ABOUT

Michael Leoni - Director, Writer, Producer
Michael Leoni, founder of AN 11:11 EXPERIMENT, has always committed himself to creating provocative material that could reach beyond the scope of traditional entertainment, challenge an audience’s beliefs, and motivate a movement for positive change in our society. Michael’s success as a writer/director began in Boston where he wrote and directed his first two projects, City of Dreams, and Omerta— The Code of Silence. Michael’s modern adaptations to classics like Hair and Jesus Christ Superstar attracted sold out houses and generated local press.
Accepted at The Hartt Conservatory on a talent scholarship, he left at 19 and relocated to New York City in pursuit of a larger canvas to develop his artistic expression. Michael wrote, directed, and produced Enigma, a coming of age story concentrating on tough issues such as abortion, sexuality, disease, suicide, and drug use. The unconventional style of Michael’s direction continued with Deviants and This is Our Youth, a play by Kenneth Lonnergan. His next success was LOUD, an original rock musical about family trauma and teenage bomb building. Michael directed LOUD in an off- Broadway run, receiving local acclaim and gaining several nominations at the NYC Fringe Festival. Audiences continued to respond positively to his imaginative, artistic style that combined theatre with an independent film feel.
In 2004 Michael made the move to Los Angeles to further his collaborative art form and make the transition into film. He formed his production company, An 11:11 Experiment, and produced The Playground, a Rock Music-infused piece inspired by the lives of homeless kids and teenage runaways. Written and Directed by Leoni, The Playground debuted on stage in Los Angeles, received great reviews and continued to run at least once a year for the next five consecutive years. Now, it has been developed into an edge-of-your-seat, feature film that takes us beyond the glamorous world of Hollywood and into the lives of LA’s street kids. The infusion of Rock and Hip-Hop music creates an entryway into the lonely corridors of the kid’s minds and illuminates their hopes of a better life.
(To learn more about The Playground visit: http://www.theplaygroundmovie.com)
Michael’s transition into film began with back-to-back short films. Radford Rd., a horror film told through the killer’s perspective; Deliver Us, a psychological thriller and Someplace in Between, a comedy about 7 people stuck in an elevator, which is currently playing the festival circuit and was most recently selected into the 2009 LA Shorts Film Festival.
He is currently in post-production on Spare Some Change, a powerful, feature-length documentary that takes us onto the streets and into the real lives of America’s homeless youth. The film shatters the misconception that these kids want to be on the streets, that it‘s their choice to be homeless.
Currently, Michael has 2 feature films and a Television series in different stages of development. http://pro.imdb.com/name/nm2641508/

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MICHAEL LEONI
DIRECTOR / PRODUCER / WRITER

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