A sociologist, filmmaker and long-time student of Sufism, Michelle began working on Secrets of Life and Death, a four-part film series, after her parents died in 1998. Originally conceived as a single film, the project morphed into four separate but linked films as she explored various relationships with death, e.g. dying, caregiving, grieving and living after loss. The first two films, Facing Death . . . with open eyes and Caring for Dying: the art of being present, have been screening for community groups throughout the Bay Area. As an outgrowth of her film work, Michelle teaches seminars on end-of-life at JFK University and leads bereavement groups at Sutter VNA and Hospice.