Meet the Crew
JAMIE
WEDE
Director, Producer
Jamie graduated high school in 1994. He attended college his freshmen year at South Dakota State University with an acting and journalism scholarship. In 1995, he transferred to the University of Nevada at Las Vegas where he pursued a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Film Studies. In January of 1998, he returned to South Dakota and Graduated in December of 1999 with a Bachelor of Science in Communications with a minor in Theater. In 1999, Jamie produced and directed his first short film, Fata Morgana, shot on 16 mm black and white film. In 2001, he attended the Cannes Film Festival, with Troma Films to promote Citizen Toxie: The Toxic Avenger IV. He would later appear in Troma's documentary, All the Love You Cannes. In 2009, he directed a short film for the 24 Hour Film project competition in San Francisco. His short "Absolutely, Positively, One-time" won the award for best editing and was runner-up for best cinematography. In 2014, he had a supporting role in the romantic comedy, I Really Hate Coffee, written and directed by Nathan Maas. In 2017, he appeared in Dustin Ferguson's episode of Tales from the Graveyard titled "Demonoids". He would continue to work with Dustin Ferguson with a small role in Nemesis 5 in 2017 and a pivotal role In Conjuring Curse in 2018. In 2019, he played a racist neighbor in the short film, Eat the Rainbow, written, produced, and directed by Brian Benson.
TONY
BEGLEY
DP/Cinematographer
Anthony Begley was born and raised in the small, college town of Vermillion, South Dakota. At the age of 5, he joined his family’s performance group, Discovery Movement Theatre, traveling all over the United States. As a teenager, he began inline skating and snowboarding which led to shooting and editing action sport highlight films featuring him and his friends. Following this passion, with a camera in-hand, Anthony attended the University of Minnesota and graduated with a degree in “Studies in Cinema and Media Culture.” After multiple video production internships, he found his calling as a storyteller, going on to create his independent film company, Anthony Begley Productions. Now focused on special events, music videos, corporate projects and narrative works, Anthony enjoys collaborating with other creatives to bring ideas to life. Work and contact information can be found at AnthonyBegley.com
LEAH
SIMMONS
Writer, Producer
Writer and artist Leah Simmons played roller derby for over a decade before she conceived of the plot for what would eventually become Valentine Crush. A jammer herself, Leah has always been fascinated by the duality of the roller derby world and often how many fans struggled with separating the badass on the track from the every-day woman off the track. Originally written as a two-part horror podcast episode, Leah reworked the story into a feature-length script and pitched it to longtime friend, Jamie Wede. As they say, the rest is history. From coordinating the skater action sequences to costume design and story-boarding, there wasn’t an aspect of Valentine Crush where Leah wasn’t lending a hand to make things come together! When Leah’s not working on her latest horror novel, she spends time with her family including two-year-old son “Zooks.” Leah is excited to see her first screenplay come to life and can’t wait to write and produce her next one.
ANDREW
MCLEAN
Production Manager
I fell in love with movies when I (like so many before me) saw Star Wars for the first time when I was 6 or 7 years old. It wasn't until I was 13 when my parents bought our first camcorder which I thought was just the coolest thing that I wasn't allowed to play with. Though, my life really changed when I was 16 and got to see 2001. It was at that moment, I knew I wanted to tell stories for a living. Fun fact: you may also realize, from those two movies, that I have a fascination with space.
My goal as a storyteller is to, hopefully, allow the audience to feel the way I felt when I saw Star Wars or even inspire someone to follow this path the way I decided after 2001. Regardless the role, I've always loved the process of bringing stories to life...it's not a one person show, but an entire team coming together for one primary goal. I'm thankful for an opportunity to be a part of a team that'll allow us to make you laugh, cry, gasp, watch in awe, etc. So sit back, relax, and enjoy the show!
JEREMY
STEVERMER
Assistant Director
Jeremy Stevermer began making films on the prairie of southern Minnesota. A graduate of University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee with a BFA in filmmaking, he created a number of shorts and worked as a cinematographer and editor for other filmmakers. In 1999 he wrote, produced, directed, shot and edited the short, “No Particular Way” on 16mm. Mr Stevermer moved to San Francisco, CA in 2000 and continued to work in film production in the lighting and sound departments for a number of short films and features in Northern California. He would later start a production company, Dream Dynamic, and continue to independently produce short films, including the award winning “Reeling” as well as two additional shorts with writer/actor Michael Toole. Simultaneously, Mr Stevermer picked up a role as technical assistant for the San Francisco International Film Festival, which expanded to a Technical Director role within a few years, where he oversaw the transition of cinema exhibition from 35mm through to digital. Mr Stevermer has presented at the Art House Convergence in Park City, Utah on Live Cinema Events and Technical Exhibition. Outside of film, Mr Stevermer is an avid horticulturist and LEGO/bonsai artist and has given presentations on the combination of both at conventions. He also hosts a weekly creative livestream focused on art, design and horticulture.
CASSANDRA
NIXON
Make-up, Special Effects
Cass Nixon A Jacqueline of all trades specializing in practical effects and costuming, Cass zombified her way into the local special effects scene when she and her husband responded to a zombie call for a music video shoot in full costume and makeup. After enjoying a few years cosplaying and doing makeup effects for fun, she was asked to be the assistant makeup artist for the indie film, Haunted Cries. That has led to her having the opportunity to work with multiple directors and talent in the Siouxland area. Cass put her self-taught skills to the ultimate test working on this project. Valentine crush is Cass’ first feature film as the head of her department. With four other films already under her fanny pack, Cass looks forward to this next round of crushing it!