Today we’d like to introduce you to Michel Dominguez Beddome

Hi Michel , thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.

My name is Michel Dominguez Beddome. I am a first generation, Mexican-American female filmmaker. I made my directorial debut with the award-winning horror short film “What’s in the Woods?” (written by Maggie Colligan) in 2020 which went on to win “Best Horror Short” at Venice Short Film Awards, Vancouver Independent Film Festival, Oregon Short Film Festival, and Atlanta After Dark Film Festival.

My husband, Michael, and I co-founded M&MDB Films. In the last 5 years we have made 8 short films and a web-series along with our amazing community of filmmaking friends. Many of our short films have gone on to film festivals like the Indie Memphis Film Festival, Coney Island International Film Festival, Queens World Film Festival, Lady Filmmakers, New York Shorts International Film Festival, and many more.

These last couple of years have been full of so many exciting adventures. Our latest short film, “Cheery Up, Baby!” premiered at the 2023 New York International Short Film Festival and has been making the rounds with a showing at the 2024 Queens World Film Festival, 2024 Katra Latinx Film Festival, and a month-long exhibition at Culture Lab LIC: “Shattered: A Visual Journey Through The Mind”, curated by Dawn DeVito in New York City. We wrapped up the journey at Queen City Film Festival with three nominations for Best Director, Best Female Performance, and Best Cinematography, and an exhibition titled “(Surprise!) Bday Party”–a delightful exhibit curated by Raluca Anchidin at the Brooklyn Art Cave. A music video we created with the amazing Grace Garland premiered at the Coney Island Film Festival. And last, but certainly not least, I had the privilege of receiving a World Class Creator Award from The FilmmakerLife Magazine and The World Class Film Awards 2024.

I am a Texas born, Florida raised, NYU Tisch alum and current New York City dweller. I grew up learning Spanish in Mexico and doing theater at the Sarasota Opera House in Florida while living my best life as a middle school kid in the 90s. I am absolutely from here and from there–just a nerdy Mexican American kid who grew up loving sugar skulls, Jack Dawson, Selena, Harry Potter, and musicals like Chicago. I am so lucky to have grown up in the loving home of two Mexican parents who continually support my obsession with the arts and storytelling. ¡Viva Mexico!

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?

There have been struggles. Being a minority on a creative path is not exactly conducive to a smooth road. However, as I look back on it, now in my 30s, I’m so thankful for it all. The joy of art, yes, but also the pain, the fear, the doubt and the strength, the pride, the gratitude of overcoming and continuing forward.

I was never the first choice in Florida. I didn’t have blonde hair and blue eyes, which at the time was synonymous with being the leading lady. I felt extremely lucky when I got to high school and landed my first lead. I already knew I wanted to be a performer, but all through grade school and middle school, I had always been just a chorus girl. Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely loved to be on that stage singing and dancing my little heart out, but eventually I began having nightmares every time I would audition, and the casting notices would come out. Those white sheets on the brown bulletin boards and my name near the bottom with a group of other kids. The representation of Latina female characters in TV and Movies did little to encourage me. That was the first big struggle I remember having. Am I enough? Am I good enough? Why not me? When I landed the part of Sophia in “Fools,” it was the first time I felt seen, and it kept me going. And then I got into NYU Drama. The feelings of all those years all of a sudden became worth it.

When I started filmmaking, it was the same, but different because I was starting to put myself out there all over again in a new way. Not many people want to take a chance on you when you haven’t directed a film, but my friend and colleague, Maggie, is a writer, and she showed me this short she had written. When I told her I wanted to direct it, she gave me a shot. It was not smooth. We shot in two and a half days after we had popped two tires on our gear truck and the rain made the ground in the woods turn to a wet mess. We got it done though. When we started to submit to festivals, at first, we didn’t get into much. And then we got accepted into Indie Memphis Film Festival in a block of horror films by all female directors. It was like winning the golden ticket. And since then we’ve just kept going.

Even to this day I get rejections and have doubts. Some people love what I make, and for others, it’s just not their cup of tea. I have a letter from Austin Film Festival–a rejection for my first film, but there was a handwritten note on it. “While not a final selection, your film impressed us. Continue creating!”

Meeting the people that support and understand you, having a person tell your work touched them, creating a loving community, and getting to know your own self, waking up every day and getting to do the work. Those are the things that make all those struggles melt away for me. I don’t know if I would know that joy if I didn’t have the struggles. Each step along the way, including the hard bits, have made me who I am, and show me just how lucky I am to get to do what I do.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?

I am a co-founder of M&MDB Films with my husband, Michael, where we make our own films. In addition to that we also make projects with our often creative partner, Maggie Colligan, through Triple M Collective and the help of our really amazing filmmaking community. I am so proud of all the work we do. We make projects that range from horror to comedy to music videos to heartfelt musical style dramas.

Our first film “What’s in the Woods?” is a cabin-style arthouse horror film. After that I needed something much brighter and peppier to work on, so I wrote “Cheery Up, Baby!” which is our latest film to have been out and about in the world. It’s a very pink, upbeat, comedy-drama that draws inspiration from 1950s musicals, as well as a saying my family always says to me: “échale ganas”, which in a sense means keep going, give it your best shot, don’t give up.

I constantly strive to imbue my work with my culture and upbringing in ways that feel honest and sincere. That often involves mixing genres, and definitely mixing different parts of my Mexican heritage with my experience growing up in the states. Recently we made a short “telenovela” horror that we hope to expand called “Hell-A-Novela: Fantasmas del Amor.” I like to describe it as if the Crypt Keeper took over your abuelita’s TV set during her favorite nighttime telenovela. It recently premiered at the 2024 New York International Shorts Film Festival in New York City.

We are so excited about the future and all that is still to come. Next year we will be embarking on our first feature film– a gothic, spooky take on Shakespeare shooting in Mexico City!

What quality or characteristic do you feel is most important to your success?

I would say the most important things are: Resilience, because the people that don’t give up are the ones who end up with the work to show for it; Discipline, because you are the only one who is going to make yourself do the work; and Kindness, because among other reasons my husband always tells me that no one wants to be on set for long hours with people they don’t like to work with.

However, I think even more important than that is having a great community in the field you want to be in. Having the ability to community build is crucial. I always thought networking was just figuring out how to sell yourself, but in my experience it has meant bringing warmth to the room, helping out the people in your circle, being a hard worker and someone others want to be around.

I have met so many people along the way that have helped me get to where I have gotten. My high school acting teacher who helped me prep for NYU; my NYU friends who have given me their time, skills and advice; our filmmaking community here in Queens, NY, who have given us resources and their expertise; my family who love me no matter what and who I strive to make proud every day; and my husband who is an amazing creative partner, a wonderful best friend, and one of the kindest most supportive people I know. Without them, I would definitely not be here.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://mandmdbfilms.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/micheldbeddome/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@mandmdbfilms
• Other: https://www.instagram.com/mandmdbfilms/