About Mike

Mike Olenick (he/him) is a filmmaker, photographer, and artist whose films have screened at major film festivals (including Slamdance, Fantastic Fest, and Fantasia), streamed on MUBI, and been selected as a Vimeo Staff Pick. He’s secured over $95k in funding for his own projects from several organizations, including the Ohio Arts Council, Greater Columbus Arts Council, and Film Columbus. In 2016 he was awarded a fellowship to the inaugural Shudder Labs. His work has won awards at numerous film festivals, including Slamdance, Chicago Underground, Ann Arbor, Cinematexas, and Nightmares. You can view some of his personal work at www.mikeolenick.com.

Editing Experience

Mike has edited work for other filmmakers and artists including Jennifer Reeder (Knives and Skin, A Million Miles Away, and countless others), Guy Maddin (assistant editor on The Forbidden Room, Keyhole, Seances), Lucy Raven (China Town), and Michael Robinson (additional editing on Circle in the Sand). He’s remastered major works by Andrea Fraser and Sadie Benning, and several works he’s edited are in the collections of major museums including MoMA, Whitney Museum, BAMPFA, and Tate Modern. Films he’s edited have screened at film festivals around the world (including Sundance, Berlin, Tribeca, Fantastic Fest, AFI Fest), played on major streaming services (including The Criterion Channel, Hulu, MUBI, and Shudder), and been selected as Vimeo Staff Picks. Mike has worked as a consultant editor on projects that have premiered at SxSW, DIA Chelsea, and in the Whitney Biennial, among others.

Nonprofit Experience

Mike spent over 17 years working in the Film/Video Studio at the Wexner Center for the Arts, where he worked on a wide range of projects (including narrative films, documentaries, experimental films, video art, and multi-channel installations) for artists & filmmakers from around the world. On a daily basis he would communicate technical, aesthetic, conceptual, and practical filmmaking ideas to established filmmakers and emerging artists. He also served as the first Archive Project Manager for this residency program and oversaw the development of an archive of over 600 moving image works made by more than 400 artists-in-residence during a period that encompassed nearly 30 years.

Other Experiences

Mike further honed his communication, critique, and project development skills while teaching photography, film, and MFA students at the Columbus College of Art & Design, and he’s also mentored MFA students at multiple universities. Mike has served on juries for film festivals and galleries (including Slamdance, Chicago Underground, ROY G BIV Gallery, Image Ohio, and Ohio Shorts at the Wexner Center), and he’s served as a community reviewer for Artist Projects grants for the Greater Columbus Arts Council.

Mike has an MFA in Photography from the Cranbrook Academy of Art, a BFA in Media Studies from CCAD, and he’s successfully completed Grant Writing for Nonprofits through Denison University’s Edge program. He’s also a jigsaw puzzle connoisseur and he sees many parallels between image making and assembling a puzzle.

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