Mike Disa is the director of the new movie Hoodwinked Too: Hood vs Evil. He maintains that Catholics everywhere will always be presented with difficult choices and temptations to take the “easy path to riches and fame”, but that one must work hard to live up to their faith. His Catholic beliefs motive his desire to create family films with “heroic characters, doing good, learning good, finding strength in themselves”. A theme reflected throughout Mike’s work is the development of smart, funny, well-rounded female characters. He says, “The most influential people in my life, other than my father, were the nuns who helped teach me and raise me. These were powerful, strong intelligent women, dedicated to making the world a better place—great role models for a young boy to grow up around. I think we should have more role models like that.”
Raised in a large, devout Irish Catholic family in Chicago, Mike holds a record for the most consecutive Easter Masses served by an altar boy at St. Francis of Assisi parish where his uncle, Father Pete, served as pastor. He is active in his parish in Santa Clarita where his daughter sings in the choir. Mike finds enormous value in creating films out of classic family values stories in which good people try to succeed beyond their dreams.