Mars Roberge
- Editor
- Producer
- Director
Mars Roberge is a Canadian-American dual-citizen filmmaker, born in Scarborough (borough of Toronto) and living in Los Angeles. A film production graduate of York University, Mars Roberge is a multi-award-winning director, producer, screenwriter and editor. U.K. press has called Mars a leading figure of the Hellawood film movement for underground filmmakers in Hollywood who create their art by any means necessary. Mars Roberge is responsible for launching a new film genre in 2016 which he calls "Rocktopia" and defines it as "an individual's struggle against the ideals of a Utopian society where the only freedom of escape is to rock out." When not making films, he moonlights as a successful underground disc jockey named "Die J! Mars" playing every major venue in Toronto, NYC and Los Angeles since the early nineties and runs a vinyl record label called World Domination Records. He has had exhibits of his work at ARS Gallery in Japan presented by Nakamura Keith Haring Gallery, Chashama Gallery (Harlem) and Sur Le Mur (Los Angeles).
After graduating in 1995, Mars found himself working in the music video boom-from being an editor at Black Walk Productions to being the original First Assistant Director for Jessy Terrero. It was during the 90s that Mars worked in every field of the film industry from commercials to features, from assisting art director Kenny Baird to working as a grip permittee for I.A.T.S.E. to cleaning up exploding model buildings under John Gajdecki at GVFX.
In the early 2000s, Mars moved to NYC and worked as a stylist for Patricia Field (Sex & the City) while pursuing the life of a mega dj (playing all the big clubs like Limelight, Webster Hall, etc.) and performing in various bands (Rise NYC, Tulips for Tina) as a guitarist, singer and programmer with releases on International Deejay Gigolos and Mogul Electro. While working for Patricia Field, Mars made his first feature film, a documentary about NYC's underground drag and art world called "The Little House That Could" which had a world premiere in 2013 at Frameline and won the 2015 Audience Choice Award for Best Film at NewFilmmakers Los Angeles.
Mars moved to Los Angeles in 2011 and directed two more feature films under his film company, World Domination Pictures: the punk comedy "Scumbag" which had a world premiere at International Film Festival Rotterdam in 2017 and the feel good dramedy "Mister Sister" which premiered as the official closing night film for Dances With Films in 2021. Mister Sister went on to win Best NYC Film in 2021 at Winter Film Awards International Film Festival where it was also the closing night film.
Also in 2021, Mars won We Make Movies "Make Your Feature" international pitch contest where they completely funded his latest microbudget feature that he shot in March 2022: a black and white drama called "Stars" adapted from a play written by Doron Braunshtein about a group of NYC homeless women, starring Rah Digga, Sophia Lamar and Debra Haden. The film will be having its world premiere as the official opening night film for Winter Film Awards International Film Festival on February 17th, 2023, where he will also be teaching a masterclass on microbudget filmmaking. Plus, Mars is in preproduction for another feature film he is writing and directing, produced by Freeway Rick Ross.
After graduating in 1995, Mars found himself working in the music video boom-from being an editor at Black Walk Productions to being the original First Assistant Director for Jessy Terrero. It was during the 90s that Mars worked in every field of the film industry from commercials to features, from assisting art director Kenny Baird to working as a grip permittee for I.A.T.S.E. to cleaning up exploding model buildings under John Gajdecki at GVFX.
In the early 2000s, Mars moved to NYC and worked as a stylist for Patricia Field (Sex & the City) while pursuing the life of a mega dj (playing all the big clubs like Limelight, Webster Hall, etc.) and performing in various bands (Rise NYC, Tulips for Tina) as a guitarist, singer and programmer with releases on International Deejay Gigolos and Mogul Electro. While working for Patricia Field, Mars made his first feature film, a documentary about NYC's underground drag and art world called "The Little House That Could" which had a world premiere in 2013 at Frameline and won the 2015 Audience Choice Award for Best Film at NewFilmmakers Los Angeles.
Mars moved to Los Angeles in 2011 and directed two more feature films under his film company, World Domination Pictures: the punk comedy "Scumbag" which had a world premiere at International Film Festival Rotterdam in 2017 and the feel good dramedy "Mister Sister" which premiered as the official closing night film for Dances With Films in 2021. Mister Sister went on to win Best NYC Film in 2021 at Winter Film Awards International Film Festival where it was also the closing night film.
Also in 2021, Mars won We Make Movies "Make Your Feature" international pitch contest where they completely funded his latest microbudget feature that he shot in March 2022: a black and white drama called "Stars" adapted from a play written by Doron Braunshtein about a group of NYC homeless women, starring Rah Digga, Sophia Lamar and Debra Haden. The film will be having its world premiere as the official opening night film for Winter Film Awards International Film Festival on February 17th, 2023, where he will also be teaching a masterclass on microbudget filmmaking. Plus, Mars is in preproduction for another feature film he is writing and directing, produced by Freeway Rick Ross.
