Shattered Dreams

Inspired by True Events

Coming Home Shattered Dreams (The leslie Vass Story)RomantiCore (Shiloh Monaco)

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A 17 year old boy in Maryland finds himself in a wrong time, wrong place situation. Leslie Vass was on his way to being drafted by the NBA when things took a very wrong turn for him. Leslie was arrested for an armed robbery that he was never involved in. Mr. Vass was abandoned by the Justice system in 1975 and was convicted and sentenced to a 20 year sentence. Leslie served 10 years of his sentence by fighting for his freedom from within the prison. Leslie had fought so hard for his freedom that he went on to be exonerated. While fighting from the inside the real criminal remained walking free all because of his ties in the same system that had ruined Leslie's life. Corruption in the legal system has remained flawed for many years this story is just the beginning.

Shattered Dreams

(The Leslie Vass Story)

Award Winning Screenplay

Meet The Producers

	Daphne Matthews Executive Producer/ Producer/ Story By	Cadence Lang Production Assistant
Producer Carla Christina Contreras	Joth Riggs	Regina Moore Casting Department
Jeffrey Karantza Casting Associate	Richard Wetzel Weapons Master/ Stunts/ Actor	Eric Matuscheck Stunts
Myke Michaels Makeup Department Head	K. Cornell Kellum Co-Producer	Shattered Dreams Merchandise Email Us!
Michael Givens Assistant Producer	Nona Jedelle Cook Costume Department	Saad J. Gerges Drone Operator/ second unit
Shattered Dreams Art Linktree	Jim Harris Graphic Designs	Mariano Saulino Composer
Leslie Vass Maryland's First Exoneree (On Screen Source Material)	Michael Williams Screenplay	Dianna Morris Screenplay

Cinematographer/ Directors

Mike Timm

After graduating from Rochester Institute of Technology's film program, Mike traveled off to Utah with a job offer to work with Robert Redford and his Sundance Institute. Mike managed the Sundance Film Festival Press Screening Room, helmed the Sundance Outreach Program and assisted both the Screenwriter & Directors Labs. This was to be Mike's graduate school education on writing & directing - learning all the sensitive details within cinematic storytelling from Oscar award-winning advisors such as Callie Khouri (Thelma & Louise) and Christopher McQuarrie (Usual Suspects, Mission Impossible franchise, and the upcoming Tom Cruise Top Gun: Maverick).

Alongside his Sundance experience, he employed himself as a commercial TV copywriter and director where he won an ADDY award for Best TV Commercial in the State of Utah. With his Sundance experience, Mike co-founded the New Century Writer Awards in association with Francis Ford Coppola and his All-Story Magazine. With just 60 national writing competitions at that time, Mike helped numerous writers (short story & screenplays) achieve careers along with discovering (now) well-known novelist Joe Hill, Stephen King's son.

After spending a few summers adventuring through Europe and the Celtic Circle, Mike relocated to Los Angeles where he escalated his creative knowledge into assistant directing on a multitude of independent features. Applying his years of industry experience, Mike has written & directed several award-winning short films such as the past-life regression teaser "A Karma Thing" and "Mr. Roberts," a horror short starring Basil Hoffman (Redford's Ordinary People, Pollock's All the President's Men and My Favorite Year), where the film has won and been nominated for "Best Director," "Best Actor," and "Best Horror Short" in many festivals. Not to mention, several "Best Cinematography" awards for his DP John T Connor (Director of Photography for the currently filming Jack Ryan Season 3 and "A" camera operator for Top Gun: Maverick). Mike's debut award-winning microbudget feature film, "A Girl, A Guy, A Space Helmet" starring Anthony Backman (Wish Upon A Unicorn), Kip Weeks (Spencer Confidential), and Scott Subiono (Tragedy of MacBeth) can be seen on Tubi TV. In 2022, Mike's "80s style creature feature" short film, "The Eyes" (starring Ace Marerro of Perry Mason), enjoyed a successful genre-festival circuit. Touting him in reviews as an early John Carpenter-esque filmmaker. Reviews calling for a feature version which has been developing as "Leech." Now in 2024, his latest short film "The Valley of Hearts Delight" premiered at the Santa Fe Film Festival (April 2024) then at Dances With Films LA in June. The film's screening next at the upcoming Big Apple Film Festival on November 18th, 2024. This coming-of-age story stars Taj Cross (PEN15 and Young Rock) while collaborating with D.P. Marshall Adams (Better Call Saul and Servant).

As a screenwriter-for-hire, Mike has several completed screenplays circulating through the industry in all genres. Recently, for his original work, Mike's western spec "Black Meadows" was optioned and now has Zoe Bell, Tim Roth and Taika Waititi attached with Mary Vernieu casting. Also, he has sold screenplays such as "Hell Squad" (Arkoff Productions), "The Phantom Major" (Polaris Pictures), and "A Hero's Walk" (iConnect Films) to name a few. For the latest, Mike's work on Jon McDonald's "The Hyperions" (starring Cary Elwes and Penelope Mitchell) was released through Saban Films in March 2022.

Being a native New Yorker, his street-kid mentality provides Mike with a creative juice for authentic voices. He writes as a director and directs as an editor - always one step ahead - forming the film's creative elements as the production develops to the screen.

Joth Riggs

Joth Riggs is an award-winning filmmaker whose film career spans more than 30 years and includes over a hundred movies and television shows for all the major Hollywood studios. After graduating with a Bachelor's degree in Film Production, Joth got his start on the set of Pet Sematary II. From there he went on to work as a production assistant on the sitcom Coach on the Universal lot before ultimately landing at Steven Spielberg's Amblin Entertainment. It was only after being accepted into the prestigious Director's Guild Training Program that Joth left Amblin to become an Assistant Director. After years of A.D.ing on everything from feature films like Starship Troopers, End of Days, and Suicide Kings with Christopher Walken to t.v. series such as CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, Party of Five, Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman, and Baywatch among others, Joth made the move to the director's chair with several award-winning short films including Push, Shaken, and Heartfall, as well as the television series The Encounter and the feature film Night of the Sicario, starring Natasha Henstridge, released by Paramount Pictures and Saban Films in 2021. Joth currently has several feature films in the works that he will be directing this coming year.

Director/Cinematographer

The Stories We Tell Become Life Timeless, Sophisticated, Intelligent, Current
Stories that are inspirational are stories that embrace our lives. The influence of the effect of these stories affects culture and lifestyle at every level. Intimately presented ideas are consumed and assimilated into the human experience.

The style of Michael Givens' work is the summation of a life's study of visual arts as a director, cinematographer, photographer, and painter. His understanding of the human as an art form has grown from his distinctive understanding of the language of acting, developed over decades of research and refinement. Michael's style engages all the senses to interpret and tell a story from a simplistic and sophisticated point of view.

Director/Cinematographer Michael Givens earned an international reputation for creating memorable stories through compelling images. A graduate of Brooks Institute of Photography in Santa Barbara, California, Michael established his career as a photographer in the fashion and music industries before progressing into the film industry. There he became the cinematographer of choice for such noted directors as Sir Ridley Scott, Stephen Frears, Philip Borsos, Sean McNamara, Ron Maxwell and Peter Smillie. Michael's directorial debut was at Sir Ridley Scott's famed production company - RSA. His credits include over 70 feature films and 1,000 television commercials.

Michael's work is clarified and grounded by his years of creative work abroad. The majority of his films have been created in the far corners of the globe. Success has relied on his ability to elegantly speak across cultures through his Timeless, Sophisticated, Intelligent, and Current style.

This style is the source of how the stories we tell, become life.

Michael Givens

Composers and Featured Music

Mariano Saulino

Film Composer

RomantiCore/Shiloh Monaco (Coming Home)

Artist

Joe Simnovec (Monster)

The Music (Squalor)

Meet some of the Actors

Behind the Scenes