Michael J. Dougherty

Blessed with Spina Bifida & Hydrocephalus, Michael J. Dougherty is a film person living and working in Hollywood. He is the co-founder of the ReelAbilities Film Festival: Los Angeles, entering its 4th year, and was an active member of the WGA's Disabled Writers Committee, which helped produce a PSA he wrote and directed called LOOK AROUND, meant to encourage disability inclusion in the entertainment industry. His screenplay, NO ONE IS LOOKING, about homicidal special education kids, was included on the 2020 Disability List as one of the best unproduced disability-related scripts. The son of a former Catholic priest and nun, Michael's earliest memory was his mother taking him to see E.T. while he was recovering from brain surgery, which led him to draw a clear line between the experience of art and the relief of pain. He's learned everything about love from Charlie Brown's pining for the Little Red-Haired Girl, everything about courage from Frida Kahlo, and everything else from Samuel Beckett's WAITING FOR GODOT, which confirms Michael's great belief: "If we're all going over the edge - and we are - shouldn't we laugh on the way down?"