Director's Statement
Since I was ten years old, I knew I wanted to make movies for a living. But it wasn’t until high school that I took my first video production class and made my first film. I fell in love with every part of the process. After playing football for nine years, I stepped away from the varsity team my senior year because I wanted to put all my energy into making films. That fall, the varsity team won the sectional championship; I made my best film at the time. It wasn't easy to give up football, but I knew it was the right decision for me.
I fell in love with film and TV after having a bad episode of sleep paralysis when I was younger. I would keep myself awake by watching tv all night. Because I have experienced sleep paralysis throughout my life, I feel responsible for showing how terrifying it can be. I want to depict sleep paralysis authentically while entertaining and exploring the real-life bogeyman, the sleep paralysis demon. Something I also want to explore with this film is dreams and how dreams can impact your life. I have always had vivid and detailed dreams, some having a lot of meaning and symbolism and others being chaotic and random. As someone who deals with depression and anxiety, I want to show how it can manifest in someone's dreams. I believe that your dreams try to prepare you for possible crises in your life, and I believe that dreams can be a place where you can heal and grow. There have been times in my life when I was in a crisis, and I would have a dream where I would see an old friend or relative or even a teacher; just by seeing them and briefly talking with them, I got this rush of joy. Most of the time, they would advise me on whatever problems I was going through. And this was so helpful for me when I felt like I couldn’t talk with anyone else. Even though it was only a dream and wasn’t real, these talks impacted my life when I needed it the most. This is something I want to recreate in this film. Showing this in the film will encourage others to look closely at their dreams for signs of advice. I want to collaborate with other filmmakers on this film. I’m very open to new ideas and want it to feel like we’re all making something we love. Something I want to accomplish with this film is making it a portfolio-worthy piece and something that could be submitted to a film festival. But most importantly, I want to make something entertaining to give people a break from life's many harsh realities, as films and tv shows have done for me in the past.
Corey Michael Bivens, 2022
Meet the Team
Corey Michael Bivens - Director
Corey Michael Bivens is an up-and-coming film director, producer and screenwriter. He has received the Keith W. Fengler Scholarship in 2018. He was admitted to the film and media arts BFA program in Directing at Temple University. He is currently working on a new film still in pre-production, and he’s editing two other short films as well.
Kristen Chaballa - Producer
Kristen Chaballa is an emerging producer and filmmaker, currently a senior at Temple University. She has worked on student theses in conjunction with senior producing students and has written many short films including Discounted and an Untitled Family Drama. Kristen is currently working as a producer on two short films while also working in distribution on a junior thesis film, Tumbling Dice. She is preparing to move to Los Angeles to finish her last semester this spring.
Matt Ceklosky - Cinematographer
Matt Ceklosky is nothing more than a person who grew up holding a camera. He became very passionate with the art of magic when he was 8 years old, he would steal his mother's DSLR camera and film himself doing magic tricks. Ever since then, his love for magic and filmmaking have guided each other to where he is today. Creating not only films but also content for social media platforms like Instagram and Tiktok. He is currently working on two narrative short films as well as a personal documentary film on his life and magic.
Dylan Hrivnak - Editor
Dylan Hrivnak is currently a junior Temple student with a concentration in post production. Besides having worked on dozens of short films, he has also created a YouTube series called LVN EATS WORLD, with his friend Logan Van Nostrand. Not only has the channel garnered thousands of views, it was also recognized by TU Pilots on their website. He is currently working on two short films and episode 18 of LVN EATS WORLD.
Chris Kennedy - Producer
Chris Kennedy is a Philadelphia-based Producer at Temple University. After running a basement music venue in the Lehigh Valley for three years, he pivoted to film and has made a variety of music videos. Most recently he produced and directed an immersive live show featuring 6 bands, interacive performances, magic, and performance art. He's currently producing two senior thesis films and preparing to move to Los Angeles for his last semester at Temple.
Cole Hediger - Associate Producer
Cole Hediger is a film student in the screenwriting concentration at Temple University. In addition to working on Sleep Demon, they produce a web series, which has been the official selection of three film festivals and has won three of its four nominations, including Best Series. Cole's writing has also been published in several literary journals, including Vast Literary Chasm and The Roadrunner Review, in which their work was awarded Best Fiction.
Jessica McNamara - Production Designer
Jessica McNamara is a passionate production designer and senior at Temple University studying Film and Media Arts. She has production designed for multiple senior-thesis productions including Birdland, Bad Maggie, Bean and A Train Ride Away. Last semester, Jessica particpated in the LA Study Away program at Temple University and interned with two companies including Fox Sports. Back on Temple's campus for her last year, she is the Co-Video Creator for the Temple University Marching Band.