michael shapiro

Michael Shapiro graduated from the Wharton Business School, but after a summer staring at a Goldman Sachs computer, decided the left side of his brain needed some nourishment. He dropped out of finance entirely, and became a filmmaker and ski bum. He attended University of Michigan Graduate Film Program, then alternated for three years between ski-bumming in the French Alps - shooting ski films and documentaries - and working his way up from the bottom in New York City.

For a few years he honed his chops with actors directing regional and Off-Broadway theatre, then began a highly successful commercial directing career, working with such clients as Nike, Bank of America, Goodyear, and tech giants Sirius, Google and Youtube. Michael obsesses over the tiny details that make a scene completely believable, and has become well known for naturalistic, emotional storytelling.

During his commercial career Shapiro wrote and directed the award-winning short film Jihad, which won at the Tribeca Film Festival, and was a huge success at London, Melbourne, Hollywood, and the HBO Aspen Comedy Festival.