Experiencing Interruptions?

Hide Your Love Away

When a bullied, abandoned, autistic teen threatens suicide, his group home guardian, an autism dad, must throw him a lifeline or sink in the storm.

  • Linda Kay Leonard
    Director
    Linda K. Leonard has been a professional Director/Actor for more than 40 years in every medium of the Arts. Film, Theatre, Commercial and Industrial and Musical Theatre. She has received Critics Forum Awards, Leon Rabin Awards, Critics Choice Awards and many others, Linda is a member of Actors Equity, SAG/AFTRA, Women in Film and WAPN and is dedicated to the process of creativity and empowerment and healing. She is honored to bring our story to the screen.
  • Dan E. Burns
    Writer
    Dan E. Burns has been writing, producing, and directing documentary, educational, dramatic, and promotional films for over 50 years. While in school, he wrote and produced "A Time to Mend," a documentary about disabled children. He then wrote and produced the Eastman Kodak Company annual newsreel. Funded by Canada Council for the Arts, he wrote directed, and produced "Survival in the City" and "A Place in the Country," films about urban migration showcased on CBC. Dan is an advocate for his son with autism, Ben. He co-founded a ranch for teens and young adults with autism in Austin, and  wrote Dispatches from the Front, serially published in 2016, based on that experience. In 2020-21, with co-writer Shiitake Mama, Dan wrote and produced a short dramatic film, “Hide Your Love Away,” based on his experience working with teens and young adults on the autism spectrum. His production company, Appleseed Ventures, are considering producing a six-episode web series to include “Hide Your Love Away.”
  • Shiitake Mama
    Writer
    Co-writer Shiitake Mama, formerly Sandra Dutreau Perky Williams, PhD, has garnered national and international recognition for her essays, poems, scripts, and educational materials and films. A theatre professional for over 30 years and a theatre Artist in Residence, she has directed, taught, and developed scripts and improvised productions for university and community theatres. Her work in public schools focuses on at-risk kids, using improv and theatre games. She has collaborated with co-writer Dan Burns on numerous autism-related projects, including Saving Ben, A Father’s Story of Autism. www.shiitakemama.com
  • Appleseed Ventures
    Producer
    Dan E. Burns, CEO of Appleseed Ventures, has been writing, producing, and directing documentary, educational, dramatic, and promotional films for over 50 years. While in school, he wrote and produced "A Time to Mend," a documentary about disabled children. He then wrote and produced the Eastman Kodak Company annual newsreel. Funded by Canada Council for the Arts, he wrote directed, and produced "Survival in the City" and "A Place in the Country," films about urban migration showcased on CBC.
  • William Arthur Jenkins
    Key Cast
    "Josh"
    On stage, Bill Jenkins (Josh) has been a member of Actors’ Equity for 37 years. He is also active in film, TV, commercials & voice dubbing for Japanese Anime. He has played opposite Diane Keaton, Josh Brolin & was directed by Oliver Stone. He has portrayed three American Presidents, received two Critics’ Forum Awards, a Theatre Three Patrons’ Favorite Award & is deeply grateful for his beloved ‘partner in crime’, Linda Kay Leonard.
  • Hunter Douglas
    Key Cast
    "Zero"
    Hunter Douglas is a graduate of Grand Prairie Fine Arts Academy and a current BFA Acting major at Oklahoma City University. Regional DFW credits include roles such as Will in American Idiot (Junior Players), Sky in Mamma Mia! (NTPA Repertory Theatre), and Ellard in The Foreigner (Tarrant Actors Regional Theatre)
  • Bryan Douglas
    Key Cast
    "Buck"
    Bryan Douglas is a DFW area actor and theatre technical designer. Graduated from Park University in 1998. Apprenticed as an actor with Vassar College NY Stage & Film’s apprentice program. Represented by Grit Talent.
  • Linda Kay Leonard
    Key Cast
    "Maggie"
    Linda K. Leonard has been a professional Director/Actor for more than 40 years in every medium of the Arts. Film, Theatre, Commercial and Industrial and Musical Theatre. She has received  Critics Forum Awards, Leon Rabin Awards, Critics Choice Awards and many others, Linda is a member of Actors Equity, SAG/AFTRA, Women in Film and WAPN and is dedicated to the process of creativity and empowerment and healing. She is honored to bring our story to the screen.
  • Edwin L. Williams II
    Director of Photography
    Edwin L. Williams II started his acting and filmmaking career in 2014. He has an Associate in Acting Performance degree from KD Conservatory in Dallas and has appeared in feature films, TV commercials and short films. He has produced short films and web series through his company Digital ELW Productions. 
  • David Pinkston
    Lights and Sound
    David has been a professional cinematographer and freelance editor since 1980. His film and video projects include features, shorts, documentaries, commercials and web base interactive videos for corporations. He has a Master of Fine Arts in screen writing and directing from the Vermont College of Fine Arts and additional training from the American Society of Cinematographers and the IMAX Corporation.
  • Brian Levin
    Editor
    Brian is a director, producer, and editor based in Los Angeles. He runs a boutique production company called Forge and Discover, which is focused on helping creatives bring their stories to life. As an editor, Brian has had a lot of success crafting a variety of different films, from feature length narratives to broadcast and short documentaries. He's been editing films since an early age, and has carried that passion for filmmaking with him from childhood until now. Though the technology may have changed, his enthusiasm has not. You can learn more about Brian at www.forgeanddiscover.com
  • Ben Klewais
    Visual Effects
    Ben Klewais is a VFX artist from Belgium. He has a background developing mobile apps and websites from his degree in Multimedia. In 2017 he did an internship in Los Angeles to pursue his interest in visual effects and since then has been working with social media creators Zach King and Aaron’s Animals.
  • Justin Johnson
    Music
    Justin Johnson has been a resident of Dallas, TX for 8 years. An implant from Texarkana, TX, He has performed at numerous venues with multiple bands as a vocalist. It was only recently that he decided to take on composing and producing his own music. “I have so enjoyed working with this amazing cast and crew of highly talented individuals! I look forward to many more projects together."
  • Ilyssa Pettigrew
    Voice Over
    Ilyssa Pettigrew is a native Texan who is also an actress, writer, and an audio-technician for evening voiceover classes at KD conservatory. She makes her voiceover debut in the film “Hide Your Love”
  • Andrew Adams
    Poster
    Creative Director at Atomic Productions Past: Total Frat Move Studied at The University of Texas at Austin Attended from 2008 to 2012 Lives in Dallas, Texas
  • Project Type:
    Short
  • Runtime:
    14 minutes 17 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    January 2, 2021
  • Production Budget:
    11,204 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    United States
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Top Shorts

    United States
    Semi-Finalist
  • Canadian Cinematography

    Semi Finalist
  • NewFilmmakers MY

    Finalist
  • Under the Stars International
    Finalist
  • Athens International Monthly Art Film
    Finalist
Director Biography - Linda Kay Leonard

Linda K. Leonard has been a professional Director/Actor for more than 40 years in every medium of the Arts. Film, Theatre, Commercial and Industrial and Musical Theatre. She has received Critics Forum Awards, Leon Rabin Awards, Critics Choice Awards and many others, Linda is a member of Actors Equity, SAG/AFTRA, Women in Film and WAPN and is dedicated to the process of creativity and empowerment and healing. She is honored to bring our story to the screen.

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

I have had the pleasure and honor to collaborate with Dan E. Burns and a host of talented and passionate, amazing artists during our New Age of Filmmaking in 2020. Utilizing a cast and crew of only 10 artists, we created Hide Your Love Away as a non-traditional look at the world of autism, suicide and prevention. It may feel dark or even Gothic in nature, but the story represents the often realistic response and effort to navigate through the journey of saving a young man with autism from suicide, the sometimes clumsy efforts and the surprising and hopeful results of connection and empathy.

I began my journey into the world and community of autism several years ago when I cast and directed a web series for Dan, called Saving Hope (originally Saving Zero). I have, in the past, worked in many youth theatre groups with young artists with special needs, but I had never taken on this kind of a project as a director. What I found was a community open to educating others in compassion and understanding of the world of autism, and I discovered just how amazingly gifted and fragile the life of a person with autism can be. There is information and guidance and patience available for anyone who wants to explore that world with the intention of truly "seeing and hearing and learning" in order to bring a greater understanding of autism to others. I am grateful to be a part of this journey.

Linda K. Leonard
Director, Hide Your Love Away