Michael Wellenreiter is an independent film director and founder of the Philadelphia-based production company Severine Pictures. His latest two feature films are retro-style sci-fi thrillers with a multicultural and international focus. Mirrors (2018) was awarded Best Sci-Fi Feature Film at the Chicago International Genre Film Festival, Best Visual FX at the Roswell Sci-Fi Film Festival, was an Official Selection of the Miami International Science Fiction Film Festival and the Gen Con Film Festival, and continues to screen on the festival circuit in such cities as Philadelphia and Detroit. Red Medusa (2013) was awarded Best Feature Film at the Terror Film Festival, was nominated for several awards including Best Director at the Maverick Movie Awards, and was an Official Selection of the Lucerne International Film Festival.
His other feature films include Once Upon a Lie and Legalization, which have been distributed to West African-themed video stores and written about in Front Page Africa, and Our Summer Movie, distributed by Indieflix. His direction of surreal narrative music videos has also garnered attention; works for such artists as Robert Pollard, Mahogany, and The Teeth have been viewed online or on DVD internationally.
In addition to his film work, he conducts research into the narrative workings of video games, including analyses of such series as Fallout, Mass Effect, and Metal Gear Solid.
At Saint Joseph’s University, he teaches courses in digital filmmaking, television production, and film studies.
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- B.S., University of Wisconsin-Madison (Communication Arts)
- M.F.A., Temple University (Film and Media Arts)
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- Wellenreiter, M. (2015), 'Screenwriting and authorial control in narrative video games', Journal of Screenwriting 6: 3, pp. 343-361, doi: 10.1386/ josc.6.3.343_1.
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- Best Sci-Fi Feature Film, Mirrors, Chicago International Genre Film Festival
- Best Visual FX, Mirrors, Roswell Sci-Fi Film Festival
- Nominated for Best Special FX, Mirrors, Maverick Movie Awards, Los Angeles
- Best Feature Film, La méduse rouge (Red Medusa), Terror Film Festival
- Dramatic Directing Award, La méduse rouge (Red Medusa), Amsterdam Film Festival
- Nominated for Best Director, La méduse rouge (Red Medusa), Maverick Movie Awards, Los Angeles