Photo by Laura Yilmaz
Michael is a graduate student in the John C. Hench Division of Animation and Digital Arts, a division of the School of Cinematic Arts
at the University of Southern California. Born and raised in Israel, Michael left his homeland in 2004. He
moved to Canada and enrolled in the one year classical animation program at The Vancouver Film School.
It was during his time at VFS that Michael completed his ninth animated short, The Heart Collector, which has since screened in over a dozen film festivals world wide and garnered several awards. Upon finishing his studies at VFS, Michael spent several months working in the Canadian animation industry until his visa expired.
From there, Michael traveled across America and Mexico for nearly two years. During that time he volunteered at the ASIFA Animation Archive in Burbank, California, for which he was awarded a certificate of merit at the 2007 Annie Awards.
A week after the ceremony, Michael moved to Singapore to work as a Cinematic-Director and Program manager at an upstart video game company. In order to pursue his personal work and to continue his animation studies, Michael chose to pursue a college degree; he commenced his academic career at USC in the fall of 2007.
At a professional level, Michael aspires to pursue a career in the world of cinema, developing meaningful films that reach a wide audience. While he has a deep love and respect for animated classics, he hopes to push the envelope of storytelling and tackle more mature subject matters. Furthermore, Michael's experience in the video game industry has sparked his interest in the interactive Medias. He is currently researching this revolutionary medium in conjunction with the interactive program within the USC School of Cinematic Arts.
It was during his time at VFS that Michael completed his ninth animated short, The Heart Collector, which has since screened in over a dozen film festivals world wide and garnered several awards. Upon finishing his studies at VFS, Michael spent several months working in the Canadian animation industry until his visa expired.
From there, Michael traveled across America and Mexico for nearly two years. During that time he volunteered at the ASIFA Animation Archive in Burbank, California, for which he was awarded a certificate of merit at the 2007 Annie Awards.
A week after the ceremony, Michael moved to Singapore to work as a Cinematic-Director and Program manager at an upstart video game company. In order to pursue his personal work and to continue his animation studies, Michael chose to pursue a college degree; he commenced his academic career at USC in the fall of 2007.
At a professional level, Michael aspires to pursue a career in the world of cinema, developing meaningful films that reach a wide audience. While he has a deep love and respect for animated classics, he hopes to push the envelope of storytelling and tackle more mature subject matters. Furthermore, Michael's experience in the video game industry has sparked his interest in the interactive Medias. He is currently researching this revolutionary medium in conjunction with the interactive program within the USC School of Cinematic Arts.
