Inspired by dabbling in background acting, Coast Guard veteran and retired oceanographer Michelle Deni Malouf pursued professional screenwriting in graduate school. Her screenplays found success in competitions with ScreenCraft, ISA, and the Seattle Film Summit. Her action script Fall Into Me earned her a seat at the table with the Writers Guild Foundation's 2023-2024 Veterans Writing Project to develop her action feature Passage. In 2023, Michelle founded Nordic Orca Films, LLC under which she wrote, directed, and produced the 2024 short film Tadpole: An Origin Story. The action sequel to Tadpole starts pre-production in the spring of 2025. Michelle continues to work background on industry sets while writing and is a trained stunt performer. She shares her time among her home in Washington State, New Orleans, and Los Angeles. Michelle is a member of the Northwest Screenwriters Guild, Louisiana Film, Screen Nova Scotia, The United Stuntmen's Association, and ISA.