Michael Anthony Kratochvil is an award-winning Melbourne-based writer and director. A first class honours graduate of VCA School of Film & TV and an alumnus of Edinburgh International Film Festival Talent Lab and Film Victoria Catapult Lab, his short films have screened at multiple Academy and BAFTA accredited festivals worldwide, including Palm Springs, Slamdance, Hollyshorts and Edinburgh International Film Festival among others.
His screenplays have placed in the Academy Nicholl Fellowships, Austin Film Festival, Final Draft and Slamdance screenwriting competitions. He was runner up for the 2016 John Hinde Award For Excellence in Science Fiction and inducted into the AWG Pathways program and has secured LA based management.
His 2021 short films, ‘I CALL UPON THEE’ and ‘SWEET MARY, WHERE DID YOU GO?’ were made back to back during the pandemic and have achieved over 45 selections at festivals worldwide so far, including the two biggest genre festivals in the US, Fantastic Fest and Beyond Fest. Michael was recently awarded ‘Best Director’ at the genre arm of the Academy/BAFTA accredited Rhode Island International Film Festival and won ‘Best Short Film’ grand prize at the 40th Terror Molins festival in Barcelona and the ‘Best Australian Short Film’ at Monster Fest.
He is managed by Authentic Talent & Literary Management in Los Angeles.
Selected Filmography (2005 to current)
SWEET MARY, WHERE DID YOU GO? / Short Film / ARRI ALEXA / 2021 / Writer, PRODUCER, EDITOR, Director
Synopsis: An escaped convict lost in 1803 Australia encounters two immortal time travellers from our evolved future, on a rites of passage journey to vicariously understand mortality.
Official selections (2021-2022):
- Fantastic Fest, Austin
- Fantasia Film Festival
- Beyond Fest, LA
- Hollyshorts Film Festival, LA
- L’Étrange Festival, Paris
- Terror Molins, Spain (WINNER, BEST SHORT FILM)
- Monster Fest, Australia (WINNER, BEST AUSTRALIAN SHORT FILM)
- Moscow International Film Festival
- Morbido Fest, Mexico
- Trieste Science + Fiction Film Festival, Italy
- Motel/X
- Brussells
- Panic Fest, Kansas
- Popcorn Frights Film Festival, Florida, US
- Nightstream
- Boston Underground Film Festival
- Overlook Film Festival
- Brooklyn Horror Film Festival
- North Bend Film Fest
- Mile High Horror Film Festival, Denver
- Atlanta Horror Film Festival
- Flickers: Rhode Island International Film Festival (WINNER, BEST DIRECTOR)
- Panic Fest, Kansas
- Buffalo Dreams Fantastic Film Festival, New York
- Loft Film Festival, Arizona
- Spooky Empire Film Festival, Florida
- Knoxville Horror Film Festival
- Nightmares Film Festival
- Splat! Film Fest, Poland
- St Kilda Film Festival, Melbourne
- HorrorHound Film Festival, Ohio
- Indiecinema Film Festival, Italy
- Galacian Freaky Fest, Spain
- Catalina Film Festival
I CALL UPON THEE / Short Film / 2021 / Writer, PRODUCER, EDITOR, Director
Synopsis: Two sisters from a broken family chant a summoning ritual in the hope it might improve their bleak lives, but they do not anticipate the irreversible consequences of what they summon.
Official selections (2021-2022):
- Sitges Film Festival, Spain
- Fantasia Film Festival, Montreal
- L’Étrange Festival, Paris
- Popcorn Frights Film Festival, Florida, US
- A Night of Horror International Film Festival, Sydney
- Mile High Horror Film Festival
- Nightmares Film Festival, Ohio
- Filmquest, Utah
- Flickers: Rhode Island International Film Festival, Vortex
- St. Petersburg International Film Festival (WINNER: Best Editor, Best DOP, Best Production Design, Best Sound Design)
- Alpinale Film Festival, Apltraum, Austria
- Another Hole In The Head, San Francisco
- Phenomena Festival, Brazil
- Nox Film Fest, Uruguay
- Las Cruces International Film Festival, New Mexico
- HorrorHound Film Festival, US
- Catalina Film Festival
- Portland Horror Film Festival
Eileen Pratt / Short Film / HD DSLR / 2011 Writer, Editor, Director
Synopsis: Eileen Pratt is a lonely middle-aged bus driver who feels disconnected from the world around her. A tragic work accident prompts Eileen to confront her past, triggering a self destructive downward spiral, back to where the pain began.
Currently screening on the Omeleto network.
Official Selections:
- Palm Springs International ShortFest / Palm Springs, California, US
- Edinburgh International Film Festival / Edinburgh, Scotland, UK
- Slamdance / Park City, USA
- Brooklyn Film Festival / Brooklyn, New York, US
- Rushes Soho Shorts Film Festival / London, UK
- Flickers: Rhode Island International Film Festival, US
- Dungog Film Festival, NSW, Australia
- Mill Valley Film Festival, California US
- Leeds International Film Festival, Leeds UK.
- 63d Montecatini Film Festival, Italy.
- Cockatoo Island Film Festival, Sydney.
- Starz Denver International Film Festival, US
- Loft Film Fest, Arizona
- Cucalorus Film Festival, North Carolina
- 60th Belgrade, Documentary and Short Film Festival, Serbia
Igor & Mal / Short Film / Super 16mm / 2007 Writer, Editor, Director
Synopsis: Two brothers discover that the afterlife is a strange and unsettling place.
Currently screening on VCA Youtube Channel.
Official Selections:
- Freak Show Film Festival / Orlando, Florida, USA / 2009
- Melbourne Underground Film Festival / Melbourne, Australia, 2009
Dearest Sir / Short Film / Starring ‘Bud’ Tingwell / Digital Betacam / 2007 Writer, Editor, Director, Composer, Producer
Synopsis: An elderly man receives a captivating email from a former Nigerian bureaucrat.
Official Selections:
- St Kilda Film Festival, Melbourne, Australia, 2008
- St Kilda Film Festival National Tour, (All States), 2008
Xeralel / Short Film / DV / 2006 Writer, Producer, DOP, Director, Editor, Soundtrack
Synopsis: Five desperate young adults sign up to earn money as human guinea pigs in a clinical drug trial.
Official Selections:
- Fangoria TV, New York, USA, 2007.
- Fangoria’s Weekend Of Horrors film convention, San Jose, USA 2007.
- International Festival Of Cinema & Technology, Washington, USA, 2008. Winner of runner up award for Best Science Fiction Film.
2006 Wooden Ice Cream Cones / Short Film / DV Writer, Producer, DOP, Director, Editor.
Synopsis: An experimental, inter-textual film, combining ‘re-shot’ scenes from Bugsy Malone, Fade To Black and Society.
Official Selections:
- 2006 Melbourne Underground Film Festival, Melbourne, Australia.