Mars Verrone is an Emmy-nominated filmmaker, musician, and educator from Los Angeles, CA, currently based in Brooklyn, NY. Most recently, Mars directed, produced, edited and composed original music for their short documentary, BUCKSKIN, about their grandfather Carroll B. Williams, a ground-breaking African-American forester. They also produced feature documentary, WHO MOVES AMERICA (dir. Yael Bridge), which was funded by ITVS. Both films premiered at the True/False Film Fest 2026. As a first-time producer, Mars produced Emmy-nominated and Oscar-shortlisted feature documentary UNION, (dir. Stephen Maing, Brett Story) which premiered at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival in the U.S. Documentary Competition and won a special jury prize for “The Art of Change.” The film was distributed by PBS POV and the Criterion Channel. Mars received a Cinema Eye Honors Award for “Outstanding Achievement in Production.” In 2026, UNION was nominated for the “Best Documentary” Emmy. In 2022, Mars directed, produced, and edited short documentary GOLDEN VOICE, which continues to be programmed at LGBTQ+ festivals and events across the globe. Mars is a Sundance Documentary Producers Fellow, NBC Original Voices Artist Mentor and Fellow, PGA Create Fellow, Firelight Media Impact Fellow, Brown Girls Doc Mafia Sustainable Artist Fellow, Dear Producer Mentee, and was selected for DOC NYC’S 2024 “40 Under 40” cohort. Their work has been supported by Sundance Institute, Ford Foundation, Field of Vision, and the International Documentary Association, among others.