“Nobody wants to be born here. And as far back as I can remember, I always wanted to get out.”
The StoryWhen a suspicious explosion leaves their low-rent wannabe mobster boss for dead, his car load of $2M in un-cut cocaine lands in the hands of five queer besties. With nothing to lose and bills piling up, they launch their makeshift empire out of a crumbling Italian restaurant. But slinging powder in a sleepy town isn’t as low-key as they hoped.
Caught in the crosshairs of rival dealers, corrupt cops, and a mysterious power broker, these small-town gays must decide: take the cash and vanish—or go full-throttle, rewriting the rules and crowning themselves the next generation crime family. It’s loyalty, ambition, and glitter vs. blood, bullets, and betrayal in this darkly funny, high-stakes queer crime saga.
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. The greatest challenge, and even greater pleasure, that 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 best friends who take on the most dangerous challenge they have ever known in order to make a better life. We watch them navigate new opportunities while witnessing their ruptured friendships struggle 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?
This film doesn’t exist to explain a character’s queerness or offer up a didactic journey for audiences. Instead, we offer a story for all crime-action fans that dives into the enigmatic lives and messy ambitions of our anti-heroes. By allowing for the characters’ trans or queer identity to be just one aspect of their circumstances rather than the center of the whole film, we receive a new perspective on the genre, one that has been historically reserved for the “typical” leading man.
Recognizing the shared conditions of mafia families and queer chosen families was a breakthrough for me as I found the landscape in which to explore this story. This film traces its way through questions and themes of freedom, belonging, oppression, power and success. The character’s biggest challenge is weighing the stakes between the foundations of their past and the potential of their futures. At the heart of it, WILD ONES is a film about family, the conflict of pain and healing, and how we learn to accept and grow with one another.
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.
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
Cookie Walukas - 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.