Filmmaker’s Biography

Michael Premo is a journalist, filmmaker, and artist. He directed the award-winning short film and photo exhibition WATER WARRIORS (POV), a story about a community’s successful resistance to the oil and gas industry. It has since been rebroadcasted hundreds of times by PBS stations across the country, including annually in November. He also co-directed the participatory documentary SANDY STORYLINE (Jury Award winner at the Tribeca Film Festival), the site-specific performance SANCTUARY (The Working Theater), and the PBS series VETERANS COMING HOME. Michael has directed, produced, and co-written original film, radio, and theater with numerous companies including The Foundry Theater, The Civilians, and the Peabody Award-winning StoryCorps on NPR. Michael’s photography has appeared in publications like The Village Voice, The New York Times, and Het Parool. He has been an artist-in-residence with Camargo Foundation, The Laundromat Project, and the National Resource Defense Council. He is the recipient of an NBC News Studios Original Voices Fellowship, a Creative Capital Award, A Blade of Grass Artist Files Fellowship, and a New York State Council on the Arts Individual Artist Award.