Michael Sheridan
(Professional)
Bio
Public Bio
Michael Sheridan is a filmmaker and educator whose documentary and experimental films address issues of social and economic development and the tipping point between order and chaos. For nearly 20 years Michael has engaged the public in stories from Asia, Africa and the Americas about people challenging the status quo and improving their lives.
PBS, ABC, TLC, and Discovery have broadcast Michael’s documentary films. The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston Cyberarts Festival, GASP and many other galleries have exhibited Michael’s experimental videos, sound art and installations. His work has been screened and awarded by, among others, the National Education Media Network, the Columbia International Film and Video Festival, the United Nations Association Film Festival, and EarthVision. Michael co-founded Oxfam America’s documentary production unit and has sought to break new ground in the effective use of media to educate and change policy. He has worked on media campaigns for Save the Children-UK, Bread the World, Pact and many other national and international organizations.
All of Michael’s work is influenced by his extensive travels. At twenty he set off to bicycle around the world to immerse himself in diverse cultures. Seven years later he returned to the United States to work on human rights issues. In the 90s he started traveling the world producing documentaries on issues of hunger, poverty and sustainable community-based development.
Michael has an MFA from the Massachusetts College of Art and a BA in history from Connecticut College. He teaches at Northeastern University and presents a seminar series, Using Media for Policy Change, at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government. Last year he served as a Senior Fulbright Scholar in Indonesia where he taught documentary and experimental filmmaking to undergraduate and graduate students and worked with media activists and local non-governmental organizations, including Ford Foundation’s project partners, on how to use media as a change agent and effective communications tool.