Local Director shows new film at Catalina Film Festival

Michelle Danner's new film will be screened as part of the Catalina Film Festival's Opening Night held Friday

Local Director shows new film at Catalina Film Festival

Michelle Danner’s short film “The Call of Nishi” will be screened as part of the opening night block of the Catalina Film Festival on Friday, Sept. 26 at 7 p.m. at the Avalon Theatre.

“The Call of Nishi “ is a story about a parent's fear of the dangers their child can encounter, and a child's fear of the dangers they are unequipped to face on their own. The little boy the short film focuses on - Eric - grapples with the trust he places (or thinks he is placing) in his mother, and the horror of not knowing if that trust is misplaced until it's too late. Danner says she always comes back to stories about kids falling through the cracks, and this short taps into that idea with a sense of dread and anxiety. It also taps into how modern technology can fuel those fears. The short is based on ancient folk tale.

The legendary acting teacher and founder of the Creative Center for the Arts and the Los Angeles Acting Conservatory, Danner is also now well-established as a successful film director who runs the Michelle Danner Acting School in Culver City.

Danner’s current film, airing on Amazon Prime,  is the romantic comedy “The Italians,” which stars Matthew Daddario (Shadowhunters), Rob Estes (Silk Stalkings), Perrey Reeves (Entourage), David DeLuise (Wizards of Waverly Place), Olivia Luccardi (It Follows), Lainie Kazan (My Big Fat Greek Wedding), and Abigail Breslin (Zombieland, Little Miss Sunshine).

Next up is the romantic comedy, “Under the Stars,” starring Toni Collette and Andy Garcia which filmed in Italy.

Danner also directed “Miranda’s Victim,” which starred Abigail Breslin, Luke Wilson, Ryan Phillippe, Emily VanCamp, Mireille Enos, Enrique Murciano, Brent Sexton, Josh Bowman, Sebastian Quinn, Taryn Manning, Nolan Gould, Dan Lauria, Kyle MacLachlan, Andy Garcia and the late Donald Sutherland. The film tells the true story of Trish Weir (Breslin) who was kidnapped and brutally raped by Ernesto Miranda. The subsequent trials went all the way to the Supreme Court and led to creation of the Miranda Rights.

A dedicated mom of two (one is an aspiring filmmaker), Danner still has her “day job” – overseeing the faculty of the Los Angeles Acting Conservatory, and conducting her weekly acting class. Michelle has worked privately with Christian Slater, Salma Hayek, Gerard Butler, Seth MacFarlane, Penelope Cruz, Chris Rock, Gabrielle Union, Zooey Deschanel, Henry Cavill, Isla Fisher and James Franco. A longtime student of legendary acting teachers like Stella Adler and Uta Hagen, Danner’s eclectic approach (which she calls “The Golden Box”) allows actors the freedom to employ a wide variety of techniques. 

Simply put, there’s almost no one in the business who knows as much about acting and success as Michelle Danner – and her continued success in multiple creative fields makes her one of the most successful women working in the industry today.