ROOM 1103

Michael is an award-winning screenwriter orbiting Europe and NYC. A graduate of NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts, his work has been recognized by The Black List, The PAGE Awards, and Vimeo Staff Picks. Films he’s written have featured at festivals worldwide, including the Oscar-Qualifying Cleveland Int’l FF and Palm Springs ShortFest, Nantucket, The Lower East Side FF, London Sci-Fi, and Sonoma, where his latest effort - existential AI thriller, WATCH ROOM - won the Jury Award for best dramatic short. It since has released to nearly 1 million views on DUST and Amazon.

Michael also ran Lights Film School, training 1000s of students from 87+ countries in the art and craft of cinema, before closing its doors to the public in 2021 to dive deeper into select writing projects one-on-one.

Having spent more than 15 years living abroad and traveling the world, Michael is drawn to stories that span cultures and engage with global issues - including, most recently, THE WAY OUT.

Cliff is the Founder of Metis Art, an art education and consultancy firm headquartered in Singapore. Prior to Metis, he founded Set in Stone Gallery, Asia’s premier natural history dealership. He sources and deals in rare fossil and mineral specimens for private collections and interior design. Cliff and Set in Stone Gallery have been featured in various print and live media press such as Bloomberg Markets, The Straits Times and Channel News Asia. Besides dealing in natural history and fine art, he also runs Jasri Partners where he does strategic consulting for startups and family offices.

Before these entrepreneurial ventures, Cliff worked in various roles within the finance industry, including stints at Flow Traders and Credit Suisse in London and Tokyo. He graduated with a bachelor’s degree from New York University’s Stern School of Business.

THE WAY OUT is inspired by Cliff’s own personal experiences growing up in Singapore and then attending college as an international student at NYU.