Private Project

THE BIKER THIEF

"The Guy" (JOSEPH ARRIAGA), a young Mexican man of 19, is the sole survivor of a shipwreck in the Gulf. He buries his family in the swamps and hitchhikes to New Orleans, a box of photos of his loved ones his remaining possession. He lives as a petty thief to survive, staying in a converted shed behind a nice house, where he is the caretaker (and part-time lover) for a single mother. For extra money, he procures a motorcycle and becomes a getaway driver for small break-ins. One day, he snatches the purse of a beautiful, dangerous woman named Lisa (KENDRA JONES). She follows him and, in turn, steals his sole possession-his precious box of photos. To get his photos back, she says he needs to simply steal the keys to a condo and deliver them to her. Inside the condo is a priceless painting called "House on Fire" painted by her famous painter father, now deceased. Her group of highly professional (and highly secretive) thieves stole the painting from a museum in Hong Kong five years earlier, but then, at the last minute, were double-crossed by their boss, who disappeared with it. The crew have been searching for their old boss, named Hong, ever since. Lisa wants the painting back and will do anything for it. More importantly, however, the crew want to know WHY they were double-crossed by their boss who taught them everything.

  • Keith Morris
    Director
  • Keith Alan Morris
    Writer
  • Keith Alan Morris
    Producer
  • Joseph Arriaga
    Key Cast
    "THE GUY"
  • Kendra Jones
    Key Cast
    "LISA"
  • Martin Bradford
    Key Cast
    "THE KID"
  • Julio Castillo
    Key Cast
    "JULIO"
  • Olga Safari
    Key Cast
    "NIA"
  • Project Type:
    Feature
  • Runtime:
    1 hour 16 minutes
  • Completion Date:
    July 26, 2023
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    United States
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    RED
  • Aspect Ratio:
    2:35:1
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
Director Biography - Keith Morris

Keith Alan Morris wrote, directed and shot "THE BIKER THIEF" and is a practicing filmmaker and film professor.

Morris recently worked with Kids At Play Los Angeles as a producer and co-DP of Battlestations, a "lifestyle of the rich and famous sports-stars-who-are-gamers" pilot. He also has a comedy show that he personally created that is in development with Brian Graden Media.

Morris' furthest reach was as the writer/director/producer of “Gutter King” (Amazon Prime) – recently ranked #159 on IMDB. The film is distributed in over 25 countries. He helped Spike Lee make OLDBOY (Prime) and directed and shot "Runaway Hearts" (Prime) starring Wendell Pierce and John Schneider, which screened at the Cannes market. He consulted on 12 films in 2015, including The Magnificent Seven (Prime), Elvis & Nixon (Netflix), and Mr. Right (Prime); He also works as a cinematographer and producer on numerous films, including Marvista's family western "Rodeo and Juliet" (Netflix) starring living legend Buck Taylor and Krista Allen. Morris' first film "The Clinic" won Best Screenplay at the NY International Film & Video Fest.

Morris is the tenured Associate Professor of Film at Dillard University in New Orleans, an HBCU, where he runs the film program as the Program Coordinator. The Film program is one of two Signature Programs at Dillard, the highest honor. He won the 2012 Media Educator of the Year Award by the Social Change Film Fest and Institute.

To hear him on the "Go For Production" podcast speaking on "The Biker Thief," "Being a Production Consultant on Studio Films," and on "If Filmmaking is Right for You," visit: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/keith-alan-morris-working-as-production-consultant/id1459768556?i=1000452319620

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Director Statement

"For THE BIKER THIEF, I created a much longer than normal production schedule so the film wouldn’t feel rushed and I could wait for the right light. It was mostly shot at night with nearly all the daylight shots created only at dusk--we’d go back again and again to match the light. The film needed very little color correction because of this. And from not rushing it, the film is very, very close to my original script. It has a ton of locations and cast and moving pieces—a lot of blood, sweat, and tears put into it. I hope audiences will see that and engage with it on a visceral, deeply primal level."