MICHELLE PAYMAR

From Cairo to the Cloud was produced, directed, and filmed by award-winning filmmaker, Michelle Paymar. Her documentaries have screened at festivals around the world and she has extensive credits as a director/writer of non-fiction television programs for NBC, ABC, CBS, PBS, CBC, Travel, Discovery, History, and other major broadcasters.

Her company, D-Facto Filmstudio, makes independent documentaries and films for organizations ranging from a nonprofit empowering women in Sri Lanka to a groundbreaking memory care center in California. Earlier films include the pioneering AIDS documentary, For Our Lives, and Sippie, about classic blues artist Sippie Wallace (Co-Directed with Roberta Grossman).

She received a Master of Fine Arts degree in Film Directing from the American Film Institute and graduated from the University of California, Berkeley. 

DIRECTOR’S NOTES ON THE FILM

As a Jew raised in North America, I was deeply aware of the Eastern European world of my ancestors, but had scant exposure to the history of Jews in Islamic countries. Learning about the Cairo Geniza and discovering the richness of Judeo-Arabic culture was truly a revelation. I am grateful to the scholars who so generously shared their insights and expertise with me.