Michelle Nehme is an award-winning filmmaker living in Austin, TX. Her work has been Emmy-nominated and has played on PBS, at SXSW, and internationally. Michelle received her MFA in Film Production from the University of Texas, where she was nominated for the Princess Grace Award for Directing. In 2010, she began documenting stories about domestic sex trafficking and how cities can build lasting solutions from the ground up. Her work on the issue has been awarded three grants, including an Austin Film Society Grant. Her short film, Complicit, a documentary-narrative hybrid, follows the story of a trafficking survivor who became an advocate for survivors across the US. Complicit screened at the Austin Ballet and Zilker Hillside Theater, where the score was performed live. Michelle worked as a writer and lead editor on the PBS documentaries, Citizens at Last, about women’s suffrage in Texas, and Canine Soldiers, a 3D documentary about military working dogs and their handlers. Most recently, Michelle wrote and directed the documentary, Akiane: A Portrait of the Artist, on the child prodigy, Akiane Kramarik, who painted a world-famous portrait of Jesus when she was eight years old.
“My father is a Lebanese immigrant and my mother is from Marietta, Georgia, so I have a rich cultural background that was sometimes at odds but also could be quite complimentary. Both sides of my family loved to tell stories! My strength in storytelling is uncovering the hidden wholeness of communities and the people within them. My films are experiences that inspire new points of view, relational connection and compassion.”
Akiane: A Portrait of the Artist, 25 min (Producer, Writer, Director) now playing at Belóved Gallery American Love Story, 120 min compilation of documentary and narrative (Writer/Director/Editor)
Citizens at Last, 120 min (Writer/Researcher/Editor), PBS
Complicit, 19 minutes (Writer, Director, Editor), Princess Grace Nomination, Dina Sherzer Award
Canine Soldiers, 65 minutes (Writer/3D Editor), Audience Award - Beloit International Film Festival, Austin Film Festival, PBS
The Wildlands, 15 minutes (Editor), Lonestar Emmy Nomination, PBS
Peace Love Happiness, 8 minutes (Writer, Director, Editor), short doc for John Paul Dejoria’s foundation
Starring Adam West, 98 minutes (Producer – Austin Unit), San Luis Obispo International Film Festival
Barbecue: A Texas Love Story, 65 minutes (Co-Writer, Production), Emmy Nomination, SXSW
Awards and Nominations
2018 Lonestar Emmy Nomination, The Wildlands
2017 Audience Award - Beloit International Film Festival, Canine Soldiers
2013 Shamrock Foundation Grant Recipient, American Love Story
2011 Austin Film Society Grant Recipient, American Love Story
2011 Dina Sherzer Award, Complicit
2004 Emmy Nomination - Barbecue: A Texas Love Story
