Michael Dallatorre

Mike Dallatorre—yeah, folks call him “Mike D”—was born in Nicaragua but basically grew up running around the streets of South Central LA after his family landed in the States when he was just three. If you ever caught the Oscar-nominated doc "Colors Straight Up," you actually might’ve seen him back in the day. He was in that performing arts crew, Colors United, and honestly, that’s pretty much what lit the fire under him to chase filmmaking for real. He made his way through Jordan High in Watts, and instead of just drifting, Mike jumped into the Inner-City Filmmakers program. Then he hit up Los Angeles Community College for film studies, grinding through classes and picking up gigs wherever possible. One of those gigs? Panavision. Not exactly a small deal. He spent 18 years there, soaking up every trick in the book from the tech wizards tweaking the fanciest cameras in Hollywood. That’s some next-level hands-on learning, right? Somewhere along the way, people started noticing. Like, legit recognition. He even snagged the “Beating the Odds Award” from Marian Wright Edelman (seriously, Google her if you don’t know). Then Film Independent’s “Project Involve” picked him for their 2018 fellowship. That’s not just a gold star—it’s a whole endorsement. Fast forward to his fourth feature, “BrightBurn.” James Gunn—yes, the “Guardians of the Galaxy” guy—produced it, and the movie hit theaters worldwide on Memorial Day, 2019. So yeah, from South Central to the big screen, Mike D’s story is basically proof that raw talent and hustle can blow the doors wide open.