Filmmaker
Artist as Filmmaker
In recent years todd has turned his creative flow to motion pictures. "I am finding just as much satisfaction telling a story with the camera as I do with paint and canvas", todd says. He is currently working on several new documentary films on a variety of subjects. He also enjoys creating music videos, and finding ways to make even the simplest of subjects appear exciting. By bringing his artistic eye to film and video, todd's work has a unique perspective. According to todd "I never expected to actually be working as a filmmaker, but the lower cost of access to high quality tools has opened up an exciting new world to me. I am having a blast!"
Below you can find samples of todd's work, and links to his production company Wasted Talent Media.
Angie haze: Embracing Each part of you
Angie Haze is a constant creative force and an agent for change. Learning to play and compose music at a very early age became her escape from the sexual and physical abuse she endured at home. Out on her own and estranged by her immediate family, Angie has a singular goal in mind. To be a revolutionary force. To help everyone find their own inner peace by digging deep and exposing themselves with complete vulnerability. She does this through her music, and the audience is left breathless.
This documentary provides an inside look backstage and in the studio. There, we see this gifted artist at work as she creates music on a multitude of instruments, crafting epic songs that end in hope and growth. Angie’s positivity is inspiring, as we see this emerging artist struggle with the challenges artists face in the ever changing landscape of “the new music industry.” Today, it is a business not based on talent or merit, but on social media presence alone.
This film is a combination of sit down interviews, and handheld camcorder footage that Angie takes with her on tour and in the studio. Using her personal camcorder as a confessional, we get to see an intimate portrait of an artist in day to day life.
Soil Brothers
Co-Directed with my Partner Erin Ludlam.
The Forgotten Triangle
In the 1950’s The Kinsman neighborhood in Cleveland was a bustling, prosperous area that residents were proud to live in. But over the decades economic decline and depopulation has turned this once thriving place into a low-income, high crime area where residents struggle amid skyrocketing rates of diabetes, heart disease, high infant mortality and a bevy of other chronic ailments. The future has not looked bright for this and many other urban “Rust-Belt” communities for many years, but three men are on a mission to change that narrative and bring health and prosperity back to the people and community they love.
From Dirt to Dreams
In 2011 childhood friends Damien, Keymah and Randy requested a 1.3 acre plot of unwanted, disused land in their old neighborhood from the City of Cleveland. Strewn with household waste, car parts and other debris, this was no field of dreams but they could see past the rubble and refuse to the endless possibilities that lay before them. Each of them was uniquely suited to contribute their many talents to what would eventually become one of the most fertile urban farms the agricultural industry has ever seen in America.
Lives and Landscapes
Shot in a verite style and edited at a lively, exciting pace the film will follow these captivating personalities as they venture into new communities around the country, changing lives and landscapes forever. The film will feature interviews with some of the most important voices in the movement to transform communities and create sustainable, profitable urban agriculture including Ambassador Andrew Young, and urban agriculture pioneer Will Allen. The filmmakers also intend to secure interviews with other influencers promoting healthier food choices like Russell Simmons, Corey Booker, Lebron James, Jason Brown, Jamie Oliver and many others.
Currently in production, Soil Brothers asks the big questions about food in America: Where does it come from? What is it made of? How do we consume it? And, most importantly, how do we transform it? Follow Damien, Keymah and Randy as they “green the ghetto”, revolutionize urban agriculture and bring hope and inspiration to a new generation of American farming.