Biography

Michael Weinstein is the Owner & Creative Director of Runaway Train Films LLC.

Michael Weinstein is an international award winning independent filmmaker who has won over thirty awards. He graduated from Adelphi University in 2006 as a Communications Production major where he received departmental honors and an award for Best Creativity in Film & Video.

While attending high school, Weinstein made his first film, entitled "Runaway Wallet." Out of thousands of applicants, it won Grand Prize at the 2002 Showtime Youth Video Festival and was featured at the Museum of Television & Radio. He also received the Hudson Guild Award for this short film as well.

Shortly thereafter, Michael told the story of a WWII veteran suffering from post traumatic stress disorder in his narrative dramatic 16mm short, "Heart At war." This won Second Best Film at the 2004 Adelphi Film & Video Festival and screened at the New York International Film & Video Festival.

His thesis film "Erie Road" premiered at the Big Apple Film Festival and the Hoboken International Film Festival. After graduating college, he produced a music video and a promo for an ad agency.

Weinstein's slapstick short "White Knuckle" has won numerous awards and nominations. The movie premiered at the 2010 NY Indie Short Film Festival. It won Best Short Film at Indie Fest USA and the Royal Reel Award at the Canada International Film Festival. It also won the Diamond Award at the California Film Awards and Best Screenplay at the Mexico International Film Festival. It earned a Merit Award at the 2010 Los Angeles Reel Independent Film Festival and at the Los Angeles Cinema Festival of Hollywood.

The film won Best Romantic Film at the Aphrodite Cinefest in Texas. The short also screened at The Independents' Film Festival, New York Hell's Kitchen Film Festival, Love Unlimited Film Festival, Atlanta Shortfest, Long Island Film Festival, The Independent Film Quarterly and New Media Film Festival and The New York City International Film Festival. The film is now available on Amazon, Roku, indieflix, HolaTV and XBOX.

His new 'supernatural' Holocaust film, "If The Trees Could Talk" has been accepted to the Cannes Film Short Corner, Short Film Awards (Best Long Short), California Film Award (Special Jury Award), International Independent Film Awards (Platinum Award for Directing & Narrative Short), International Filmmakers Festival of World Cinema (Jury Award), Best Shorts Competition (Award of Excellence), Accolade Film Awards (Award of Excellence), IndieFest (Award of Excellence) Widescreen Film & Music Video Festival (Best Director & Best Narrative Short), North Carolina Film Awards (Founders Award) and Cinema at The Edge Film Festival (Jury Award-Best Short).

Now on a roll, the film garnered even more praise and plenty of awards from the likes of The Average Superstar Short Films (Best Director, Best Film, Best Acted), WorldFest Houston (Gold Remi Award), and The Festival of Cinematics (Best Short Film), The Honolulu Film Awards (Jury Award), The Indie Gathering (Best Drama Short), The Austin Revolution Film Festival (Best Dramatic Short) The Yosemite International Film Festival (Best Short), and The Oregon International Film Festival (Special Jury Award).

"If The Trees Could Talk", written, produced, directed, and edited by Michael Weinstein, has also been accepted to The Los Angeles Film Review and Madrid International Film Festival. The Runaway Train Films (https://runawaytrainfilms.com) production was also enthusiastically screened at The Big Island Film Festival, The Eastern North Carolina Film Festival, and The Festival of the Cinematics, as well as The Philadelphia Independent Film Festival, and Hollyshorts Film Festival where it played in the TCL Chinese Theater.

The highly awarded film, "If The Trees Could Talk" also played in the Laemmle Noho 7 Theater and was considered by The Academy!

The Michael Weinstein helmed mini-doc "Journey Through Darkness" was donated to The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum and The Museum of Jewish Heritage in New York City.

Michael is also a television director for a major news network and for People Entertainment Network.

Michael is (as of 9.21.18) in the development stage of his first feature film.
- IMDb mini biography by: Michael Weinstein