Michael M. Bilandic

Writing

Michael M. Bilandic

Chicago, Illinois, U.S.

Michael M. Bilandic is an American film director, writer, and producer, best known for his gritty New York City-based microbudget comedies. His notable works include Hellaware (2013), Jobe'z World (2018), and Project Space 13 (2021). Bilandic is a frequent collaborator with director Abel Ferrara and cinematographer Sean Price Williams. He has also written for various publications, including Metrograph Journal, MUBI Notebook, Screen Slate, Filmmaker, Vice, Talkhouse, New York, and The Village Voice.

Acting credits

Behind the camera

Hellaware poster
5.2

Aspiring but less than ambitious photographer Nate clumsily navigates the New York City art world in a post-grad haze, waiting for his breakthrough project to fall into his lap. During a drug-fueled wormhole through the annals of YouTube, Nate discovers his next subjects when an arbitrary click lands him on a crude music video by the Young Torture Killaz—an Insane Clown Posse knock-off group of jaded Delaware teens with a lot to scream about—and the inspiration (and exploitation) flows

Hellaware

2013

Hellaware poster
5.2

Aspiring but less than ambitious photographer Nate clumsily navigates the New York City art world in a post-grad haze, waiting for his breakthrough project to fall into his lap. During a drug-fueled wormhole through the annals of YouTube, Nate discovers his next subjects when an arbitrary click lands him on a crude music video by the Young Torture Killaz—an Insane Clown Posse knock-off group of jaded Delaware teens with a lot to scream about—and the inspiration (and exploitation) flows

Hellaware

2013

Hellaware poster
5.2

Aspiring but less than ambitious photographer Nate clumsily navigates the New York City art world in a post-grad haze, waiting for his breakthrough project to fall into his lap. During a drug-fueled wormhole through the annals of YouTube, Nate discovers his next subjects when an arbitrary click lands him on a crude music video by the Young Torture Killaz—an Insane Clown Posse knock-off group of jaded Delaware teens with a lot to scream about—and the inspiration (and exploitation) flows

Hellaware

2013

Mulberry St. poster
6.0

Born in the Bronx and raised in upstate New York, Abel Ferrara started his professional film career on Mulberry Street in 1975. For the past year he's been living on the block, and the feast of San Gennaro is the subject of his new film. While he has used this location for a few of his features, this time it's the star of the film.

Mulberry St.

2010

Jobe'z World poster
5.1

A rollerblading drug dealer runs into trouble when one of his customers dies.

Jobe'z World

2019

Jobe'z World poster
5.1

A rollerblading drug dealer runs into trouble when one of his customers dies.

Jobe'z World

2019

Talking with the Vampires poster
5.0

Abel Ferrara directed this thirty-minute documentary that interviews the cast of his film THE ADDICTION.

Talking with the Vampires

2018

Project Space 13 poster
3.5

The movie follows Nate, an emerging performance artist, who finally gets a coveted show at a Manhattan gallery, but right when he begins his provocative piece, the entire city shuts down for COVID-19. Unswayed, he locks himself in the white cube space to continue his performance for an audience of none. As tensions flare outside, the gallery hires private security to watch over him and his art. Over the course of one night, two armed guards and Nate argue about everything, reveal their darkest secrets, and prepare for the worst.

Project Space 13

2021

Project Space 13 poster
3.5

The movie follows Nate, an emerging performance artist, who finally gets a coveted show at a Manhattan gallery, but right when he begins his provocative piece, the entire city shuts down for COVID-19. Unswayed, he locks himself in the white cube space to continue his performance for an audience of none. As tensions flare outside, the gallery hires private security to watch over him and his art. Over the course of one night, two armed guards and Nate argue about everything, reveal their darkest secrets, and prepare for the worst.

Project Space 13

2021

The Projectionist poster
6.0

In his first New York City-set documentary in nearly a decade, filmmaker and provocateur Abel Ferrara uses the experience of one longtime cinema owner to chart the vast changes to the city’s theatrical landscape.

The Projectionist

2019

Happy Life poster
5.0

New York Tunez, an all techno record store, is going under. The owner, Keith, a down and out trance DJ, struggles to cope with the changing cultural climate. In a final effort to save the store he organizes a rave. Unfortunately, 2009 is a far cry from the early '90s.

Happy Life

2011

Happy Life poster
5.0

New York Tunez, an all techno record store, is going under. The owner, Keith, a down and out trance DJ, struggles to cope with the changing cultural climate. In a final effort to save the store he organizes a rave. Unfortunately, 2009 is a far cry from the early '90s.

Happy Life

2011