Christopher Meyers / Director
Christopher Meyers is an awarding-winning director and filmmaker. He grew up in the blazing hot deserts of Arizona where he attended film school at Arizona State University. Since 2011, Chris has resided in Los Angeles directing music videos, short films, web-series, and traveling the globe in the camera department for high adventure docu-series. When not filming in the jungles, he spends time with his four cats: Pancakes, Waffles, Rascal, and Peanut.
Life starts happening when we least expect it. All the really awful things tend to happen during moments we take for granted. They tend to creep up and sucker punch you when you least expect it. Life isn’t fair. We don’t get to choose when our time is up. Even worse, we don’t get to choose when those closest to us are taken. Our weird human brains reacts with grief but what happens to that grief when a loved one is taken by someone close to you?
I’m Christopher Meyers, the director and co-writer of Litany for Mister President. It has been a long journey making this short film, but we’re nearly there. We are in the final stages of post-production and are gearing up for a much anticipated festival run.
The script came into existence during a time in my life when I really needed something. I was feeling stuck. In 2016, I sat in my shabby, dim lit LA apartment dealing with my own grief; my grandmother had recently passed and it forced me to think about my own lot in life. As luck would have it, a new short script written by one of my closest friends was sitting in front of me. All I had to do was read it.
As I flipped through the pages, I tore through word after word that revealed themes of grief and loneliness wrapped in darkly weird comedy and drama. It presented me with a unique opportunity to take the risk I was looking for and to explore some of the grayer areas of human behavior.
This bizarre tale finds our main character, Dom Copley, completely losing his mind after the thing he loves most in the world is snuffed out by an old friend, the aloof and addled Henry Mulhausen. Dom’s grief is weaponized into vengeance and violent anger as he looks to seek penance from Henry.
This is not a typical story of how one deals with grief but how easily we can lose control allowing it to transform into bitter rage. Our grief feeds an ugly monster keeping us stuck. Sometimes the only way back is to break that cycle and remember what truly makes us human.
Dominic Best
Dominic Best was born in England and studied film and theater at Godalming college. He moved to the U.S in 2004 where he majored in Film Production at Arizona State University. It was here where he honed his film and acting craft. In 2010 he graduated with a Bachelors Degree and cemented his presence on screen appearing in multiple thesis films. One of which Christoper Meyers directed (Good Injuns, 2011). It was this collaboration that created the momentum for moving to Los Angeles and gaining representation as an actor. Since then Dominic has appeared in pilots such as Ghost Bros 2013 and Beautiful Fools 2015 as well as being a host for a travel show Budget Backpacker.
John Durbin
John Jackson began his career in film and television as an actor in Los Angeles. In addition to his training in theatre at Arizona State University, he studied at The American Conservatory Theatre in San Francisco and, in Los Angeles, with Stella Adlet, Jose Quintero, Paul Blake, and at The Groundling’s Theatre. Working under the professional name John Durbin, he appeared in a combination of over one hundred films, television movies, series television, and plays. Returning home to Iowa in 1988, John met filmmaker Alexander Payne. The two collaborated on 7 completed films: Sideways, About Schmidt, Election, Citizen Ruth, The Descendants, Nebraska, and Downsizing. In 2019, John was accepted into an MFA program in creative writing with an emphasis on creative non-fiction offered by the University of Nebraska at Omaha. He is currently traveling and researching what will be his first manuscript.
Wyeth Taylor
Mister baby boy Wyeth Taylor was born at the ripe old age of zero in Bucks County, Pennsylvania amongst the green green trees and streams so blue. With rosy cheeks and bright blue eyes he moved out west to be among the cacti and study the ways of filmmaking. He attended Arizona State University where he honed his storytelling skills and met his artistic compatriots. He has acted in and directed many unique short films in his time out west and has continued to cultivate his craft. When he is not pursuing a career as an actor he is behind the camera directing and writing his own stories to tell.
Bryn Henning
When not too busy with her career in marketing, Bryn Henning appeared in several theater productions, including Born Yesterday, Desk Set, Come Blow Your Horn, Ladies in Retirement, plus several modeling gigs suitable for a 5’ tall woman. She has had the privilege of working with many professionals such as Betty Grable, Bill Bixby, and others. Bryn is now retired and living in Fountain Hills, Arizona. She enjoyed working on Litany for Mister President and said “ I had forgotten how much I love to act and how much fun it all is.”
Alecc Bracero / Producer
Alecc Bracero has been working in film and television for the past sixteen years. Alecc is currently producing the hit documentary series LIVE RESCUE for A&E. Previously, Alecc directed the 2017 feature film comedy SEXDOTCOM, which he also wrote. He's also produced on the shows NIGHTWATCH NATION, CLASH OF THE CORPS for Seven Bucks Productions (with Dwayne Johnson), and co-wrote the feature film thriller DEATH & CREMATION, starring Brad Dourif.
Daniel Tantalean / Producer
Daniel is a 2020 NALIP Latino Media Market Fellow and Award-Winning Latinx Producer raised in the burning deserts of Phoenix, Arizona. He ditched the heat in 2011 for New York City, cutting his teeth in the branded content world as a Creative Director and Content Producer for Google, NYU, Twitter and Penguin Publishing, where he produced over 500 digital marketing videos. In 2018, Daniel ventured out to Los Angeles to find growth as a producer and commit to narrative and documentary storytelling with a community of Latinx and Indigenous writers and directors.
Daniel’s current slate of films stretches from the cross-sections of cultural identity to the reflections of trauma and grief.
Daniel enjoys going for long runs without music and makes killer Peruvian Ceviche. He is currently a cat nanny to 4 killing machines: Pancakes, Waffles, Peanut, and Rascal.
Derek Johnson / Director of Photography
Derek Johnson was born and raised in Phoenix, Arizona where he attended Arizona State University. There he found his passion for filmmaking while working as Cinematographer on several student films. He took a summer internship in 2011 as a cinematography trainee under the mentorship of Shane Hurlbut, ASC. This brought him out to Los Angeles and expanded his skill set and love for film. He continued his education though on set experience and joined the International Cinematographers Guild, Local 600 in 2013. Derek now works as a Digital Imaging Technician and colorist on Feature Films, Television and commercials where he values each project as an opportunity to collaborate and learn. Has a corgi named after a popular member of The Beatles.
Patrick Suzuki / Production Designer
Patrick Suzuki-Mitchell grew up in the suburbs of Nokesville, VA near Washington, DC. After graduating with a business degree from West Virginia University, he had an epiphany and realized that film was his actual calling, and decided to move to Los Angeles in 2011. Combining his childhood carpentry experience with his love for art and design, Patrick has spent the past eight years working in every position within the art department, but is most proud of his work art directing music videos for Tyler the Creator, Frank Ocean, Mikewillmadeit, and tv shows such as Adult Swim’s Loiter Squad and the Amazon show World’s Toughest Race, Eco-Challenge Fiji hosted by Bear Grylls coming Summer 2020. Patrick currently resides in Charlotte, North Carolina and is producing and directing his first feature length documentary.
Nicholas Ramirez / Editor
Nicholas Ramirez is a New York City based editor and member of the Motion Picture Editor’s Guild. An Arizona native, he relocated to the East Coast in 2011 and worked his way into post production on films like Martin Scorsese’s Hugo and Ben Stiller’s The Secret Life of Walter Mitty. Pairing his growing editorial skills with set production experience, Nick was also brought on to the best-picture winning film Birdman to support the challenging on-set technical needs for director Alejandro González Iñáritu throughout principal photography.
In more recent years, Nick has had the privilege of working on projects like James Schamus’ Indignation, HBO and Steve Zaillian’s The Night Of, Greta Gerwig’s Lady Bird and Little Women and served as an additional editor on Jonah Hill’s mid90s. Currently he is editing the upcoming feature film Mayday, an action-fantasy film shot on location in Croatia starring Grace Van Patten, Mia Goth and Juliette Lewis. When he’s not editing, Nick can be found riding his bike throughout NYC or taking pictures somewhere in the woods.
Nick also prefers dogs over cats.
Jay Wadley / Composer
Jay Wadley is a NY based composer and music producer. Upcoming releases include; Charlie Kaufman’s I’m Thinking of Ending Things, an Untitled Documentary Series from Roger Ross Williams (Life Animated, Apollo), and I Carry You with Me directed by Heidi Ewing (Jesus Camp, Detropia).
A graduate of the Yale School of Music (MM, AD) and Oklahoma City University School of Music (BM), Jay has won two Charles Ives awards from the Academy of Arts and Letters as well as an ASCAP/SCI Student Composer Award for his concert music.
His score for James Schamus' critically acclaimed directorial debut, Indignation (Lionsgate), was featured in IndieWire's "10 Best Scores of 2016", received a Billboard premiere and a concert performance by the Winnipeg Symphony for Soundtracks Live. His films have played at Sundance, Telluride, SXSW, Berlin, Rotterdam, Tribeca, BFI London, LA Film Festival, Montreal film festivals and others.