michele josue

My new summertime video for The American School in Switzerland!

Sun, 11 Sep 2011 14:21:48 -0400

My new summertime video for The American School in Switzerland!

A snapshot of fabric we purchased at the Los Angeles Fabric...

Thu, 12 May 2011 17:06:15 -0400

A snapshot of fabric we purchased at the Los Angeles Fabric District. These will soon become cute custom napkins for my friends’ fun summer wedding.

An Essay on Matthew Shepard

Tue, 19 Apr 2011 17:28:00 -0400

Matt and I became friends through theater. We had been in many high-school plays together. One semester, we tackled Chekhov. Matt was my brother, crippled by debt and an unhappy marriage, longing for a new life in Moscow. The next, he was my unyielding Chinese father in a silk robe and sloppily affixed facial hair. Whatever the role, he was a fantastic performer. Despite his slight stature, his presence easily filled the theater. He was kind and compassionate. He was curious, smart, sometimes naïve, always unafraid. He was often hilarious. He was small, but he was larger than life.

Years later, I was a sophomore in film school living in my very first apartment in a particularly dreary building in Allston, MA. My roommate was gone that weekend and I had the place to myself. I woke up bored yet restless. My sister called talking a mile a minute thinking I had already seen Matt all over the news. Confused, I switched on the TV, and there he was.

Matt had once visited me when I was in Albuquerque. He was doing a world tour of sorts, visiting all his friends before he started college in the fall. When my family and I drove him to the airport, he took his sweet time in each and every gift shop hunting for perfect New Mexico trinkets for his family. After pestering him to hurry up, Matt assured me he had plenty of time. I quickly went to the bathroom as Matt stood in line at the register. When I came out, he was gone. The frenzied gate attendants had whisked Matt onto the plane so it could finally take off. That was the last time I saw him. Since then, I thought of him often. But truth be told, we slowly lost touch.

In October of 1998, I remember stealing my neighbor’s newspaper because Matt was on the cover. I stayed glued to the TV at all hours of the night praying he’d pull through. Days later, as I packed for the funeral, I felt a wild jumble of emotions. Most palpably, I felt guilt; guilt for skipping out on a proper goodbye, for being alive and well when he wasn’t, for losing touch, for so many things. To this day, whether it makes sense or not, I feel enormous guilt that I failed Matt as a friend.

Like many of us who were close to Matt, it remains difficult to express the impact his story has had on my life. Throughout the years, I’ve pored over countless articles and scoured the internet for a revelatory observation or forgotten fact, trying to make sense of it all. I’ve watched every news special and movie inspired by him partly to make amends for not being there for him that night. As if to say, “Look, I’m here now.” But truthfully, as my memories of Matt at school, at the airport, and on the stage begin to fade, I devour those articles and movies mainly because my friend Matt is disappearing and I’m not yet ready for him to be gone.

To many, Matthew Shepard is considered a martyr, a public symbol undeniably important not because of how he lived, but how he died. To a few others, Matthew Shepard was so much more. By sharing our stories, perhaps we can tell the world about Matthew Shepard, the martyr, as well as the son, the brother, and friend whose passing we mourn quietly every day.

Michele Josue, Director

Matt Shepard is a Friend of Mine

We’ve embarked on our official Kickstarter fundraising...

Sat, 16 Apr 2011 18:55:26 -0400

We’ve embarked on our official Kickstarter fundraising campaign for our documentary about my friend Matthew Shepard, who we lost in a vicious hate crime in 1998. Please help us bring Matt’s important story to the screen! Visit our Kickstarter page at:

http://www.kickstarter.com/e/YAGOr/projects/1253709612/matt-shepard-is-a-friend-of-mine

Matt Shepard is a Friend of Mine

Sat, 16 Apr 2011 18:44:46 -0400

Matt Shepard is a Friend of Mine:

Please help us bring Matt’s important story to the screen! Visit our Kickstarter page and support our project!

Springtime

Sat, 09 Apr 2011 21:06:00 -0400

Springtime

Here’s a promo video I made for The American School in...

Mon, 07 Mar 2011 17:01:41 -0500

Here’s a promo video I made for The American School in Switzerland.

From Day to Night (via tasisswitzerland)

I’ve been in love with this song for some time now. But...

Wed, 02 Feb 2011 18:22:17 -0500

I’ve been in love with this song for some time now. But this is absolutely adorable!

Home - Edward Sharpe and The Magnetic Zeros Acoustic Cover (Jorge & Alexa Narvaez) (via realitychangers)

A snapshot from our trip to snowy Gloucester, MA.

Tue, 25 Jan 2011 18:24:47 -0500

A snapshot from our trip to snowy Gloucester, MA.

On this last day of 2010, here’s my favorite outtake from...

Fri, 31 Dec 2010 03:31:40 -0500

On this last day of 2010, here’s my favorite outtake from our Holiday eCard series. Theme: Early 90s in New England.

Intimate cocktail party I hosted at the Getty. (Photo by Bonnie...

Sun, 05 Dec 2010 03:50:00 -0500

Intimate cocktail party I hosted at the Getty. (Photo by Bonnie Tsang)

I’ve been wanting to see this documentary for quite some...

Sun, 28 Nov 2010 20:25:35 -0500

I’ve been wanting to see this documentary for quite some time and it did not disappoint. So inspiring on so many levels. If Marwencol comes to your city, please check it out.

Happy Thanksgiving

Thu, 25 Nov 2010 16:53:16 -0500

Off to Carpinteria for a big feast with friends! Happy Thanksgiving to all!

An adorable video about a little shell named Marcell.

Thu, 25 Nov 2010 16:49:24 -0500

An adorable video about a little shell named Marcell.

Liam at the edge of Lake Tahoe.

Wed, 24 Nov 2010 21:05:10 -0500

Liam at the edge of Lake Tahoe.

A hot air balloon stuck on a wall.

Wed, 24 Nov 2010 20:59:00 -0500

A hot air balloon stuck on a wall.

In-camera titles are my favorite. Here are a few video stills of...

Wed, 24 Nov 2010 14:07:45 -0500

In-camera titles are my favorite. Here are a few video stills of some titles we did for my TASIS web video series.

Views from the Road, an ongoing series. In this installment,...

Tue, 23 Nov 2010 14:22:00 -0500

Views from the Road, an ongoing series. In this installment, majestic motorhome tigers as seen en route to Reno.

Good Morning! Here’s a picture taken at my high school in...

Tue, 23 Nov 2010 12:23:00 -0500

Good Morning! Here’s a picture taken at my high school in Switzerland, a place that is very dear to my heart.

New Arcade Fire video via The Fox is Black. It’s...

Mon, 22 Nov 2010 19:46:00 -0500

New Arcade Fire video via The Fox is Black. It’s beautifully nostalgic and dark. As both a child of the suburbs and a long-time fan of Spike Jonze, I’m loving this video.