We recently connected with Michael Schilf and have shared our conversation below.
Michael, thanks so much for taking the time to share your insights and lessons with us today. We’re particularly interested in hearing about how you became such a resilient person. Where do you get your resilience from?
I was a blameless child. He was the drunken stranger. She was blinded by rage.
I grew up with an absentee, alcoholic, mentally ill father, who would abandon me for months—and sometimes years at a time—to save me from himself. My mother, who was always there, did her best, but her constant anger fractured my conflicted heart.
People say, “What doesn’t kill you, makes you stronger.” To me, that statement paints with too broad a brush. The truth is when most people get knocked down, they stay down. And those of us who get back up… well, I don’t think getting up is something you can learn. You’re born that way. It’s just in you. Pumping through your veins.
Facing so much emotional hardship as a kid, I got quite good at dusting myself off and getting back up. A difficult childhood is not necessarily the worst thing to happen to an artist. In fact, one might argue that it may even be a requirement. My resilience was born out of necessity. Now, every day is a gift.
Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?
LUNAR DOOR
Based in Los Angeles and Austin, Lunar Door (https://www.lunardoor.com/) is an independent production company that produces feature films, documentaries, TV series, and graphic novels. Lunar Door is a creative collective of purposeful, imaginative and socially responsible artists, producing visual content while addressing controversial, inherent themes. Lunar Door produces high quality, cost efficient content that engages audiences with visual stories from diverse viewpoints that contain universal themes with the power to inspire societal change.
OUR STORY
In 2016, film composer and producer Chase Kuker and I met and began collaborating. We co-created two TV series: “Sworn” (action, adventure) and “Light” (crime, sci-fi). We shot a proof of concept for “Sworn” and created a 4-issue comic book series for “Light”.
In 2019, I wrote and directed “The Fixer”, a crime thriller starring Danny Trejo and Jesse C. Boyd. Chase and I produced. “The Fixer” earned 90 international wins, including 13 Best Director wins. I then developed “The Fixer” 8-episode series and wrote the pilot.
In 2020, Chase and I co-founded Lunar Door. Instead of waiting for executives to say yes to us, we decided to say yes to ourselves. Chase and I spent the first year curating what we consider to be high quality writing, developing features in house.
In 2021, we produced our first feature “The Fall”, written and directed by Shaun Hart, and starring Jocelyn Hudon, Thomas Cocquerel, and Jeremy Sumpter. We completed editorial in early 2023 and are currently finalizing distribution with Buffalo 8.
In 2022, Lunar Door began producing the adventure sports documentary “Tracing the Divide”, which is in the final stages of editorial. We plan to premiere “Tracing the Divide” in early 2024. Lunar Door’s feature documentary “Tears of the Field” is still in production.
In 2023, screenwriter Miah Smith joined the Lunar Door team as a development producer. Miah’s expertise with character and story is a huge asset. He is also the writer of two scripts, “Ashes” and “Fae”, both developed by Lunar Door.
OUR SLATE
Lunar Door’s feature drama “The Fall” will be distributed on various platforms in early 2024, the sports documentary “Tracing the Divide” will have its world premiere in early 2024, and the social justice documentary “Tears of the Field” is still in production.
Lunar Door’s slate of films include “Home”, written by Michael Schilf, “Confession”, written by Ben Do, “Fae” and “Ashes”, both written by Miah Smith, and “The Sins of My Father”, written by Schilf, adapted from his memoir. Schilf is attached to direct “Home”, “Ashes”, and “The Sins of My Father”. Chase Kuker, Smith, and Schilf will produce.
To learn more about these films, read the longlines below:
“The Fall” (Drama) — A brash, amateur photographer, reeling from her mother’s suicide, must rectify her self-destruction and accept the past in order to receive love and redemption. (https://www.lunardoor.com/
“Tracing the Divide” (Documentary, Adventure, Sport) — Two lifelong friends test their limits and find new purpose as they cycle the rigorous Great Divide Mountain Bike Route from Canada to Mexico. (https://www.tracingthedivide.
“Tears of the Field” (Documentary) — An unflinching look at the injustices inflicted upon farm workers and their struggle to achieve dignity, respect, and equity. (https://www.tearsofthefield.
“Home” (Horror, Western) — During the western expansion of the 1870s, a widowed potter searches for her only son who has gone missing, but when he miraculously returns to their Texas homestead, she discovers he is now more monster than man.
“Confession” (Horror) — Seven people awaken chained to a subterranean room. For one minute every hour the lights go black, turning on to reveal a new victim. Their choice becomes clear: confess or die.
“Fae” (Horror, Mystery) — An emeritus professor of Celtic folklore leads a group of international graduate students on an expedition into the highlands of North Ireland, but an archaeological discovery and misguided ritual conjures a menacing, mythical force.
“Ashes” (Crime, Thriller) — Two estranged sisters travel through rural Texas to spread their father’s remains, but afflicted by childhoods plagued from domestic violence, their journey toward acceptance and forgiveness is threatened by the kindness of a stranger
“The Sins of My Father” (Biography, Drama) — After learning of the death of his alcoholic, mentally ill father, an estranged middle-aged only son embarks upon a physical and spiritual journey to discover and understand the multifaceted, afflicted father he never knew.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
To make it as an artist, regardless of the art form, you need five things.
1. TALENT. Very few artists are born virtuosos. When you begin, you’re terrible, but you’re suppose to be terrible. So you keep at it, and year after year, you get better, and eventually, after a decade or two, you finally have some talent. True talent is hard work. It begins with passion, and it is earned through dedication, fortitude, resilience, and endurance. If you want to be an artist, procuring talent is a marathon, not a sprint.
2. HUSTLE. People will say that luck begets success. There is no luck. There is only hustle. You make your luck through your hustle. You must put yourself in positions where a doors may open to new people and opportunities. When you hustle, luck presents itself all the time. It is your job to seek it and to see it when it emerges.
3. NETWORK. “It’s who you know,” they say. Wrong.“It’s who knows you.” You can know a hundred people, but if none of them are thinking about you as an artist today, you don’t have a job. Conversely, if the right person is thinking about you and your talent, they will call you. Good networking is to remain relevant and memorable.
4. TEAM. You can’t break into Hollywood alone with a sledgehammer. Our greatest asset is each other. A talented team can achieve more than the individual. Bet on yourself and bet on good people. People you trust. Keep them close and few. Do not compromise. Follow your instincts. If a person doesn’t feel right, don’t invite them in.
5. SUPPORT. Being an artist can be painful and thankless. There will be days when you wish you wanted to be anything else. Creating art and earning a living at it is hard, so on those days when you feel like giving up, you need support: a cheerleader—not your mother—who reminds you of your talent, hustle, network, and team.
What was the most impactful thing your parents did for you?
My parents were imperfect people, yet despite the unintentional trauma and the dense emotional baggage I still carry, I do not blame them. My mother exposed me to culture and art, always supporting my creative endeavors, and I saw in my father that we are never too old to see the world with childlike wonder. My parents were limited, yes, but always showed love and acceptance. Two of the greatest gifts a child can receive.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.lunardoor.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/michaelschilf/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/michael.a.schilf/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-schilf/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/michaelschilf
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@LunarDoorLLC
- Other: Professional website: https://www.michaelschilf.com/ IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1963334/
