{{Short description|British filmmaker}} {{Infobox person | name = Mark Atkin | image = Mark Atkin.jpg | alt = | caption = Atkin in 2014 | birth_name = | birth_date = <!-- {{Birth-date and age|Month X, XXX}} --> | birth_place = | death_date = <!-- {{Death date and age|YYYY|MM|DD|YYYY|MM|DD}} or {{Death-date and age|Month DD, YYYY|Month DD, YYYY}} (death date then birth date) --> | death_place = | nationality = | other_names = | occupation = {{ubl|Director, Crossover}} | known_for = ''The Big Melt''<br>''From the Sea to the Land Beyond'' }} {{Update|date=August 2025|reason=Most sources rely on information from 2015}}
'''Mark Atkin''' is a British filmmaker. As of 2015, he is a director at Crossover Labs, where he has directed and produced various films including ''The Big Melt and From the Sea to the Land Beyond.''<ref>[http://www.broadcastnow.co.uk/news/bbc4-reveals-storyville-slate/5091034.article "BBC4 reveals Storyville slate"]. ''Broadcast Now'', 29 July 2015 | By Hannah Gannagé-Stewart</ref><ref>"Film Review: 'The Show of Shows'". ''Variety'', Sept. 21, 2015 Jay Weissberg</ref><ref>[http://www.documentary.org/online-feature/danish-dox-copenhagen-fest-makes-its-mark-nonfiction-november "Danish Dox: Copenhagen Fest Makes its Mark in Nonfiction November"]. ''Documentary Magazine'', By Cynthia Close</ref> As of 2015, he has worked with Sheffield Doc/Fest since 2008, producing documentaries such as ''Digging for Grandad's Gold'' and ''From the Sea to the Land Beyond,'' which was the subject of a TEDx talk he presented.
== Career ==
From 1998 to 2008, Atkin was a commissioning editor for TV and online at Australia's Special Broadcasting Service (SBS), where his work included ''Taxi to the Dark Side'' and ''Waltz with Bashir.''<ref name="letter">Carol Nahra, [http://realscreen.com/2008/12/15/letterlondon02-20081215/ Letter From London: Mark Atkin Crosses Over], realscreen.com, 15 December 2008, retrieved 21 January 2014</ref> At SBS, he was also responsible for securing broadcast rights to early seasons of ''South Park''.<ref>[https://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/we-just-got-it-the-story-behind-south-park-and-sbs/bvhh1aiwu ""We just got it": The story behind South Park and SBS "], ''SBS Australia'', Maddie Palmer. 9 February 2017 </ref> In 2006, he attended the MeetMarket at Sheffield Doc/Fest as a buyer.<ref>Brian Brooks, [http://www.indiewire.com/article/paul_weller_into_tomorrow_opens_13th_sheffield_docfest "Paul Weller: Into Tomorrow" Opens 13th Sheffield Docfest], indiewire.com, October 2006, retrieved 20 January 2014</ref> In November 2008, he left SBS and began work at MeetMarket as producer and executive producer for three different documentaries.<ref name="letter" /> One of these was ''Digging for Grandad's Gold'', in which Atkin journeys to Poland in search of valuables that his Jewish grandfather buried on the family property in 1939 before fleeing from the German invasion.<ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2010/aug/15/simon-amstell-grandmas-house-rebecca-front "Grandma's House; True Stories: Digging for Grandad's Gold; Who Knows Best: Getting a Job "], ''The Guardian'', Euan Ferguson. 15 August 2010</ref> While in Sheffield, Atkin also collaborated with Doc/Fest's director Heather Croall and Frank Boyd of Unexpected Media to create the film production company Crossover.<ref name="letter" />
As of 2013, Atkins is a marketplace consultant for the Australian International Documentary Conference, organising the international co-production market. As of 2015, he is the head of the Documentary Campus Masterschool and presents courses there. He ran workshops at Sheffield Doc/Fest in 2012 and 2013.<ref name="ExposedWhatsUp">Laura Davies, ‘What’s Up, Doc’, ‘’Exposed magazine’’, 1 June 2013</ref><ref>[https://www.independent.co.uk/student/shu/sheffield-is-fertile-soil-for-aspiring-filmmakers-10339035.html "Sheffield is fertile soil for aspiring filmmakers"]. ''The Independent'', 24 June 2015.</ref> After co-producing ''From the Sea to the Land Beyond'', Atkin spoke about the project at in a TED talk at TEDxSheffield in 2012.<ref>{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0gtuZXdijr4&ab_channel=TEDxTalks |title=From the Sea to the Land Beyond |date=6 July 2012 |last=Atkin |first=Mark |type=Video |language=en-GB |publisher=TEDx Talks |place=Sheffield |via=YouTube}}</ref>
In 2013 Atkin co-developed Animal Planet's ''Walking the Nile'' for Channel 4 in his role as multiplatform commissioning editor.<ref>Kelly Anderson, [http://realscreen.com/2013/12/20/animal-planet-comes-on-board-walking-the-nile/ Animal Planet comes on board “Walking the Nile"], realscreen.com, 20 December 2013, retrieved 17 January 2014</ref> In 2015 Atkin was the acting director of the Sheffield Doc/Fest, and in 2015 and 2016 he curated the virtual reality section of the festival.<ref>[http://www.screendaily.com/features/doc/fest-vr-projects-highlight-migrant-crisis/5104782.article "Doc/Fest: VR projects highlight migrant crisis"]. ''Screen Daily'', 13 June 2016 | By Tom Grater</ref><ref>[http://realscreen.com/2016/06/13/sheffield-16-inside-the-alternate-realities-summit/ " Sheffield ’16: Inside the Alternate Realities Summit"]. ''RealScreen'', By Manori Ravindran, June 13, 2016</ref><ref>[http://www.screendaily.com/festivals/sheffield-doc/fest-boss-sets-out-vision/5096482.article "Sheffield Doc/Fest boss sets out vision"]. ''Screen Daily'', 5 November 2015 | By Chris Curtis</ref>
== References ==
{{Reflist}}
== External links ==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20140102181950/http://crossoverlabs.org/ Crossover official website] * [http://www.sheffdocfest.com/ Sheffield Doc/Fest official website] * [http://tedxsheffield.com/2012/mark-atkin Mark Atkin], Profile at tedxsheffield.com]
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Atkin, Mark}} Category:British documentary film producers Category:Year of birth missing (living people) Category:Living people