Help Raise Funds for a film with Mark Allan Davis

New Trailer #2 featuring the Closing Credit song "Covered with Thorns" music & lyrics

by David Shaw & Mark Allan Davis...

What we're trying to get help with.....

A message from the filmmaker, Ash Verwiel

This trailer anticipates the final product of a documentary currently in post-production, called “Before the After,” about the life and career of Mark Davis. Facing a horrible illness (Non-Systemic Vasculitic Peripheral Neuropathy) that took almost two years to diagnose, he persists and ascends in joy, taking back agency over his career, body, and life while chanting “Nam Myoho Renge Kyo” daily.

Through an extensive collection of archival footage and personal videos of his best friend, Stacey, we learn about Mark’s challenges and triumphs. His initial reason for documentation was to reach out to family and friends because as Covid lockdowns and mandates were easing, Mark’s illness continued to impact and emotionally isolate him. I then closely captured a chapter in his ‘before’ journey, with a profound faith that there will be an elated ‘after.’

What the funds will be used for:

If there’s any funding left, we’d love to use this towards getting Mark some assistance with his work, marketing costs, film festival submissions, other distribution fees, social media, etcetera.

Would you help us spread the word about Mark's courage & strength in confronting this strange & rare, debilitating neurological disease called Non-Specific Vasculitic Neuropathy

Thank you for sharing this page & trailer!

A message from Mark Allan Davis

As a creative, navigating this illness has presented many obstacles that have affected my capacity to work over the last few years. As I adjust to a new department and experience as an academic, I’ve had to recalibrate my focus to carry along the stress of this debilitating illness. From my years of experience in dance and theatre, I’ve shifted to developing curricula and pedagogy that not only intersect the aforementioned but also elevate what I’ve always been- that is, an accomplished writer, activist, historian, and a warrior for peace and equality in a society that wants to forget. 

At one point, I lost 60 pounds, and only in the last several months have I gained back 27 of those 60. Despite the myriad tests, MRIs, PET scans, CT scans, bloodletting, two joint replacement surgeries, a biopsy, and a brutal round of a treatment called IVIG (chemo-immuno therapy) in 2021 to a new regimen of a drug called Rituximab, which resulted in the loss of my eye-lashes and most of my body hair- I ultimately persist. Have to, right?

In Buddhism, there is a concept called “Shoten Zenjin,” which are considered universal forces in life and appear in various forms to protect the practitioners who embrace the Lotus Sutra. I am one of those practitioners, and the phenomenal amount of support I have received from my friends, my Buddhist community & family, has paved the path for me to be able to persist and fight. 

One such friend, James, has visited me almost every week and introduced me to two incredible young men who have unwaveringly supported me. One of them, Alex, is helping me write this and has assisted me in much of my writing because of the damage to my hands. The other has made it possible for me to produce this film- his name is Ash Verwiel, and he has understood the intricacies of my various struggles and triumphs that they have nurtured his creative vision so utterly that he has transcended his own enormous creative gifts. 

What I can offer you, in gratitude for your kindness, is to feature your name as a supporter in the end credits of this documentary film entitled “Before the After.” Your support instantaneously makes you a Shoten Zenjin, meaning that you are an immense and compassionate force in supporting my life and my heart, which, more than anything, I wish to share further with you and as many fellow humans as I possibly can during these very strange times, in which I strive to thrive! Thank you for reading this far- I’m honored and blessed that you gave this a read. 

A luta continua!

REMARKS from Mark's Neurologist, Dr. Brian Yurgionas:

'I first met Mark in October 2020 at a point when he had already been dealing with symptoms from neuropathy for approximately one year. Ultimately, after a very long diagnostic journey, including repeated electrical nerve testing, a spinal tap, and various biopsies, including one of his nerves, Mark was diagnosed with nonsystemic vasculitic peripheral neuropathy, which is a form of severe neuropathy causing intense pain and cramping, numbness, weakness, instability, weight loss, and a myriad of other symptoms. This condition profoundly affected Mark's physical functioning and has been an emotionally challenging condition to deal with, to say the least; that said, Mark has, throughout his battle with this condition, remained committed to improvement in whatever form that takes on a given day. This form of vasculitis is caused by inflammation in the blood vessels near nerves. Now that he is on highly powerful immunosuppressive medication, Mark is on the long road to recovery.'