Mark D. Rose was born in Corvallis, Oregon to a logging family seasoned in the outdoors. At an early age, he and his family moved to Alaska, where he was raised near Juneau. Immersing himself in that challenging environment, he early took up aviation, focusing his career in that direction for the next decades, eventually thrown into the construction of the Alaska Pipeline as a helicopter fleet manager, tasked with building out the mountain network vital to the project. Rose worked and flew in those extremes which pushed him and his colleagues to the edge on many occasions, teaching life lessons that only Alaska and the mountains can.

Mark was always fascinated with photography, attested by the photo albums he collected based on the experiences he witnessed and documented along the way. Eventually earning multiple patents in wireless, Mark moved from high-tech to writing and now to now to film, seeing that the current generation would rather watch than reading, so here I am!

Film Director – Mark Rose

Hi, Mark! Thank you for granting this interview and sincere congratulations on your Outstanding Journey as a Filmmaker.

Thank you kindly. We Alaskans have a special place in our hearts for Russia and its brave people.

1. Please tell us what inspired you to enter into the world of films?

After writing several books and the most popular being “Last of the Long Hunters”, and inquiring about making a doc about those true-life experience’s, I thought, “what the heck, why not try this” so I checked with a couple of respected filmmakers and decided to try it.

Alaska Long Hunters Movie Poster

2. Filmmaking is a laborious job, so what keeps you motivated?

I was just a bystander and watched the pros do most of the job, me assisting with detail and my vision.

3. What advice would you like to give to aspiring filmmakers?

In my case, limited to this documentary story I lived, be prepared to revisit and publicize your past, both good and bad. It was the same writing my book – editing was hard to relive sometimes, in film it just never ends. All in all it was worth it, as I believe this story should be told for humankind at this moment in history; to show and remind people that God is real and cares.

4. Do you think directing a film is the toughest job while making a movie?

I had a lot of help on that measure.

5. How important role editing plays while making a film?

I came into this role as me and the initial director had a falling out, so I jumped in and fixed what I wanted.

6. Do you agree many filmmakers fail to understand the importance of editing?

Boy, as a self-made editor it was vital to me, to express my knowledge of the actual experience. Before I answer the next question, the segment where we added the Bible verses into the background was special to us, and I believe why God has given us the fantastic success, honouring what the Word of God states for all to experience.

7. Were there any funny anecdotes from your filmmaking process?

Yes, a number, and glad you asked that question; in the scene where we depicted dropping the survival suit to Mick on the ground, the day started as a smooth and beautiful evening to fly out the set where the camera was setup. About ½ way there, I got into strange turbulence, like something was grabbing me by the tail and tossing me around. I looked at the passenger and he looked at me, like – “what was that?” Then it happened and second time.. I’ve been flying for 50 years and never experienced anything like it..as I was checking the controls and looking around, I looked to my left and there was an angry line of black thunderstorms, lightning striking in them and heading right for the set! I looking at the timing I thought “I think we have time to make the drop and get out.” We were supposed to land, but I scrapped that! When we did make the drop, the $500 suit never made it to the ground, rather the wind caught it and it went into the river! Never saw it again. At that failure, I threw the power to it and we dashed back to the field, landing just as the storm hit! That was a close one!

On the brighter side, we wanted to get some air to air shots in the beautiful Alaska fall time, and flying into a far off canyon a rainbow formed around me and seemed to follow us for 30 miles, this was an emotional moment for me, feeling like God was blessing us. Now after, I can testify He has..!

8. How do you think the industry is changing?

I am not the one to answer that.. To effect “change” from my point of view as a faith-based filmmaker, I feel we have the responsibility to provide positive and healthy content versus what is out there and coming to screens every day.

9. What were the challenges of making this film?

As I mentioned, I had a philosophical difference with the first director. We were just way off base. But along the way in shooting, I got a call from him one evening to my room, he sounding very emotional, as he just received a call from home notifying him that his best friend had perished in a tragic “flying vacation” accident, this in an acrobatic aircraft with an instructor. At this, we broke off the shooting, but I will say one thing, his attitude about flying safety radically changed after that, the effect also being allowing me to get involved with the airborne cinematography more extensively after the accident.

10. What’s next for you? What are you working on at the moment?

My next work is updating Alaska Long Hunters adding a helicopter scene (depicting and an actual crash and rescue) and maybe more acting, calling it Alaska Rescue Story www.alaskarescuestory.com I am currently shooting B roll for that one now.

Thank you for your time Dear Mark Rose.

Thank you and God Bless!
Alaska Long Hunters Overview

This award-winning story follows the life of a young pilot who flew in Alaska’s frontier arctic. Experience the front-seat thrills of bush planes and helicopters operating in the most dangerous conditions on earth, airborne among the magnificent mountains, glaciers and rivers that only Alaska has to offer. Includes true-life experiences of accidents, comradeship, humor and heartbreak of life in early Alaska, gone forever when dismantled into parks in the 1980’s. Based on the book Last of the Long Hunters by Mark Rose, the scene opens with an early history of the Great Land and those that lived in it through interviews with several life-long Alaskans, including Hilda Lidner, Ray Atkins and Gale Ranney to name a few. Leading up to the introduction of the authors use of a new tool of transport – the single engine airplane, but not without extracting a terrible price. Experience what it was like to growing up among the dangerous game, hunting the massive caribou herds and absorbing the greatness of the county. Pilots will gain from the flying experiences related, and every boy, man and aviator will be compelled to grapple with its final truth, concluding with a crisis encounter that forever changed the pilot’s life forever. Filmed on Location in Alaska. Premiered Spring 2020.

Trailer Alaska Long Hunters
Mark Rose – Director Statement

Mark D. Rose is a new Director to the industry, writing from a non-fiction standpoint yet crafting a life story that’s catches the attention. This his first film (he as “Assistant to the Director”), Rose found himself picking up the work from a seasoned professional as a hands-on Producer, brought his first project home – about Alaska. **Alert** Rose just signed a pre-production agreement to take his first film, Alaska Long Hunters, on to a full-length feature project, coming in 2022!

Connecting with Mark Rose

https://www.longhunters.org/

https://www.facebook.com/genesisalivehangout

alaska long hunters
director
mark rose
moscow russia international film festival
MRIFF
official selection
producer
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