Franklin Martin
- For the Brazilian journalist Franklin de Sousa Martins, see Franklin Martins
Franklin Martin is an American documentary film director, producer, screenwriter and actor best known for his sport documentaries Walking on Dead Fish in (2008) and Long Shot: The Kevin Laue Story in 2012. Since 2005, he has founded and runs the production company Dutchmen Films based in Los Angeles.
Career
Martin studied in Hofstra University and was a four-year letterman on Hofstra's Division I basketball team wearing the 22 jersey and graduated from the university with a bachelor's degree. He continued at Tennessee State University where he additionally coached and graduated with a Master's Degree.[1]
Martin started his film career as an actor taking roles in a number of films and TV series under the name Frank Martin, notably in Above the Rim where he befriended Tupac Shakur.[1]
Starting 2005, he moved on to writing, producing and directing documentaries. He founded Dutchmen Films, his own production house. The name is a tribute to his alma mater, The Flying Dutchmen.
His debut film as director was Walking on Dead Fish[2][3] (full title Hurricane Season: Walking on Dead Fish) about the tiny town of LaPlace welcoming New Orleans residents in the wake of Hurricane Katrina and the huge changes when the town's East St. John football coach declared all positions open (even those held by ESJ seniors) which put their scholarship chances, for many, their only chance at a college education, in jeopardy. But rather than fight or turn bitter, these young men banded together in the face of tragedy to create a team.
He followed that up with Long Shot: The Kevin Laue Story, another sports documentary, this time about a one-handed basketball player Kevin Laue who aspired to become a college basketball player.[4]
He is producing an upcoming film Children Rise directed by Billy Raftery about the lives of two South African youths, Zulieka and Ariel, as they grow up from children to teenagers on the streets of Durham, South Africa. The documentary is in post-production. He is also directing Silent Artist: The Martin Ramirez Story about a homeless Mexican immigrant who was confined for several years in a mental institution and turns out to be a great artist. Other Dutchmen Films projects include Predator's Ball about Michael Milken, Back Nine about two young black kids who dream of playing golf, Lauren's Journey about fashion model Lauren Wasser and Ashes to Dust.
Filmography
Director
- 2008: Walking on Dead Fish (Documentary) - also writer
- 2012: Long Shot: The Kevin Laue Story (Documentary) - also writer
- 2013: The Martin Ramirez Story (Documentary) (pre-production)
Producer
- 2008: Walking on Dead Fish (Documentary)
- 2012: Long Shot: The Kevin Laue Story (Documentary)
- 2012: Children Rise (Documentary) (post-production)
Actor
- 1991: Haunted-ween as Farris
- 1994: Above the Rim as Bombers & Birdmen
- 1994: Hard Vice as Dave
- 2001: Peroxide Passion as Mormon Bob
- 2002: Ed (TV Series) as Pat Mahoffey
- 2004: El segundo as Matt
- Also brief roles in Law & Order, All My Children (1996), Guiding Light (2003), Law & Order: Criminal Intent (2004) and Kiss Me Again (2006)
References
- 1 2 Franklin Martin - On transitioning from sports to filmmaking, etc.
- ↑ Arash Markazi (November 10, 2013). "The Beat on SI's Vault". Sports Illustrated.
- ↑ Backseat productions: Variance Films Launches
- ↑ John Anderson (December 2, 2012). "Review of Long Shot: The Kevin Laue Story". Variety. Retrieved November 10, 2013.