ABOUT THE FILMMAKER

Michael Berman was born in 1967 and grew up in Washington, DC, and its suburbs. While in high school, he discovered the music of Dischord Records, an independent punk rock record label. Its anti-corporate D.I.Y. ethos (and its great bands) inspired Michael to follow his creative impulses and pursue photography.

In the late ‘80s and early ‘90s, during and after attending NYU, Michael spent nearly every spare cent he had on film, processing, and printing. His photos documented life in New York City and the different places he visited, through photos of anonymous people in public places and also more intimate candids and portraits of friends and family.

In the late ‘90s, Michael began to find work as a photographer, first for community papers in Brooklyn and next for the New York Daily News. He loved working for the News, but was fired in 2006, when he told them he needed to drop his young daughter off at daycare every morning.

Since then, as a freelancer, Michael has photographed for numerous newspapers and magazines, NYC restaurants, national brands, schools, and non-profits. He enjoys working to create imagery that can help a client succeed. But his true passion is documentary.

By picking up a set of portraits he made on the streets of New York in 1999, and then 20 years later endeavoring to locate and interview the people in them, Michael found a way to merge his photography and his long-held belief in the power of good, face-to-face communication.

Exploring the lives and perspectives of this diverse set of regular people conveys a timeless - and timely - message: we can learn from anyone we encounter and the recipe is simple. Meet people. Connect with them. Spend some time listening (not just talking). By understanding their perspectives we each can better understand our own place in the world.