Demo Reels

Francine Michelle

Sunday, January 26th, 2014
Francine Michelle is an award winning independent filmmaker who has personally shot and edited projects big and small, including a documentary of the making of Ice T’s rap album, Black Ice, Urban Legends. Before transitioning to the big screen, Francine wrote and directed a number of short films and mentored with sitcom directors Sheldon Epps and Mary Lou Belli. Her feature film, Desertion, which she both wrote and directed, garnered much attention at the LA Femme Film Festival in Beverly Hills, took home the top feature award at The Valley Film Festival, and was nominated for best feature by a first time director at The Heart of England Film Festival. Desertion stars actors Kim Rhodes (The Suite Life of Zack and Cody), Brian Krause (Charmed), Robert Maschio (Scrubs), Bart Johnson (High School Musical), and Patricia Belcher (Bones). Francine has studied and used the techniques of Stella Adler, Lee Strasberg, Sanford Meisner, Uta Hagen, Constantin Stanislavski, Anne Bogart, and Viola Spolin. All of this training and experience has morphed into her own unique style of directing and teaching that caters to each actors’ specific needs. Francine was selected to be a part of the inaugural Directing class at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, where she received her BFA. In addition, she studied at the Lee Starsberg Institute in New York, and was accepted as the youngest ever Director Member of the famed Actor’s Studio. In addition to freelancing as a filmmaker, Francine also teaches acting and coaches privately. Her skill for working with actors has been recognized around the country and internationally at a special Acting for Film course in Salerno, Italy.