Darren Wilson
Founder
Director
Writer
Editor
Production Coordinator
Darren founded Wanderlust Productions in 2006 when he started stumbling through his first feature film, Finger of God. Later, he decided to surround himself with people who were more talented than him to help create his next features, Furious Love and Father of Lights, but of course he takes all the credit for their great work. Darren’s job description includes creating the stories, speaking and showing off the films, dealing with a variety of “interesting” reactions to Wanderlust’s films, planning all the shoots, and schmoozing with awesome people around the world. Darren taught for 10 years at Judson University before moving into production full time, and he is currently the Artist-in-Residence at Judson. He has a wonderful and long-suffering wife, Jenell, and three wonderful children, Serenity, Stryder, and River. He also has two cats (meh) and the best dog in the world, Moses.
Braden Heckman
CEO
Producer
CFO
CMO
Post-Production Manager
Braden has humble beginnings as a student in Darren’s video classes at Judson University. Once Finger of God was released, Darren contracted him to “fix all the mistakes.” He was also involved in just about every aspect of Furious Love, not excluding filming while sitting amongst cockroaches in Bangkok. He started full time in January 2010 and now runs the company as CEO. To his surprise, he has developed a passion for all things business and is in the middle of completing his MBA at the University of Chicago. Braden likes to look at the big picture and the long term and has big dreams for Wanderlust as a company. He happily lives with his gorgeous wife and yellow lab, Luke. Oh, and he loves to receive packages via UPS (especially if there are gadgets within).
Brittney Banks
Studio Manager
Inventory Manager
Event Production Manager
Sales Manager
Sales Rep
Brittney started with Wanderlust Productions in May of 2008. She thought she would be able to find her way away from Darren Wilson, after 4 strenuous years of having him as her professor at Judson University; however, such luck did not befall her. Less than a week after graduation she started working for Darren simply shipping DVDs and answering emails. Now, two and a half years down the road, she has moved up the rank to her official title as Studio Manager & Assistant to Darren Wilson. If you can think of a task that a movie production studio would have, she does it. This frequently includes the phrase “I’ll take care of it.” The one thing that isn’t necessarily written into her job description is her task of attempting to manage a group of three men who are…well, let’s just say interesting. Movies and music are pretty much her thing…the likes of which include, but are not limited to The Godfather (yes, all three of them), Martin Scorsese films, Frank Sinatra and MuteMath. She resides in Elgin, IL only a walk away from her office (yes she is just that committed to the job).
Caitlyn Powers
Customer Experience Manager
Post-Production Assistant
Camera Production Assistant & Grip
Caitlyn first met Darren her freshman year at Judson University while she was spending her Friday night editing in the Mac Lab. Whether he was impressed by her dedication or simply felt pity on her for not having anything better to do on a Friday night, he brought her on at Wanderlust to organize all the footage for Furious Love. A few years later, she is now an assistant editor, closed captioning technician, cinematographer, and… well, whatever you call the person who organizes the footage. Caitlyn recently graduated from Judson with a degree in Youth Ministry and Media Studies. Her favorite thing to do is hang out with teenagers and talk with them about God, life, and Glee. She loves being a part of the ministry at Wanderlust and enjoys seeing God’s love transform lives.
Matt Bilen
Editor
Composer
Camera Operator
Production Sound Mixer
Sound Designer
Recording Engineer
Matt started his work with Wanderlust several years ago as the shooting for Finger of God was about to begin. Unfortunately, Matt nearly passed out in the international terminal at O’hare and was hauled out by 4 paramedics with what can best be described as bad gas. Things have gone up from there, though, as Matt did some of the special features for Finger of God and worked on almost all of film shoots for Furious Love. He came on full-time in June of 2010. Besides operating a camera, Matt does most of the photography, music, and some of the lesser technical operations not handled by Braden. But mainly, he’s just a creative flow of creativity. He is currently working on the musical and sound effects score for an upcoming cartoon called “Anointed Fighter.” Some of his “favs” are Chipotle, Lord of the Rings, The Matrix, Coldplay and Jesus Culture. Matt is married to Danielle and has 2 boys, Zachariah and Ezekial. He and his wife will be traveling to Ethiopia to pick up their newly adopted daughter in a few months.
Josiah Lenz
Graphic Designer
Webmaster
Online Marketing Director
IT Specialist
Motion Graphic Artist
Josiah joined the Wanderlust team in February of 2013. Bringing his graphic and web design experience, he desires to bring a unique spin to an already creative team. Josiah is passionate about design, music, and God. He loves the creative process of an idea becoming reality, but nothing, however, excites Josiah more than when others encounter the love of God. He enjoys summertime cookouts with friends. Some of his other favorites include Tom & Eddie’s, Band of Brothers, Joe Satriani, Blackmill, and Bethel Music. Josiah and his beautiful wife Abbi have been married for over 10 years. They have three children, Isaiah (the engineer), Gabriel (the passionate), and Naphtali (the firecracker). Also, the black bear is best.