“Nobody wants to be born here. And as far back as I can remember, I always wanted to get out.”
The StoryFollowing an explosion that leaves a low-level mobster for dead, his young protégé Ray is left with a huge score of cocaine. Putting together a crew of their friends, Ray and the gang decide to move the drugs, using the payoff to escape the trappings of their small town. Will they make it out for good or will they stay behind to become the new top family of the Midwest Mob?
Wild Ones is a feature film currently in development.
DIRECTOR'S STATEMENTMy favorite thing to do as a kid was to watch the same movies over and over again, climb up the willow tree on the side of the house and sit, drifting into fantasy for hours. Movies expanded my mind to wild realities so far away from the small town where I lived, from the conditions of my working-class upbringing. Ever since, I have indulged in uniting the mundane and the fantastical, grand visions of people’s inner worlds playing out on screen. The greatest challenge and even greater pleasure I have as a filmmaker is to take these reflections, dreams and memories and weave them together in an offering of truth, whatever that may be.
Wild Ones challenged me to create a cast of characters defined by their social environment and engage with how they rebel against its limitations. Five friends who take on the most dangerous challenge they have ever known in order to make a better life. We watch the crew navigate new opportunities while witnessing their ruptured friendships struggling to transition from adolescence to adulthood. How can they be vulnerable? How can they confront and accept change? How can they find purpose while participating in the myriad struggles of everyday life?
At its heart, Wild Ones is a profoundly personal examination of family, the conflict of pain, healing, and how we learn to accept and grow with one another. My task is to make this film with the reverence and hunger of following a beloved recipe. In doing so, I hope that we may taste something new in a familiar dish, eager to return and enjoy it a hundred times over.
SUPPORTPrincipal photography for a proof of concept short film was completed in November 2024. The short is now in post production and we are continuing to finance this through a fiscal sponsorship with The Film Collaborative (TFC). TFC is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to providing programs and services for independent filmmakers. All donations are tax deductible to the extent allowed by law. For more information and to make a tax deductible contribution visit our TFC site by clicking HERE.
Rarely have we seen nonbinary and trans representation in the genre, in front of and behind the camera, and we are long overdue for a film like this to be made by the people represented in its story. There is incredible value in knowing that your support is the reason that Wild Ones is able to achieve its mission, thank you!
THE TEAM
Leone DiSantis - Writer & Director
Leo DiSantis (they/them) is a filmmaker working across commercial, music video, as well as short and long-form narrative content. They are a 2023 Sundance Development Track and a 2021 Sundance Creative Producing lab finalist and their work has been featured in Rolling Stone, Vogue, and The New York Times.
Most recently they have produced film and video content for artists including Ice Spice, Kali Uchis, Peso Pluma, and The Rolling Stones. Their latest narrative credit FRAUD, starring Dana Levinson (American Gods) and Babak Tafti (Succession), premiered at the 2022 Tribeca Film Festival and was shortlisted for the 2022 Cannes Film Festival.
In addition to WILD ONES, DiSantis is developing the narrative feature film CLIO. A stolen season romance, it follows Edmund— a cis man, and Clio— a trans woman as they form a deep connection after casually hooking-up. DiSantis’ work focuses on telling stories that dismantle traditional genre norms and canonize historically excluded narratives in cinema.
Maddy Talias - Cinematographer
Maddy Talias (they/them) is a Brooklyn based Local 600 cinematographer. They spent the early part of their life traveling the world on the international ski racing circuit. Their background as an athlete has inspired a love of movement in their work and knack for staying calm in high pressure situations.
Maddy's work spans across commercials, music videos, documentaries and narrative films. Their style has gained recognition for being authentic and heartfelt while also packing an energetic punch. In 2023, Maddy lensed Renaissance: A Film by Beyoncé. Maddy had two films premiere at Tribeca Film Festival in 2024 (Lost Bois and Leading Man- Winner “Most Moving Narrative”).
From 2022-2023, they participated in the prestigious ASC Vision Mentorship Program. They also were an AFI Cinematography Intensive for Women fellow. When Maddy isn’t working on set, they usually can be found taking care of their 10,000+ baby bees.
Lilly Wachowski - Executive Producer
Lilly Wachowski (she/her) is a trans woman and lifelong Chicago resident. She holds a half-finished BA as well as an almost completed Post Baccalaureate certificate from SAIC. Lilly has worked as a Building Maintenance Technician’s Assistant, self-employed carpenter and Writer/Producer/Director for Warner Bros, Netflix and Showtime among others. She also paints; sometimes she paints ducks.
Laura Burhenn - Producer
Laura Bird Burhenn (she/her) parlayed her career as a musician (touring the world as a member of The Postal Service, Bright Eyes, and The Mynabirds) into producing when she founded her internationally award-winning production company, Our Secret Handshake. Founded on one fundamental belief: Art Can Change the World, Laura is interested in exploring the spaces where art intersects activism, and where good storytelling reveals and encourages the human spirit.
She has produced television segments for NBC (The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, The Ellen Degeneres Show, Late Night with Seth Meyers), CBS (The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, The Late Late Show with James Corden), and livestream events including the MTV EMAs, the "Honor Her Wish" Ruth Bader Ginsberg tribute concert, and the "Save Our Stages" concert, which raised nearly $2 million to fund the National Independent Venue Association's work to support music venues in the pandemic.
Katherine Croft - Producer
Katherine Croft is an award-winning producer focused on stories about the everyday absurdity of life. She came up in the industry in both the commercial and narrative space, and has produced multiple award-winning campaigns as well as feature films that have been released on Amazon, Hulu, and Netflix. In addition to her commercial work with clients such as Dior, Valentino, UGG, and Lululemon, her recent slate of 8 short films (that were produced in under one year) are currently on the festival circuit, being shown at Dances with Films, the Academy-Award qualifying LA Shorts Film Fest, and Palm Springs Film Festival. Katherine also recently launched a program called Drive for Drives, which collects used and repurposed hard drives for independent filmmakers.
Shaan Dasani - Producer
Shaan Dasani (He/Him) is an actor, producer & writer who began his career behind the camera. With an MFA from Chapman University, he’s written & produced over 30 short films and is interested in working with familiar genres to tell culturally forward stories. His penned project AGENTS OF CHANGE: PROJECT POLYMER which he also produced & stars in, won the EMA’s Green Seal Award, Best Short Film at the Environmental Film & Video Festival, and has screened at New York Climate Week and COP28 in Dubai. Acting credits include CBS’s CRIMINAL MINDS, FOX’s 9-1-1, Emmy nominated series RAZOR TONGUE, and award winning comedy series THESE THEMS. Shaan can be seen in Nava Mau’s ALL THE WORDS BUT THE ONE as well as WITNESS (dir Radha Mehta & Saif Jaan), winner of Tasveer Film Festival’s Fund in partnership with Netflix. Both films are currently on the festival circuit. For more information on production work, visit KarmaTheoryFilms.com
Lavinia Jones Wright - Producer
Lavinia Jones Wright’s work as a producer, performer and director lives in the intersection of film and music. As a producer, Lavinia (she/her) has worked on feature films, short format narrative and documentary, commercials and music videos. As an actor, Lavinia can be seen in The Affair on Showtime and most recently In The Heights. Along with several film projects in development, she is currently producing the feature-length narrative film Lovers, directed by Taylor McFadden, which just completed principal photography in Denver, CO. She is also currently directing her first film, Love All Alices, a hybrid documentary about the legendary acting teacher Alice Spivak. With director Alex Steyermark, Lavinia traveled America cutting 78rpm records, producing and writing for the acclaimed The 78 Project Movie (World Premiere, SXSW Film Festival 2014) and The 78 Project web series (Cannes Cross Media Corner 2013).
Cookie Walukas - Associate Producer
Cookie Walukas (they/she) is a queer filmmaker driven by obsession with cinema, art, photography and pop culture. Harking from alma mater University of Southern California’s School of Cinematic Arts, they live, laugh, love and work in Los Angeles and New York City sometimes. They currently work as Senior Producer at Liquid Death. Clients include: Beyoncé, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, Mariah Carey, Apple, ABC, Disney, and all of the major record labels.
Cameron Bond Sczempka - Line Producer
Cam is an independent creative producer and performing artist working across film, theater, dance, music, and everything in between. As a line producer, he has led productions for Sony Playstation, Lancôme, Gibney Dance Company, Stereophonic, Meta, Google, Pepsi and more. In theater production, Cam is a front end producer on ILLINOISE by Sufjan Stevens, Justin Peck, and Jackie Sibblies Drury, as well as an investor on HADESTOWN by Anaïs Mitchell. He is currently working on the development of a new production of HAMLET with Tom Yorke and the Radiohead album "Hail To The Thief". As an artist, Cam has performed on Broadway in FINDING NEVERLAND and BE MORE CHILL in addition to other off-broadway and national touring credits. He is passionate about redefining genre and focuses on storytelling that discusses the grey areas of our adult society for the betterment of tomorrow.