Michaela Holmes is an Australian writer and director. Her work blends psychological thriller, surreal comedy, drama, and horror, exploring fear, illness, power, and class through female perspectives.

She holds a Master of Arts Screen in Directing from AFTRS, Australia’s national film school, where she made her debut narrative short, My First Panic. The film premiered at Flickerfest in 2020, screened at Festival Mental in Lisbon, and streamed on ABC iview for Mental Health Week later that year. Previously, she cut her teeth directing and editing music videos in Brisbane’s indie scene. Her work from this era has been featured on Rage, Channel V, Pedestrian.TV, MTV and Rolling Stone Australia.

In June 2025, Michaela completed her second short film, Pleasure-Seeking, a genre-driven exploration of loneliness, disconnection and the gamification of modern society. She was recently awarded the Lord Mayor’s Creative Fellowship from Brisbane City Council, and selected as one of ten international participants by Stowe Story Labs for their 2025 Writers' Retreat in Connemara, Ireland, for her feature screenplay, Baptism.

EMAIL: MICHAELAHOLMESFILM@GMAIL.COM
INSTAGRAM: @MICHAELALAHOLMES