Jon Wanzek Bad Medicine Films | Jon Wanzek

A North Dakota-based Independent Film Company

Bad Medicine Films

A North Dakota-based Independent Film Company

Bad Medicine Films

Bad Medicine Films Logo

In 2012, Jon established Bad Medicine Films. The production company produces and finances independent films is named after the lake in Minnesota where his cabin is located. Bad Medicine Films has produced a number of films including Ten Thousand Saints, Valley of Bones, Human Capital, Bull Moose, Pilgrim, and several other projects are currently in development.

The company’s first movie, Ten Thousand Saints, premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in 2015 and was followed up by Valley of Bones distributed in 2017. Human Capital staring Academy Award winning Marisa Tomei, Leiv Shrieber, and Maya Hawke was released in 2019. Other films in the works include Bull Moose, a story about the young Theodore Roosevelt in Badlands, Jon is co-producing with Shaun Reddick.

The discovery of a lifetime

Valley of Bones

A disgraced paleontologist struggling to raise her son is tipped off to a groundbreaking dig site in the Badlands by a recovering meth addict, but his tie to the cartel threatens to bury them both under the weight of their criminal pasts.

The discovery of a lifetime

Valley of Bones

A disgraced paleontologist struggling to raise her son is tipped off to a groundbreaking dig site in the Badlands by a recovering meth addict, but his tie to the cartel threatens to bury them both under the weight of their criminal pasts.

Another world- a lawless time

Pilgrim

Pilgrim takes place in a lawless time where magic is believed to exist by an idealistic few. Emryk, a bereaved man, seeks the blood of two merchants who desecrate his lover’s grave. During the pursuit, he encounters an ascetic “Holy Man” and learns of a magic that could bring back the dead. Denied revenge, Emryk is left with only the possibility of the transcendent. This short film was shot on location in Iceland.

Another world- a lawless time

Pilgrim

Pilgrim takes place in a lawless time where magic is believed to exist by an idealistic few. Emryk, a bereaved man, seeks the blood of two merchants who desecrate his lover’s grave. During the pursuit, he encounters an ascetic “Holy Man” and learns of a magic that could bring back the dead. Denied revenge, Emryk is left with only the possibility of the transcendent. This short film was shot on location in Iceland.

1980’s New York City

Ten Thousand Saints

Jude (Asa Butterfield) is a teenage boy who is trying to reconnect with his father Les (Ethan Hawke) in 1987 Manhattan. When Jude’s friend, Teddy (Avan Jogia), dies of a drug overdose, Jude finds himself befriending a group of friends who are against drugs, alcohol, profanity and sex and live for punk-style rock music. When he meets sixteen year old Eliza (Hailee Steinfeld), who’s pregnant with Teddy’s child, he and Les are forced to be her rock through her pregnancy and early motherhood, while Jude struggles with his feelings for her and his relationship with his father.

1980’s New York City

Ten Thousand Saints

Jude (Asa Butterfield) is a teenage boy who is trying to reconnect with his father Les (Ethan Hawke) in 1987 Manhattan. When Jude’s friend, Teddy (Avan Jogia), dies of a drug overdose, Jude finds himself befriending a group of friends who are against drugs, alcohol, profanity and sex and live for punk-style rock music. When he meets sixteen year old Eliza (Hailee Steinfeld), who’s pregnant with Teddy’s child, he and Les are forced to be her rock through her pregnancy and early motherhood, while Jude struggles with his feelings for her and his relationship with his father.

Every life has a price

Human Capital

After meeting Quint (Peter Sarsgaard), the father of his daughter’s boyfriend, Drew (Liev Schreiber), a local real estate agent, decides to invest in his latest hedge fund, though through illegal means. It signals the start of many troubles for him, which is only amplified by the revelation that his wife, Ronnie (Betty Gabriel), is expecting twins. When an unintentional manslaughter takes place, the complicated relations between the two families become even more tangled.

Every life has a price

Human Capital

After meeting Quint (Peter Sarsgaard), the father of his daughter’s boyfriend, Drew (Liev Schreiber), a local real estate agent, decides to invest in his latest hedge fund, though through illegal means. It signals the start of many troubles for him, which is only amplified by the revelation that his wife, Ronnie (Betty Gabriel), is expecting twins. When an unintentional manslaughter takes place, the complicated relations between the two families become even more tangled.

Struggles of Our Society

Doglike

Laura, a young homeless woman from London, finds shelter in an underground train station where she encounters Mark, a psychology professor waiting for his late night train. What begins as a simple interaction evolves into a thought-provoking dialogue about free will, society and human nature.

Struggles of Our Society

Doglike

Laura, a young homeless woman from London, finds shelter in an underground train station where she encounters Mark, a psychology professor waiting for his late night train. What begins as a simple interaction evolves into a thought-provoking dialogue about free will, society and human nature.