Mike arrives at Stanford from Seattle, where he worked as a documentary production intern at KIRO television and a projectionist at the Northwest Film Forum. After receiving his BA in Biology from Oberlin College, he worked as wildlife biologist, freelance writer, DJ, and sound recordist. Before Stanford, he co-directed Subvertisers, a short documentary about culture jamming, and produced Women and Children, which uses found newsreel footage to comment on war and America.
Radio Grito
digital video
17 min.
In the tradition of Cesar Chavez and farm labor organizing, Radio Grito is a small Spanish language radio show for migrant workers and their families in California's San Joaquin valley. The film illustrates the empowerment, independence, and education that a grassroots radio project can provide for a community in need.
FESTIVALS AND AWARDS:
- Enersen Award Recipient
Nature's Blueprints
16mm, color film
9:48 min.
Architect Eugene Tsui plumbs the depths of nature's wisdom seeking inspiration for his architectural designs. Nature's Blueprints takes you on a trip to the edges of Tsui's imagination. His fantastic structures provoke questions about the future of our built environments and our relationship to the natural world.
FESTIVALS AND AWARDS:
- KQED Television, Imagemakers 2005
- San Francisco Docfest 2005
- Hazel Wolf Environmental Film Festival 2005
- Hi-Lo Film Festival 2005
- Rooftop Films 2005
- Mill Valley Film Festival 2004
Radio Takeover
Co-directed by Serena Down and Mike Seely
digital video
9:30 min.
The story of what happened to a unique community radio station when the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) seized their equipment in a raid last year. Although the station applied for a license twice in the last decade and had support from the San Francisco mayor and board of supervisors, the goverment enforced the very laws whose constitutionality are being debated in Congress. This documentary is just one example of what happens to unique voices on the radio dial with increased media consolidation and regulation.
FESTIVALS AND AWARDS:
- Jerry Jensen Award for Broadcast Journalism
- Jury Award, Marin County Film Festival
- Finalist, Audience Award for Best Short, San Francisco Documentary Film Festival
- Seattle International Film Festival, 2005
- Golden Gate Award Nominee, San Francisco International Film Festival, 2005
- Alive at 9th Street, Independent Film Center, San Francisco, 2005
- Regional Finalist, Student Academy Awards, 2004
- Cantor Art Museum, Stanford, 2004
Hush
16mm, black and white film
Hush is about listening to our environments. The film features nature sounds recordist Paul Matzner, the founder of the Nature Sounds Society in Oakland. With Matzner as our guide, Hush explores our auditory worlds by contrasting images and sounds in nature with everyday noises and urban surroundings.
FESTIVALS AND AWARDS:
- San Francisco DocFest, 2005
- Director's Choice Award, Black Maria Film Festival, 2005
- International Festival of Cinema and Technology, 2005
- Hazel Wolf Environmental Film Festival, 2005
- Hi-Lo Film Festival, 2004
- Sonoma Valley Film Festival, 2004
- Northwest Film Forum, Seattle, 2004
- Rooftop Films, 2004