Michael Engel

Michael joined the TVA team in 2007 and since then has written, produced and directed many of their documercials, news spotlights and DRTV spots. Recent projects include health and fitness programs for Beachbody, Gaiam (Winsor Slimming Pilates) and Zumba Fitness. Also line produced a film in Israel highlighting the work of Sheba Medical Center with Kathy Ireland as host. He has produced infomercials for Milwaukee Tools, Fitness Quest, Guthy-Renker and Beachbody, working on such notable shows as “Winsor Pilates,” “Perfect Abs,” and “Power 90,” to name a few.

Michael line produced two films based on books by Deepak Chopra for Fox Home Video; “How to Know God” and “The Seven Spiritual Laws” starring Olivia Newton John. He also line produced a feature length documentary, “When Comedy Went to School” featuring Jerry Lewis, Sid Caeser, Larry King, Jackie Mason and Mort Sahl to name a few. Before TVA, Michael did infomercial production and DR spots for Three and Two Films, Fitness Quest, Family Products, Guthy-Renker, Product Partners, and others working on a variety of products from health and fitness to financial wealth building.

From May 1994 through August 2002, Michael ran the production and post-production departments at Steven Spielberg’s non-profit organization, Survivors of the Shoah Visual History Foundation. As Director of Production he oversaw the gathering of more than 52,000 interviews with Holocaust Survivors and Witnesses in 32 languages and 57 countries. He set up the systems and managed an international staff of more than 100 employees. As negotiator of all production contracts, he managed relationships with personnel and companies in Europe, Africa, Asia, Australia, South and North America. Among his responsibilities was the supervision of the in-house post-production staff, overseeing, at times, more than 300 interviews a week.

As Executive in Charge of Production of the Broken Silence Documentary Series, he worked with Academy Award winner Andrzej Wajda, Academy Award nominee Luis Puenzo, Academy Award nominee Pavel Chukhraj renowned Czech filmmaker Vojtech Jasny and Hungarian director Janos Szasz. The resulting films received primetime broadcast in the United States and screened theatrically abroad.

Michael was also the Foundation’s Producer-Mass Media developing ideas, scripts and budgets for documentaries and programs based on the Foundation’s archive for broadcast, theatrical and classroom use.

A graduate from the University of Southern California with a BA in film production and an MA in Literature, Michael co-wrote the feature film, Nightforce, released by Vestron Pictures. He has produced, written and directed TV commercials, educational and corporate films as well as the award winning short films, The Lovesong of Leo Bloom (Chicago, Santa Fe, Cork film festivals) and It’s OK to Tell (Cine Golden Eagle, Special Jury Prize Houston International Film Festival).