Pura Vida! I’m Michiel Thomas, a Belgian-born documentary filmmaker, video journalist, camera operator, and editor based in Los Angeles, California.

 

Since 2006, I’ve worked across a wide range of topics and collaborated with clients and broadcasters around the world, including Netflix, Hulu, HBO, Peacock, PBS, ABC News, AMC Networks, and BBC News. I’ve also had the privilege of teaming up with acclaimed documentarians like Zeb Newman and David Weissman.

 

My work spans extremes: from the quiet isolation of the dreamy Rocky Mountains, where my love of nature feels right at home, to the buzzing excitement of Tinseltown. From deeply personal stories, like the coming-out journey of the first transgender pro MMA fighter, to iconic sports moments, like witnessing LeBron James dousing his teammates in champagne after winning back-to-back championships in Miami. It’s that contrast between the intimate and the monumental that drives my storytelling.

 

I’m endlessly grateful for every opportunity to explore the complexity and wonder of our world—from cultures and creatures to the raw beauty of Earth’s geologic forces—through the lens of my camera.