Highway to Yodel-Ay-Hee-Huuu

Writer, director and artist Michelle Kantor is the youngest daughter of political refugees who fled Communist Czechoslovakia in the 1960’s. Kantor’s short films and documentaries strike an entertaining balance between creative artistic license and solid storytelling. Her work explores non-mainstream points of view, historical and cultural subjects of intrigue, and the mysteries of consciousness. She has worked extensively with the vaudeville and circus performers of Teatro Zinzanni in San Francisco, including a collaborative documentary “Antipodiste” about 5th generation French foot jugglers. "Highway to Yodel-Ay-Hee-Huuu" is the debut music video of renowned star of cabaret and circus theater, Manuela Horn. Featuring Horn’s Yodeling Dominatrix character, it showcases her range of comedy and style, recently seen as a contestant on “America’s Got Talent.” "Citizen" is a bittersweet compilation of optically printed Super 8 films shot during her parent's years together in New York. Bettina in the Fog is an experimental narrative about a ballet dancer with epilepsy. Her black comedy, Man and The Voice, details the perils of success in the business. Her distinctions include the Goldfarb Award for Best Student Film for The Redemption, as well as the Thunen Memorial Scholarship for Bettina in the Fog. Kantor recognized the marginalization of women filmmakers in 2002, and joined forces with two colleagues to form a non-profit organization, Cinefemme, providing fiscal sponsorship and support to female filmmakers. Since 2007, she has served as the Executive Director. Her gallery of fine art was featured at the Venice Art Crawl public exhibition in Venice, CA, and she recently produced all original artwork for a zine magazine published through hotmetalbridge.org featuring a “non-interview” with Wells Tower, author of “Everything Ravaged, Everything Burned.” Kantor is a regular sponsored participant in the Youth in Arts Italian Street Painting Festival. Michelle is currently producing a feature length narrative film and documentary based on her parents' escape from Czechoslovakia. She resides in Santa Monica with her husband and daughter.