Photo by Colin Royal: Director and Writer Mark Anthony Green Introduces Film to a Packed Theater 

By Colin Royal, Editor-in-Chief 

What do you call a film that defies genre—a film that does not fit into a traditional box or category, a film that even the director refuses to classify? Some might call it confusing, others might call it complex, but its creator calls it “Opus”.

Morehouse alum Mark Anthony Green, Class of 2011, recently returned to Atlanta to premiere his film “Opus”. He debuted the film at Atlantic Station in front of two packed theaters filled with Morehouse students, alumni, fans and family.

Green relished the moment. He had spent six years working on the film, and he finally had the opportunity to present it. He spoke about how meaningful it was to bring his work back to where his journey began.

“It’s like all of our dreams, right?” Green said. “There’s showing the film to the world, then showing the film to people you really admire. 

“But then there really is like a homecoming aspect of taking something that you’ve made and bringing that back to Atlanta, bringing that back to Morehouse and seeing young people like yourself—that literally look exactly how we looked when I was in school 200 years ago and that feeling is it’s it’s tough to put into words how special that is.”

Green’s Praise for Morehouse

Green credits Morehouse and its faculty for playing a crucial role in his success. He explained how the institution gave him the tools to build himself up and, more importantly, introduced him to people willing to support his dreams.

“I know that I carry myself a certain way, and I speak a certain way and I dream a certain way because of how I was celebrated here,” Green said. “Outside of here, that does not exist. 

“So this place—this tiny school on top of this red clay hill—is really the most important thing, the most important decision that I have made.”

Even though Morehouse set him on a path to success, Green had to walk it himself. He had to learn how to channel his talent to pursue his dreams and reach the places he wanted to go. Morehouse may have opened doors, but his work ethic is what allowed him to make a place for himself and thrive.

“You dream of all the nice things and you dream of success and awards and all that, but make sure that it all starts and stops with the craft,” he said. “Tomorrow, I hopefully will be a better filmmaker than I was today, and, five years from now, I’ll be five times better of a filmmaker than I am today. And that’s the quest. That’s the goal.”

A Complicated Win

With success comes hardship. In Green’s case, he referred to this film as a complicated win. He missed out on important moments, spending time with loved ones and other opportunities. He invested everything into his craft, which allowed him to materialize his dreams, but it all came at a great cost. 

“It’s complicated because I wanted more so than anything on the planet to make this film, but then, along the way, you make so many sacrifices as a human in order to make the exact movie that I wanted to make,” Green said. 

“But then a night like last night where that is so overwhelmingly positive and so special to me, you know, and then you’re overwhelmed, you’re tired but then you’re so excited. I think this is the most complicated win I’ve ever felt.”

Complicated or not, the “Opus” premiere was a success. Current Morehouse students, future aspiring filmmakers and the next generation of artists got the chance to observe and learn from someone that walked in their shoes. 

Green served as an inspiration to his fellow Morehouse brothers, but he also represented hope. His journey proves that we all have the ability to build the futures that we want for ourselves. All we need to do is trust in our talents, allow our respective institutions to pour into us and work to transform our passions into our craft.