Christopher Sweeney
"Matt Lawson"

Matt is Elly’s sarcastic ex-lover and cameraman.
As Matt uncovers the secrets of the river he also
grows to learn what it means to make sacrifices
for those he loves.

Matt is played by Christopher Sweeney. In the
six years that Christopher has lived in LA he has
worked mostly in independent films and commercials.
In addition to honing his craft, one of the best
preparations for the challenging shooting conditions
of Beneath the Mississippi was Christopher's stint
in the Gulf War, serving as a Marine. Christopher
also shot a Sierra Mist commercial in sub-zero
water in Alaska.

Ariadne Shaffer
"Elly Thompson"

Elly is the strong-willed documentarian who leads her film
crew up the Mississippi to investigate the mysterious events
in this isolated corner of the world. While she is beloved and
trusted by her crew. Elly has not been candid with them about
her own personal history on the river. As these secrets come
out, Elly is forced to confront her own personal history on the
river. As these secrets come out, Elly is forced to confront her
own role in the fates of those she loves.

Elly is played by Ariadne Shaffer, a Seattle native who has had
her work shown at numerous film festivals around the world,
most notably Toronto, Sundance and Cannes. Her most
recognizable role was as Rachel in Better Luck Tomorrow, the
critically acclaimed feature listed by Roger Ebert as one of the
best films of 2003. Other notable credits include Frog-g-g!,
Gone, But Not Forgotten, and "Falsehood", a short that was
awarded a special recognition by the Cinematographer's
Guild of America and the Cannes International Film Festival.

Jon Hazell
Writer/"Jack" (last name unknown)

Jack is the laconic life-long river man who agrees to ferry Elly
and her crew up the Mississippi. Jack knows the dangers of the
river, but he is slow to acknowledge the inexplicable events
that are occurring as he begins to find himself drawn to Elly.

Jon Hazell, who plays Jack, currently lives along the Mississippi.
Jon has a musical background, performing in numerous concerts
and on many recordings. He studied theatre at Creighton
University and at the Stella Adler Academy in Los Angeles.

Sonja Soriano
"Eva Hernandez"

Eva is Elly’s research assistant. Eva's fastidious intelligence
makes it difficult for her to process and accept the strange
circumstances the film crew finds themselves in, leading her
to break down faster than the others.

Sonja Soriano plays Eva. After a tech career in the dot.com
boom, Sonja moved to Hollywood to pursue acting. She
continues to study acting and has been cast in several
independent projects and has appeared on Network Television.

Nick Murray
"David"

David is Elly’s soft-spoken cameraman who is trying to cope
with the recent separation from his wife. As his frustrations
mount and his fears grow, David inner rage comes rushing
to the surface.

Nick Murray, who plays David, started acting when he
moved to Los Angeles at eighteen years old. He studied for
two years at the Stella Adler Academy and has acted in
many small theatre productions, fine tuning his craft all
over Hollywood and Los Angeles. He can be seen in the
upcoming independent films Title Fight and We'll Always
Have the Dress.

Michael Robert Nyman
Casting Director/"Gilly"

Gilly is Jack’s simpleton comrade who mysteriously vanishes
as the crew travels up river. Gilly’s disappearance is the first
indication to Elly’s crew that all is not as it should be.

Gilly is played by Mike Nyman, long- time member of
The Zeitgeist Theatre Company and co-founder of The First
Stage Alert Theatre Company. He produced the feature
35mm film Bottom Feeders with Lonnie Schuyler.

Lonnie Schuyler
Director/Screenwriter/Executive Producer/"Greg Thompson"

Years ago when Elly was fiver, her father, Greg Thompson,
disappeared off a skiff on the river, leaving the little girl
alone and parentless. Since then, Elly has been haunted by
the absence of her father. Now, she is returning to the river as
an adult to determine what happened to him all those years ago.

The role of Elly's father is played by the film's director and
producer, Lonnie Schuyler. Lonnie's many credits include the
role of James Bonham on the James Michener mini-series, Texas.
He was also a series regular on the Aaron Spelling series Melrose
Place and Models, Inc. This is Lonnie's second full-length feature
as director. His first feature is Bottom Feeders.

Tim Anderson
Executive Producer/Line Producer

After attending North Iowa Tech., Anderson has
worked in several management positions including
internet sales, promotions, and auto racing. Schuyler
and Anderson teamed up after Lonnie mentioned
he was writing a script and might need help producing
the film. Anderson is currently producing a self help
credit repair dvd ("Credit Hostage" is the working title),
and in preproduction on a short titled "end". Both scripted
and co-directed by Anderson.

Steve Stiefel
Executive Producer

Steven Stiefel is a freelance writer, editor and producer.
Recent credits include the feature film "Beneath the
Mississippi" (2007), the sitcom pilot "After Midnight"
(2006), and the infomercial series "At Home with Jean"
(2004). He is the author of the books Weights on the
Ball Workbook and Fit in 15. In addition, he has written
many articles on health, exercise and nutrition,
published in Men's Health, Shape, Men's Fitness,
Muscle & Fitness, Maximum Fitness and others. His fiction
has appeared in The Georgia Review and McSweeney's.
Currently, Steven is working as editor on the
nutrition/lifestyle book "The Miracle of Protein"
written by Kevin Lawrence, Jeff Feliciano and
Jim Stoppani, Ph.D.

Kenny Moen
Director of Photography

Ken travels the united states collecting
strong imagery. From world-class
bicycle racing, snowboarding, and portraiture
spanning the country, to high end weddings
in Vail Colorado.

Phil Manke
Special Effects

Phill works as videographer and editor for two
media production companies. High Depth
Productions creates documentaries which detail
aspectsof American History, and the Food Guru who
is one of iTunes earliest and most popular
video podcasts.

Tim Nicola
Sound

Tim has been making noises since birth.  He started
recording them soon thereafter.  Tim has been involved
with feature and documentary productions, location and
studio audio recordings, and his video work has
appeared on Adult Swim. His studio is located in
Antioch, IL.

Patrick Hazell
Original Music

As an educator Hazell plays his music and deals
with such topics as songwriting, improvisation, and the
elements of jazz and blues music. In this capacity, he
was an instructor in a special music class at
Washington (Iowa) High School from 1987-1995.
Entitled 'Advanced Instrumental Music', the class
was spotlighted by Iowa Public Television (Living in
Iowa, December 25, 1992) for its innovative
approach to music education, allowing the students
to create and perform their own music. He has
also presented numerous Blues-In-The-School programs.