Michelle West

Michelle West is an award-winning director who loves using cinematic tools to craft an honest reflection of humanity. Minnesota-born with East Coast roots, Michelle’s inspiration comes from the women in her ancestry who endured poverty and abuse in silence. With every project, Michelle gives a voice to radical truths both past and present.

Michelle’s short drama, Cosmic Love, premiered at the 2022 Pasadena International Film Festival and won Best Female Empowerment film at the San Diego International Film Awards. Her latest short, Lesbophilia, starring Vico Ortiz (Our Flag Means Death) and Lana Parrilla (Once Upon A Time), is an absurdist dark comedy currently in the festival circuit. She's also in post-production on her dramatic period short, Lineage, based on a true story about her family's experience with abortion during the Great Depression.

With 17 years in entertainment, Michelle has worked for studios and independent companies alike, including Disney, NBCUniversal, Fox, Plan B, Lifetime, and the Duplass Brothers. She's a graduate of the UCLA TFT Program for Acting and a member of the DGA. In addition to filmmaking, Michelle teaches at Columbia College Chicago’s Semester in LA program and volunteers with Friends of Griffith Park, and taught yoga for six years in the federal prison system.