Michelle Memran (and Eleanor the cat) at work
Michelle Memran is a filmmaker, writer, and visual artist. As a journalist in NYC, she has written for The New York Times, Newsweek, Vanity Fair, and American Theatre Magazine. Memran’s highly acclaimed debut feature documentary on playwright Maria Irene Fornes, The Rest I Make Up, premiered at MoMA’s Doc Fortnight Series and was called “one of the best movies of 2018” (Richard Brody, The New Yorker), and “a lyrical and lovingly made documentary” (The New York Times). As a visual artist, her oil pastel portraits have been commissioned by The New York Times Book Review, as well as by various theatrical and film productions.
In 2017, Memran was diagnosed with breast cancer, and the work on this site represents the watercolor faces she drew during—and now after—treatment. She was interested in showcasing how the drawings evolved over the course of her three-year treatment, underscoring the importance of making art as part of the healing process.