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Logline

Dead Horse Lake is a neo-noir crime thriller about a young cocktail waitress in love with a hit man who’s forced to walk a fine line when the hit man’s boss falls for her.

Synopsis

Tiffany Rogers and her boyfriend Billy live on Dead Horse Lake – part of the Lac du Flambeau Turtle Flowage in the north woods of Wisconsin Tiffany works at Bottom’s Up Club where she tends bar and waits tables for boss Emil. Billy works in a local boat rental and bait shop by day, but moonlights for Emil to “clean up messes”. Emil doesn’t know Billy and Tiffany are together, and Emil is determined to make Tiffany his.

Desperate to settle down with Billy and put her past behind her, Tiffany tells Billy that Emil often leaves his safe open with piles of cash in it and that it’d be easy to take it and go start a new life. She also casually mentions the money to her friend and co-worker, Havana.That evening, Emil sexually assaults Tiffany and threatens her job if she says anything.The next day, Emil discovers his safe has been emptied. The money is gone. And so is Havana. Emil wants blood.

Billy drowns Havana, but can’t find where she stashed the cash.

To complicate matters, Mitch, a Chicago mobster, arrives in town and wants his money, too. Billy and Emil lure Mitch to the boat shop garage. There’s a violent fight and Billy and Emil kill Mitch and dump him in the lake. Emil makes another advance on Tiffany. She rejects him, betraying her relationship with Billy. Emil orders Billy to kill Tiffany.

Billy takes her to her favorite place. It’s where she wants to build her dream home. She begs him to leave with her. They kiss.

Billy dutifully puts two bullets in her. Then he turns the gun on himself. Unknown to Billy: Tiffany’s backpack is full of cash. Turns out Havana didn’t steal Emil’s money. Tiffany did.
 

Meet the Filmmakers

Michael Graf — Writer/Director
Michael is an Emmy Award winning filmmaker and a working member of the Director’s Guild of America. He was named a “Top 25 Screenwriter To Watch” by the International Screenwriters Association, been shortlisted for the prestigious Nicholl Fellowship and won top screenwriting honors at film festivals in Paris, Los Angeles, Nassau, New York and Park City. He was the inaugural Writer In Residence at the University of Wisconsin Institute For Discovery and he’s directed two Super Bowl campaigns for Jimmy Johns and Dow Chemical.

Produced feature screenplays are Green and Gold starring Craig T. Nelson, Brandon Sklenar and Charlie Berens and Winter of Frozen Dreams starring Thora Birch and Keith Carradine, and optioned screenplays include Venice of America, and The Last Indian War.

He started his career at Disney and The Post Group, working on episodics including Law & Order, Beverly Hills 90210, Major Dad and Tales From The Crypt. He now lives on a small farm in Wisconsin with his artist wife, Linda Massey, two Jack Russell terriers and rescue horses.

Sara Dahmen — Producer
Sara is an award winning, bestselling author and multi-award-winning screenwriter, entrepreneur and producer. She has produced internationally recognized marketing campaigns and worked on the advertising from MasterCraft Boats to Subway to the tourism of Belize. She worked extensively in Ad/PR firms producing multi-million dollar print, radio and TV campaigns. After building up her event coordination company in Milwaukee, Sara was awarded a Silver Anvil for best (501c3) event in America by the PRSSA.

Though she often writes for other producers and production companies, Sara’s historical fiction Flats Junction series (Promontory Press, Inc.) has been critically recognized and is currently in development for television. Her fantasy project has been optioned for both TV and video gaming, and her nonfiction book, Copper, Iron, and Clay: A Smith’s Journey (William Morrow/Harper Collins) is the first of its kind since 1894. 



Sara is also known as the only female coppersmith in all of America who builds and restores copper cookware. Her work has been featured in Forbes, Martha Stewart, Food & Wine, House Beautiful, Veranda, on PBS, the TODAY Show and many more. She is also a TED presenter, and a Wisconsin native living in Ozaukee county.


David Kessler – Director of Photography
David is an accomplished and award winning Director of Photography and Cinematographer. 

His credits include the iconic American classic film Field of Dreams and his film and television credits include Midnight Clear, Mr. 3000, The Rat Pack, Osso Bucco, Captain Ron and Michael Jordan To The Max (Imax). His commercial portfolio includes work for McDonald’s, Jimmy Johns, ESPN, Rayovac, Florida Tourism, Iowa Lottery, and Wisconsin Tourism. He’s also lensed music videos for Buddy Guy, R Kelly and Depeche Mode.

David is a member of the Cinematographers Guild, the Local 600, and was born and raised in Chicago, Illinois, studied at the University of Texas in Austin and now calls Los Angeles, California home along with his wife and muse Marla and their three children.

John Dahmen — Line Producer
A graduate of a dual-major in finance and real estate from Marquette University, John brings the weight needed to keep a business solvent and the financial prowess to help film investors involved with HCS projects.
With over 12 years in the financial industry and 8 more in the investment world, John also provides the team as the master of budgets, tax credits, and excel spreadsheets. He has a CFA (certification equal to a Masters Degree in Finance) and graduated certified from the New York Film Academy as a line producer. 

Thanks to his keen eye for details and numbers, he is in charge of production costs and waterfalls, ROI for investors, banking, and taxes. (We can’t all be creative!) John also owns four other investment companies, which he manages via his employees. 

Christina Stumpf — Editor
Christina is an award winning creative editor based in Chicago. With over twenty years of experience she started her career at The Lookinglass Company in Santa Monica, CA, one of the leading commercial post production companies on the West Coast, and then Whitehouse Post in Chicago.

She’s edited major commercial broadcast campaigns for national brands including Sears, Aetna Insurance, McDonald’s, Jimmy Johns, Rocket Mortgage and Ford. She’s edited music videos for the Goo Goo Dolls and Hole and her feature credits include American Crow, Mind Over Mindy, Allyball, and The Next Great Burger. She’s also edited streaming satire programming, Tough Season, Cheeseburger in a Coconut and Sex House for The Onion.

She works in both the English and Hispanic content space and her work has been shortlisted at Cannes and aired during the Super Bowl.

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Contact

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