A Filmmaker Travels Home to Celebrate His Birthday and Recovery

As a former freelance filmmaker and DJ, Marz Holden-Montini lived a creative, spontaneous lifestyle and traveled frequently. However, Marz suffered a traumatic brain injury from a fall in June 2020 that paused his career endeavors. Marz was confined to a wheelchair and experienced auditory and visual difficulties as well as cognitive impairments.

Marz came to the Centre for Neuro Skills’ Los Angeles clinic shortly after, where he relearned how to walk again and overcame many challenges. He was motivated to become independent once again, hoping to direct films as he loved to do before his accident. This passion for cinematography is a shared bond between Marz and his father, Antoine. The two have always been close, and Antoine would often star as the lead actor in Marz’s homemade videos he filmed growing up.

Within the inpatient program at CNS, writing short stories was incorporated into Marz’s daily therapy sessions. He enjoyed writing scripts and filming short “breaking news” videos, even dedicating a video to his case manager, Hamaliya Hotaki. “He made a lot of progress and is very active in the community now,” she said.

Since leaving CNS, Marz has returned to his home community, attending weekly backgammon nights with his friends in the neighborhood and biking to the beach every week. But his most exciting accomplishment thus far is the completion of his first short story since his accident. “Keep Fuego Burning” features Hotaki and other CNS therapists who supported Marz along his recovery journey.

Marz celebrated his birthday this year at the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris, France, where he and his father were both born. Antoine believes that traveling has had a positive impact on his rehabilitation. Whether celebrating his birthday at the Eiffel Tower or attending music events with his DJ friends in New York, Marz continues to live life to the fullest. “You’ve got to work hard and keep on going,” he said.