Born and raised in the Black Hills of South Dakota, Mike prides himself on his Midwesterns, films made for and by people of the Midwest, and considers it his life’s goal to prove that film of the Great Plains can contend with that of any other region if the storytelling is strong enough. “The Bagman Died First” is his fourth finished short film as a writer and director, and he has assisted other Nebraska filmmakers with countless other projects. He plans to make his solo feature film debut with “The Pick Up”, a neo-western in the style of Quentin Tarantino and Elmore Leonard. Mike lives in Lincoln, Nebraska with his wife, Jessica, and their dogs, Bowie and Tilly, and cat, Margo.