We were lucky to catch up with Michelle Künzler recently and have shared our conversation below.

Michelle, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. What did your parents do right and how has that impacted you in your life and career?

I’m grateful for my upbringing because my parents instilled in me the value of empathy and kindness towards others. I firmly believe in the significance of these traits, especially in leadership roles like that of a film director. Leading with kindness and respect is vital as it fosters a positive atmosphere on set. Given that filmmaking is inherently collaborative, cultivating strong relationships with both the crew and cast is essential for a successful production. If you don’t treat your team right, they won’t respect you either which can hurt your project. Conversely, with a supportive team, you can enhance the quality of your film and foster a sense of shared purpose, enriching the entire creative process.
Another thing my parents did right was to teach me humility while encouraging me to trust in my abilities. Balancing these qualities has been key for me; staying grounded while taking pride in my accomplishments helps me maintain a healthy creative environment. Humility and self-confidence are additional traits that I consider crucial in a director, contributing to effective leadership and collaboration in the filmmaking process.

Michelle, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

Currently based in Los Angeles but originally from Switzerland, I’m a Swiss-Turkish writer, director, and production designer with a keen interest in editing. As an empath and feminist filmmaker, I aim to break with outdated gender stereotypes and promote compassion and diversity through my work. My goal is to make movies that not only impact viewers emotionally, but also raise awareness about social issues and inspire positive change.
What sets me apart from others as a director is my deeply collaborative and exploratory approach. I embrace trial and error to see what truly resonates with me which is why I strongly focus on rehearsals and pre-production. While I always envision my films in a specific way, I like to foster an inclusive and creative environment by remaining open to the collective input of my cast and crew. I actively encourage my actors to contribute their ideas to shape their characters together.
Additionally, I approach every aspect of filmmaking, whether it’s directing, screenwriting, production design, or editing, with a strong work ethic, meticulous attention to detail, and commitment to authenticity, striving for accurate representation. I’m also proud of my creativity and resourcefulness, especially when it comes to production design.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

For me, the ultimate reward in being a writer, director, and production designer lies in the ability to bring stories and characters to life and share them with audiences. Crafting a story, its world, and its characters during development and pre-production involves significant dedication and effort, thus, the moment they come alive on screen truly feels magical to me. Witnessing your vision materialize before your eyes, everything falling into place just as you imagined, is simply an amazing feeling. Similarly, as a production designer, seeing my previs and conceptualizations turn into something tangible, into physical sets, brings a sense of joy and accomplishment.
Collaborating with other talented creatives further enriches this experience, as their contributions not only bring your vision to fruition but sometimes even elevate it to new heights. With a great team, the journey of creating films becomes a collaborative adventure, making the filmmaking process much more enjoyable to me.
Furthermore, overcoming challenges and setbacks throughout a project is deeply rewarding and empowering, too. Success, in my view, isn’t solely measured by the outcome but by the commitment to see it through despite obstacles. I believe that, as a creative, each project offers opportunities for growth and self-discovery, making the journey and process of creating art inherently fulfilling.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

When reflecting on my resilience, one story that stands out is the journey behind the creation of my most recent short film, ‘Sequoia,’ which I wrote, directed, and visually designed. From start to finish, this project demanded a lot of strength, commitment, and endurance as it’s been my most ambitious and complex project thus far.
One of the challenges I faced during pre-production was finding the right team. This required me to step into multiple roles and shoulder additional responsibilities, all within the constraints of time and budget.
Throughout production, we encountered further unforeseen complications that hindered our 4-day shoot. From constant disruptions like passing cars and noisy children during the exterior scenes which ruined some takes to narratively complex scenes causing delays, we struggled to keep on schedule. This forced us to make sacrifices, compromising some planned shots. But still, despite canceling shots and re-arranging our shoot schedule, we ended up having to do an unplanned pick-up shoot.
Organizing the pick-up shoot proved to be another hurdle, as scheduling conflicts among the crew necessitated finding replacements for several crew members and even key roles, including my 1st AD, gaffer, key grip, and script supervisor. Ensuring continuity in the scenes, particularly with a new script supervisor, was challenging at times. An additional shoot day also meant that I had to spend more money on my short film than planned when I’d already exceeded my budget by far.
Nonetheless, despite all the aforementioned obstacles I encountered, this experience has proven to be a valuable learning opportunity. It taught me many lessons that I can apply to future projects.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://mikuenzler.wixsite.com/michelle-k-nzler—w
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mck_movies/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michellekuenzler
• Other: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm15486752/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0_tt_0_nm_8_q_michelle%2520k%25C3%25BCnzler

Image Credits

Robert Nguyen, Santiago de Alba