Mike and Dan Palermo
Our Lady of the Bay Catholic High School
Graduated 2000 and 2003
Directors and producers in the film industry
Mike and Dan Palermo both attended St. Mary’s Catholic School and then Our Lady of the Bay Catholic High School in Collingwood, Ontario. Today, these talented brothers have found great success in the film industry, making commercials and documentaries, while pursuing their dream of producing feature films.
It was in his communications technology class at Our Lady of the Bay that Dan developed a passion for filmmaking. This passion quickly became a family affair when brother Mike found himself on-camera for many of Dan’s class assignments.
Both brothers graduated from Ryerson University – Dan studied film production while Mike completed the information technology management program. Throughout university, Mike continued to help his brother, but he also began to develop a love for the technical aspects of film making. He eventually decided to join Dan in directing and producing film.
Together, they have made many award-winning short films including, Being Human, selected for Robert De Niro’s Tribeca Film Festival in New York City. They have since made an award-winning feature film and continue to focus on the business side of the industry, which includes raising funds and developing relationships.
The brothers maintain that while attending a Catholic school, “. . . there was always a sense of family between students and faculty, the importance of which cannot be understated. It is this foundation that has allowed us to build the solid working relationships needed to succeed in an industry that can sometimes be superficial.”