Mark Kirkland
Mark Kirkland
A Letter From Home
Three-time Emmy award-winning writer/director Mark Kirkland holds the record for directing the most episodes of the hit TV show The Simpsons. During his twenty consecutive years with the show, he directed 65 episodes. At the age of 13 Kirkland began making films with a super 8 camera. Along with his father, noted photographer and filmmaker Douglas Kirkland, and stepmother, the three created “making of” films on location with major film companies. This exposure to Hollywood film productions intensified Kirkland’s desire to seek a career in the entertainment industry.
Kirkland received a four-year BFA degree from California Institute of the Arts, in the now famous animation curriculum. He studied animation under mentor Jules Engel, also serving as his assistant, and studied storytelling and staging under renowned director Alexander Mackendrick. After years of animation storytelling, A Letter From Home is a departure for Kirkland, he says, “Because I felt this particular story would work better in live action.” With a deep interest in cinema history, Kirkland was able to utilize his growing collection of antique movie cameras and lenses for the production, lending authenticity to the film’s WWII setting.
