Cheryl Allison

Producer / Director

Cheryl is an accomplished actress and singer, and the Founder|Producer of WOW FILMS, a production company that strives to create thought provoking stories that deepen our understanding of the human experience. WOW FILMS short film Far From The Tree (2017) has received 26 awards in over 22 film festivals worldwide, including 6 Best Short Film awards. Cheryl has Produced and Directed three other films, the LGBTQ themed narrative short “Hiding in Daylight” (2019), the documentary feature “Shatter the Silence” (2019), and the documentary short film, “Honk” (2022) - all of which were showcased in film festivals worldwide, receiving multiple accolades and awards.

DiRECTOR STATEMENT

Pieces of Us could easily have been filmed as a straightforward documentary focusing solely on the rise of LGBTQ+ hate crimes. I wanted more for this film. While hate crime statistics and hearing personal accounts of assaults are incredibly important, I feel it is equally important to explore the path one chooses after surviving such a horrific event. How does an assault define you? Pieces of Us examines the aftermath of hate crime survivors who choose to be defined by love, hope and healing. We reveal their deeply personal journeys from violence to triumph, following their stories as they heal themselves by reaching out to help heal others.

I feel very strongly that the film should have its own language tonally and structurally. I want the viewer to form a visceral emotional connection with the story, to really feel it. The audience will go on a personal journey with these survivors and experience the strength, courage and commitment they have made to themselves and to each other. As the viewer travels to locations such as New York City, India and Denver, my goal is to balance the painful past our subjects have endured with the hope and healing they strive for today: shifting tones between heartbreaking emotion, isolation, joy and celebration.

The historical fight and ongoing struggle for LGTBQ equality and acceptance is incredibly important to me and will be used to support the current day struggles the community still endures. Our subjects join together for World Pride in NYC honoring the 50th Anniversary of the Stonewall Riots. This beautifully bridges the past with the present. My goal is to introduce archival footage as a supporting character in the film, to strengthen the importance of the current day stories, resulting in a more impactful, emotionally resonant and enduring film. When the final end credit fades, my hope is that the viewer will leave having seen and experienced a piece of themselves in each of our subjects. After all, isn't strength, courage, healing and love what we all strive for as human beings?

Mark Von der Heide

Producer / Executive Producer

Mark has a three decade career in Music, Post Production and Project Management including managerial positions at Walt Disney Studios and Netflix. His work on Ralph Bakshi's animated The New Adventures of Mighty Mouse garnered him an Emmy Nomination for Music Direction (1989). He's lent his Post skills to Bob's Burgers, Emmy winner for best Animated Series (2014) and Redux Riding Hood, Oscar nominee for best Animated Short (1997). The distribution team he managed at Netflix launched the documentaries that won the company's first two Oscars, The White Helmets and Icarus (2017/2018). Under the name Mark VDH, he’s written and collaborated on over a dozen Top 10 Billboard dance hits including with top Billboard artist Jipsta (featured in Pieces of Us) and co-wrote the Opening Song to the film, “Hold on to Love”.

MYKEL DICUS

Producer / Subject

Mykel has been an entertainment professional for over 25 years. With singing as his first love, Mykel’s stage performances range from singing with the Oakland Interfaith Gospel Choir, solo’ing on the stage of Radio City Music Hall, sharing the stage with artists like Ultra Nate, and Kate Pierson of the B-52’s, to National and International tours with Jesus Christ Superstar and Dreamgirls. After receiving a B.S. Degree in Business and Economics from Empire State College, NY, Mykel opened Eec! Productions that spearheads micro-businesses like Flow & Flair and Broadway to Bombay.  A master at overcoming obstacles, after surviving a hate crime, Mykel created the one man show Pieces of Me and toured the country bravely sharing his story of recovery, which inspired an amazing team to produce the film, Pieces of Us.

CARINA RUSH

Producer

Carina is an award-winning Producer whose highly acclaimed feature film No Letting Go (2016) received worldwide distribution through Vision Films. The film received the elite honor of being one of the top 100 films viewed on Amazon Prime. She produced two award-winning short films Far From The Tree (2017) and Hiding in Daylight (2019), both of which have garnered multiple awards at film festivals worldwide. Her most recent film, the feature length documentary Shatter the Silence (2019) also won multiple awards in an international festival run. Carina passed away in January 2021 and will be sorely missed.

CHRIS COX AND CARL RYDLUND

Score Composers

Grammy nominated and multiple IDMA award winner Chris Cox is one of the most talented and successful dance music artists in the US, with a string of over 60 #1 Billboard Dance Club hits. The record producer, remixer, DJ, mix engineer and multi-instrumentalist has a regular rotation of sold out international DJ performances and studio productions that yield nothing but chart topping hits. Rising to prominence in the late 90s as Thunderpuss, Cox continues to create mind-blowing mixes for chart topping artists as a solo artist.

Carl Rydlund is one Los Angeles' most sought after orchestrators and conductors. With a Bachelor’s degree in Music Composition from the University of Colorado, Carl moved to Los Angeles to study at the legendary Grove School of Music. Carl’s credits include Dunkirk, Star Wars Battlefront II, Interstellar, Man of Steel, Life of Pi, Angels and Demons and Despicable Me. Carl is also an alumnus of Los Angeles Film Conducting Intensive.

KAREN TRAN

Graphic Design

Originally from Sydney, Australia, Karen Tran graduated from the University of New South Wales with a Bachelor of Design, majoring in graphics and textiles. Karen specializes in motion design, motion graphics, animation and storytelling, with over ten years experience in branding and design for broadcast, film and digital media. Her credits include Greenleaf, Straight Outta Compton, WOW Women of Wrestling and The Food Network.

Zach Martin

Sound Design / Sound Mixer

Zach Martin began his career in sound in Seattle in the 1990s, working with such bands as Nirvana and Pearl Jam. He transitioned to film when he was hired at Francis Ford Coppola’s American Zoetrope Studios as a machine room operator. In 2007, he began working at Skywalker Sound where he mixed such films as Beasts of the Southern Wild and Fruitvale Station. Zach was nominated for a Golden Reel Award for sound editorial for Sing in 2017, as well as a C.A.S. award for sound mixing on An Inconvenient Truth in 2019.