Viking ancestry has left its mark on Swedish filmmaker Marcus
Ingemann: A love for the sea, a longing for warm winters and a sense of
adventure. Long, curly blonde hair, a strong jaw line and cunning blue eyes are
also telltale signs of his Viking heritage. Where better to live the life of a
Viking pirate than in the Caribbean and then share it with the world?
Born and raised in Malmoe, Sweden. Marcus was always on the
look out for adventure. His love for the sea was nurtured at an early age. He
began racing Optimist Class at the age of eight. By fifteen he was racing
Lasers. He was an avid racer until the age of nineteen. Also, at the age of
fifteen Marcus began Martial Arts training. He trained avidly for eight years,
earning a 1st degree black belt for his effort.
At the age of nineteen Marcus began a new undertaking
involving his strong enthusiasm for writing: writing a self-help book entitled
‘The Power of Mind Mapping’. He also developed his own web site: www.fortunewell.com and offered his book
for free. The Power of Mind Mapping enjoyed success with over 1O,OOO documented
downloads from the site.
“I wrote the book not only to help myself but to help
others. I’ll always been highly interested in psychology. I spent years
studying psychology on my personal time. Also, I was really inspired by motivational
speaker Anthony Robbins.”
Around the same time Marcus also began attending school to
become an Air Traffic Controller {ATC}. After September 11th, 2OO1
air traffic controllers were not in high demand. Despite Sweden’s best efforts
to keep schooling open, in 2OO3 Sweden gave Marcus a year of leave. Still
hungry to explore the world Marcus set off for a year in Australia.
“Why Australia? It was a life long dream. I wrote an essay
on Australia when I was eight. Something about it always fascinated me. I had
to go.”
While in Australia, Marcus worked on a sailboat doing three
day charters around the Whitsunday Islands. His position on the boat was
deckhand and host. His duties included cleaning and cooking for the guests. He
also spent time being a door-to-door salesman, offering educational programs
for children, working in a café as a barista and celebrating his 25th
birthday.
In 2OO4 Marcus returned to Sweden to continue with Air
Traffic Controlling. While continuing with ATC, Marcus revamped his book – The
Power Of Mind Mapping and released it through an on demand publishing company.
The revised edition enjoyed moderate success and generated enough money to pay
off several bank loans.
In 2OO6 Marcus set off on another adventure, choosing China
as his destination. Marcus spent five weeks back-packing through China. He visited
places such as Beijing, Shanghi and Shaolin – the birth place of Kung Fu.
In 2OO7 Marcus called it quits with ATC, no longer able to
handle the tedium of the job.
“Air Traffic Controlling was just boring me to death. I knew
I wasn’t cut out to do ATC as a life long career. What I really wanted was
something that involved my love of writing, film and graphic design. I took a
couple courses in university but I wasn’t happy with them. I set out to learn
as much as I could on my own over the years and I’ve kept up with the latest inovations
in the industry. Working as an ATC was just to pay the bills.”
Still on the look out for great adventure, Marcus walked
away from everything he knew and set his sights on St. Maarten from a
recommendation from a friend. He arrived in Sint Maarten just before Christmas
2OO7. When he arrived the island bug bit him. He loved the island; the weather,
the people and the laid back atmosphere.
“A good friend of mind told me about Sint Maarten. He
couldn’t stop talking about how great the island was. It had a touch of
European culture and a fantastic life style. I had to see this for myself.”
He set up camp at local crew house. The crew house and
adjoining bar gave Marcus access to people from all walks of life and plenty of
information about St. Maarten.
“It was great. I met all kinds of people and learned where
to go and what to do and what not to do on the island.”
It was through his new connections that Marcus landed his
first job on the island working as a tour guide for personal watercraft
company.
“I loved being a tour guide. I was out on the water all day.
I got to see some of the best snorkel spots and to meet new people every day. I
was seeing the island in a way that only made me love it more.”
The job as a tour guide generated enough money for Marcus to
buy a sailboat. The boat he purchased was a 29ft racing sailboat. After owning
the boat for six months Marcus moved on board permanently.
“I moved aboard because it was just more convenient. It was
cheaper – no rent – and I was working on the boat, making it ready to go island
hopping. I had a small dinghy that was enough to get me to and from shore.”
Marcus worked as a tour guide for nearly a year then landed
a job with salvage company doing surface support and diving.
“It was a lot of hard work, but I learned a lot of cool
stuff while working there.”
After working for the salvage company, Marcus found a job
doing what he loved best: graphic design.
“It’s just something that I keep coming back to. I’ve been
doing it for the last 18 months and really enjoyed the challenges of the job.”
In October 2OO9, fueled by his undying passion for the
graphic arts, Marcus got the idea to make a documentary about Sint Maarten/St
Martin, wanting to show people why he’d fallen in love with the island. He
began the undertaking of being a one-man production and film crew.
“Why make a documentary? I wanted to show people the island
and why I love it so much. Spending time as a tour guide made me appreciate how
little people actually knew of the island. I wanted to change that. Plus it was
a great reason to continue doing the things I loved best: Writing, graphic
design and film.”
In late August of 2O1O calamity struck. Hurricane Earl
barreled its way across Sint Maarten leaving a trail of destruction in its
wake. While riding out the storm at a friend’s house, Marcus received news that
his boat had sustained catastrophic damage. The mast had been shattered into
three pieces and the deck had sustained major damage, including several large
holes. Production on his documentary ground to a halt while Marcus dealt with
the crippled sailboat. Production was only stopped for a short time and Marcus
collected himself and continued making his documentary. Despite the fury of the
storm, Marcus still could see the beauty of the island.
In February of 2O11 – nearly eighteen months after its
conception and with help from friends, Marcus completed the documentary. The
thirty minute documentary showcases the cultural and culinary diversity,
activities and beautiful beaches of Sint Maarten/St. Martin. Under the
production company name of Pinpoint Paradise, The Best Of SXM was ready for
release. Marcus tested the waters of the tourism market and released the
documentary, for purchase as a download, on www.pinpointparadise.com/sxm. The
downloadable version sold several copies with 24 hours.
Now ready for an official release, Marcus has partnered with
Pineapple Pete’s and The Alley Nightclub for a release party. This Friday, May
6th is the official launch party for Pinpoint Paradise – The Best Of
SXM. The event will be held in the Ultra Lounge, located dockside behind The
Alley Nightclub. The documentary will be showcased several times through out
the evening and Marcus will be on hand to meet people and answer any questions.
Also, the documentary will be made available on DVD for purchase. The release
party begins at 5pm and will be open to the public. The first viewing will be
at 6pm.
For any additional information regarding the event, please
feel free to contact Tattoo at: 522.75O7 or check out the event listed on
Facebook.
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