Mark Derewicz

Mark William Derewicz is an American writer living in Chapel Hill, NC. He worked closely with director Jason Arthurs on the documentary "Without a Fight," which premiered at the Full Frame Film Festival in 2012. In 2011, Arthurs and one other videographer traveled to Kibera, a large slum in Kenya, to document the success of a soccer league dedicated to bringing teenage members of often warring tribes onto the same teams. Arthurs returned to the United States with hours of interviews and footage, but he and producer Beth Ann Kutchma were not clear on a narrative. They called on Derewicz to work with Arthurs. Derewicz suggested focusing the narrative on two teenagers and their two coaches, each of whom had amazing stories to drive the narrative and show viewers what life is like in Kibera and what the power of sport means in a place like Kibera. Derewicz and Arthurs co-edited the documentary. Derewicz, a former journalist, works as director of research news at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine. He also writes freelance articles and profiles, including feature stories on novelist Daniel Wallace, National Baseball Hall of Fame journalist Peter Gammons, writer Bland Simpson, and preeminent sociologist Jim Johnson. Derewicz has published one book, An Ordinary Mystic, in 2019.