Meet the Team
CHRISTINE LEUTHOLD
Creator & Director
Based in LA and NY, Christine is a maker of impact-driven messaging and experiences for authentic connection and positive change. A dual U.S. and Swiss citizen, she has lived and worked in London, Paris, and Shanghai. Her first camera was a gift from her father that he used in the 1930’s.
In the 1980s, she created and produced brand-aligned social impact initiatives as Public Relations Director for Ralph Lauren Corporation. Ever since, she has integrated the greater good into her professional endeavors,including as:
- Executive Producer of Selling Superman, a new docu-series by Adam Schomer
- Associate Producer & Co-Writer of the documentary feature film Hollywood’s Humble Maestro: The Russell Garcia Story
- Producer & Moderator of 50+ online screening salons, featuring filmmakers. Past themes include: Diversity & Inclusion, Taking a Stand, The Power of Expression, and Vulnerability & Connection
- Past Co-Director of The Esalen Inspirational Film Festival
- Author of Comfort Living: A Back-to-Basics Guide to a More Balanced Lifestyle, a how-to book about creating “home”
Christine’s passion for this project comes from her conviction that we have to eliminate homelessness and housing insecurity in order to honor the essential human right to having a home.
Tess Cacciatore
Producer & Music Supervisor
Tess is an award-winning director, producer, author, and social impact advocate with a transformative 30-year career dedicated to tackling social issues through powerful storytelling. Known for her fearless approach to addressing human rights and social justice, Tess has produced and directed a wide range of acclaimed films, TV series, and music projects, and has authored multiple bestsellers, including her acclaimed biography, Homeless to the White House.
As the founder and CEO of the Global Women’s Empowerment Network (GWEN), a 501(c)(3) organization, Tess empowers individuals and communities worldwide by promoting peace education, trauma healing, and transformational storytelling. Her advocacy has taken her to five continents—Africa, Europe, Asia, North America, and South America—where she has tirelessly worked for over 25 years to address human rights issues and amplify underrepresented voices.
A believer in the power of storytelling to heal, connect, and transform lives, Tess is a founder of a newly formed media platform, World Trust Network, which brings education and entertainment into classrooms and homes around the globe.
Tess’s recent film, The Rescue, received critical acclaim and swept awards at 23 international film festivals, including Cannes World Film Festival, Whistleblowers Film Festival, European Cinematic, Toronto Short Film Festival, and City of Angels Film Festival. Recognized for her achievements as Best Female Director, as well as for Best Short Film and Best Soundtrack, The Rescue brings attention to the urgent issue of human trafficking.
With lived experience in themes of hope and resilience, Tess is on a life mission to create positive media that inspires real-world change.
STEVEN ULLMAN
Producer
Steven is an award-winning producer/ director based in Los Angeles. His mission is “to provoke thought, evoke feeling, and create community through inspired storytelling and creative entertainment.”
J. Todd Harris
Executive Producer
Todd founded and runs Branded Pictures Entertainment, a Los Angeles-based development and production company, with a focus on branded intellectual properties. In addition to this project, he is currently developing titles for film, stage, TV, new media, and podcasting, including theatrical productions of Soul Train, The Buena Vista Social Club, Death at a Funeral, and Stage Mother.
He has produced or executive produced over 50 film and TV projects, including the Oscar-nominated The Kids Are All
Right and The Trial of the Chicago 7. Todd has had five Sundance Film Festival entries, including Bottle Shock. His stage history includes producing Heathers The Musical, Doctor Zhivago, and American Psycho.
As a 25-year member of the Motion Picture Academy, Todd was also a member of the Broadway League (2015-18) and remains a member of the Producers Guild. He has been an adjunct professor at Chapman University and the Los Angeles branch of Syracuse University. He is also a founding board member of the Napa Valley Film Festival.
He earned his BA and MBA from Stanford University, and is married to songwriter Amy Powers.
Michael cassutt
Executive Producer
Michael Leon Cassutt is thrilled to join the incomparable From Hope to Home team for his debut documentary feature. Michael is highly honored to be a very small part of this wonderfully empathetic, well-researched, and ambitious project, hoping it can help spark desperately needed societal reform.
Cassutt’s slate as an executive producer crosses genre boundaries, including the Patricia Clarkson-starring political biopic Lilly, the elevated David Dastmalchian andAshley Greene-led thriller The Cure, the action caper Stone Cold Fox, featuring Kiefer Sutherland, Krysten Ritter, and Kiernan Shipka, and the pulse-pounding racial suspense thriller entitled The Gates.
Cassutt has also started working on a documentary following the 1976 Cincinnati Reds’ Big Red Machine, which will feature interviews with nearly all living members of the World-Series-winning team.
TIMMY VATTEROTT
Director of Photography & Editor
Timmy is a documentary filmmaker based in Los Angeles whose work focuses on creating compelling stories that engage the viewer with powerful imagery and empathetic characters.
His entry into film work began as composer and producer for the award winning short, DIVE! Living Off America’s Waste — a unique look at dumpster diving and hunger in America.
Following DIVE!, Timmy was an associate producer on the feature length documentary titled GMO, OMG, which premiered at the 63rd annual Berlin International Film Festival.
Documentary filmmaking led Timmy to work for educational and non-profit organizations such as City Year LA, UCLA, and Los Angeles United School District, for whom he has shot, directed, and edited several short films.
Timmy’s passion is to capture the “privileged moments” that appear within the camera’s frame and incorporate those images into a narrative that explores something fundamental and essential about the human condition.
Cole Harris
Associate Producer & Set Photographer
Cole Harris is an LA-based photographer.
A recent graduate of Syracuse University, where he double majored in Environmental Sustainability and Sociology, his people-centered work spans music festivals to raves to street photography.
Cole has spent the better part of the last year documenting and nurturing relationships with the homeless of Hollywood and Downtown LA.
His Production Assistant work includes:
- Multiple music videos for Cinematographer Ian Herz
- NOVA ad campaign with creative director Aidan Cullen
- THE CURE film with director Nancy Leopardi.