decided to make a leap to doing film. I knew very little about developing a video from start to finish, but I was determined to learn. So one day in called in sick to work & I sat in front of the computer for 13 hours trying to learn about filmmaking and editing. I learned just enough to make a basic video and it all started there. My business begun to gain popularity and business started become steady so I quit my job 4 months later and decided to make my business my full time. I was doing all type of videos and photography for models, creatives, real estate , celebrity Work, and events etc. A year and a half in I begin to make my short films & controversial social experiments on the experience of being black in America; in which begin to create even more buzz. I always knew I’d put myself in position to make an impact on the culture and make things we can relate to on educational level. I’ve always wanted to represent people of color in positive way, and rebuttal against the way we are viewed AS HUMANS. There after making short films on, I’ve now ventured off to make full feature length films of black cinema. Being an Indie Filmmaker is challenging, but I’m willing lay it all out to express myself and my work in an Unapologetically Black way.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc. – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
It definitely hasn’t been a smooth road. But being an entrepreneur you learn to love the grind and everything that comes with it. Busting your Tail to get somewhere and get rewarded at the end of all the adversity is the greatest feeling in the world. Three minutes after I quit my job, I sat in the parking lot and stared at park cars and thought to myself, “What the hell did I just do?” I only had $50 in my account, I had one last check coming that would last me till the end of the month, so what am I going to do? I went home and created a business plan, a plan of action, a profit board, a manifestation board, and that weekend I made $ 1500. At that moment, I knew I made the right decision for my life. When you realize that you’re doing something that you dreamed of doing as a child , something in you makes you go harder.
Please tell us more about your work, what you are currently focused on and most proud of.
I am a Director, Filmmaker, Film Producer, Editor, and Screen Writer… I do it all! I am known mainly from my cinematography and short films around Az. My idol has always been Spike Lee, so in any film I make, it will always have subliminals and educational gems for the culture in everything that I do.
If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
I just wish I’d known earlier that my passion would be behind the camera instead of in front of it. I feel like I would of attacked and learned so much more ahead of time. Other than that, I feel like the universe works in interesting ways.
Contact Info:
- Phone: 6029197848
- Email: Mcpandvisions@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/directedbymcp?igshid=oyabvq5ocrcm
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