As SPEAKproductions, Cory Krueckeberg & Tom Gustafson have made 8 feature & short films which have won 60+ awards while playing 275+ film festivals around the world. Their first short, FAIRIES, premiered at Tribeca & was adapted into their debut feature, the celebrated musical fantasy WERE the WORLD MINE which played 140 festivals & opened theatrically in 30 cities becoming a cult indie hit. Stephen Holden of the New York Times chose it as “Critics’ Pick” calling it “movie musical magic.” Their second feature, MARIACHI GRINGO (with Mexican star Martha Higareda, Shawn Ashmore, Grammy Winner Lila Downs & Oscar Nominee Adriana Barraza), premiered as the Opening Night film at the Miami Int’l Film Festival & won the top prize at Latin America’s premiere film festival in Guadalajara. About it, the New York Times proclaimed, “¡Hurra! Mariachi Gringo is right on pitch.” About their screen adaptation of celebrated Off-Broadway musical, HELLO AGAIN (starring Audra McDonald, Cheyenne Jackson, Martha Plimpton & more), The New York Times decided, “The movie musical needs more ambitious creators like them.” At the 37th Cleveland International Film Festival, Cory & Tom were honored as "Someone to Watch" with a retrospective of their work, including GETTING GO, an experimental hybrid of narrative, art film & documentary which Parade magazine called “the steamiest movie on Amazon Prime.” Their Indigo Girls-infused musical romance, GLITTER & DOOM (Tig Notaro, Missi Pyle, Ming Na Wen, Lea DeLaria & music producer, THE VOICE runner-up, Michelle Chamuel) premiered as the Closing Night Film at Inside Out Toronto Film Festival. The Chicago Reader called the “irresistible love story” “sparkling perfection.”
Cory & Tom have been on juries & panels at 20+ film festivals & lectured at the University of Hong Kong & Princeton. Cory earned a BFA from the University of Illinois Acting Studio program & once upon a time made a living performing on stages all across the country. Tom holds a BS in RTVF from Northwestern & balances work with SPEAK with work as Location Casting Director on some of the biggest studio movies & series ever made.
Select film festivals include Tribeca, Vail FF, Guadalajara Int'l, Miami Int'l, Cleveland FF, Frameline, Heartland, InsideOut, Rhode Island Int'l, Raindance, Dallas Int'l, Dublin Int'l, Jecheon, Chicago Int'l, Cinequest, Taipei Golden Horse, Nashville, Atlantic, Woodstock, Provincetown Int'l, Montreal World, Florida FF
Distributors include HBO, Warner Bros., Amazon, Netflix, Hulu, Cinemax, LOGO, Tubi, Music Box Films, The Orchard, BroadwayHD, Cine Latino, Air Canada, Landmark Cinemas, AMC, Alphaville, Screen Vision, Emerging Pictures, Peccadillo, Acte, Beyond, ProFun, The Movie Network, TLA, Pivot, OutTV, Sony Music
