Michaela Holmes is an Australian writer and director with a lifelong passion for cinema and an interest in bold, character-driven storytelling. In 2019, she graduated with her Masters in Directing at Australia’s national film school, AFTRS. During this time, she took interest in portraying anxiety authentically on screen, leading to her first short narrative drama, My First Panic. The film premiered at Flickerfest in 2020, screened at Festival Mental in Lisbon, and had its streaming debut on ABC iview for Mental Health Week later that year.

Michaela’s early foray into filmmaking began in Brisbane’s indie music scene, directing and editing music videos for local artists. Her work has appeared on platforms like Rage, Channel V, MTV, Pedestrian.TV, and Rolling Stone Australia, earning her a reputation for distinctive, visually driven storytelling. In 2022, she was selected for the Queensland edition of Talent Camp (supported by Screen Queensland, Screen Australia, and AFTRS) and was part of Screen Queensland's Writers Write cohort of 2023 and 2024.

In June 2025, Michaela completed her second short film, Pleasure-Seeking, a genre-driven exploration of loneliness, disconnection and the gamification of modern society. That same year, she was awarded the Lord Mayor’s Creative Fellowship to support the development of her feature screenplay, Baptism. Michaela is currently developing several long-form projects, continuing to hone her craft as a screenwriter and storyteller.

EMAIL: MICHAELAHOLMESFILM@GMAIL.COM
INSTAGRAM: @MICHAELALAHOLMES