Because I Can Productions · Confidential Investment Opportunity
A Marlyn Bandiero Film
Ex-Marines. One last heist. A crypto-laundering empire hiding in plain sight. When loyalty and crime share the same zip code — trust becomes the most dangerous currency of all.
The Proof of Concept
Before a single investor dollar is at stake, this film has already earned its credibility on the international festival circuit. Standoff — the proven short film that became Thieves Among Us — competed across multiple continents and won. This is a proven concept with a proven team.
10 Wins · 15 Nominations
+ 5 additional nominations including Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Sound, Best Screenplay (NYLIFF) and Best Drama Short (NY Cinefest Film Festival)
The Film
A crew of ex-Marines — bonded by combat, fractured by betrayal — execute one final heist against a crypto-laundering fortress buried inside Miami's digital underworld. What starts as a job becomes a reckoning. Loyalty is tested. The lines between soldier and criminal dissolve completely.
This is not a genre film. It is a character study wearing the skin of a heist thriller — the psychological weight of Heat with the surgical precision of Inside Man. Set against a world where cryptocurrency and crime are indistinguishable.
Comparable Films
Setting: Miami's digital underworld — crypto, crime, and the ghost of military loyalty. A city where new money and old violence live in the same building.
Leadership
The people behind Standoff's 10 wins. The same team bringing Thieves Among Us to screen. Their track record is not theoretical — it is on the award shelf.
Thieves Among Us is one of several film and TV projects currently in development within the Because I Can Productions portfolio. Investors in this project are partnering with a production company that is actively building a slate — not a single-project operation.
Al launched his film career in Rocky IV, personally selected by Sylvester Stallone, who became a mentor. He starred in 72 episodes of Fox's Desire — broadcast to 96% of U.S. households and aired in 52 countries. He appeared opposite Golden Globe winner Gina Rodriguez in Go For It (Lionsgate/HBO). As a legendary New York radio voice, Al dominated KTU and HOT 97, voiced national campaigns for Revlon and Volvo, and hosted syndicated programming nationwide. He stars in and produces the award-winning short Standoff.
Born in Havana, raised in New York City, Marlyn holds a degree in International Affairs from Manhattan College and began her career at the United Nations. A multilingual storyteller fluent in four languages, she co-founded Because I Can Productions after years in global fashion and media. She wrote, directed, and produced the award-sweeping short Standoff. Her children's book series Dante's Cool Wheels is distributed globally. She is developing multiple film and TV projects. Standoff won 10 awards because of her vision. Thieves Among Us is that vision at feature scale.
Talent
Confirmed cast returning from Standoff. These actors already lived these characters — and the festival circuit awarded every one of them for it.
Director's Vision Cast
The director's vision for the key role of Willensky
Crew
Every single department head on this film has major studio and streaming credits. Spirit Award nominees. ADG nominees. Composers of global box office hits. An entertainment attorney who has closed over 200 deals worldwide. You are not financing a dream — you are backing a machine that already knows how to deliver.
3-time Independent Spirit Award nominee. Shot All Is Lost (Robert Redford), Bruised (Halle Berry, Netflix), Margin Call. When investors ask "will it look like a real film?" — Frank is the answer.
50+ film and television productions. Credits include The Hill, Agent Game, The Conjuring: Devil Made Me Do It. He is the person who makes sure the budget holds and the schedule stays real.
Award-winning composer of Ronin and Stigmata. His scores do not decorate films — they drive them. A tension-heist thriller needs music that makes the audience lean forward. Elia delivers that.
3 Art Directors Guild nominations. Credits include Madoff (ABC), Miami Vice (Universal), Bad Boys. His sets look like real money — because they are designed by someone who knows exactly how to spend it.
Blockbuster credits across multiple genres. Edited The Nun, The Expendables, Indestructibles 2. Pacing is everything in a heist thriller — Ken has cut some of the highest-tension sequences in recent independent cinema.
CA Bar · NY Bar · EU Advocate · 200+ productions. Credits include Bourne Identity, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. She has closed global film deals with major distributors. She is committed to this film's worldwide sales — before a frame is shot.
