Michael Arias, a visionary filmmaker, has built a storied career spanning multiple mediums, including live-action storytelling, visual effects, computer graphics, and anime. His journey began at Dream Quest Images, where he worked as a camera assistant on notable films such as The Abyss and Total Recall. In 1990, he was approached by Douglas Trumbull to program ride vehicle motion for the groundbreaking Back to the Future... The Ride, a pioneering achievement in immersive entertainment.
Michael then relocated to Tokyo, where he spent time at Imagica and Sega, before returning to the United States to co-found Syzygy Digital Cinema, a boutique effects company that worked with renowned directors such as David Cronenberg, Joel Coen, and Spike Lee.
At Softimage, Michael developed and patented innovative tools for combining traditional animation and computer graphics, collaborating closely with Studio Ghibli to infuse Hayao Miyazaki's masterpieces Princess Mononoke and Spirited Away with a unique visual flair.
In 2000, Michael was invited by the Wachowski siblings and producer Joel Silver to produce The Animatrix, a groundbreaking anthology inspired by The Matrix, which broke home-video sales records and won numerous awards. This success led to Michael's feature directing debut with Tekkonkinkreet in 2006, which premiered at the Berlinale and won Japan's Academy Award for Best Animated Feature Film.
Michael then transitioned to live-action filmmaking with Heaven's Door in 2009, and has since continued to divide his time between traditional and digital animation, and live-action directing. His subsequent projects include the dark sci-fi thriller Harmony in 2015, co-directed with Takashi Nakamura, and the television series Tokyo Alien Bros. for Japanese broadcaster Nippon Television (NTV).
Throughout his career, Michael has been an active member of the Visual Effects Society (VES),co-authoring papers and serving as a guest editor, presenter, panelist, and juror for ACM/Siggraph. He is also a frequent writer and commentator on Japanese culture, film, animation, and manga.
