The Board Members of the Montana Institute for the Arts
Michael Polish
Founder, President
Michael Polish was born on October 30, 1970 in El Centro, California, USA. He is known for directing and writing, The Astronaut Farmer (2006), Twin Falls Idaho (1999) and Northfork (2003). In 2015, he wrote and directed 90 Minutes in Heaven based on the personal experience of Don Piper. He continues to write and direct some of the most beautiful films to this day. His film Nona (2017), is a story of sex trafficking with the purpose of educating viewers of the horrible underworld. His latest series Bring on the Dancing Horses will be available soon nationwide.
Travis Bruyer
Founder, Executive Director
Travis W. Bruyer was raised in Kalispell, Montana and grew up using and experimenting with 8 and 16 mm film equipment. He attended Montana State University studying film and television however duty called and he enlisted in the US Coast Guard. After being on security details for movie sets like Down Periscope, and Baywatch he saw a need for accuracy portrayal in military and law enforcement productions for realism on the screen.
While on active duty he was engaged in Search and Rescue, Immigration, Drug Interdiction, Vessel Recovery, Boating Inspections and Law Enforcement. Over the past 16 years he’s been assigned to Patrol, SWAT, Detectives, Special Assignments, and Hostage/Crisis Negotiations, and instructs on Tasers, Baton, Pepper Spray, Use of Force, Domestic Violence Cases, Defensive Tactics and Armed Intruder.
Travis enjoys his off time with his family and works as a military and law enforcement adviser to those seeking tactical, investigative, armed or weaponless defense training, wardrobe, and safety advice on the set. He enjoys producing and acting and is a great resource for filming across the State of Montana. In addition to his entrepreneur endeavors, he’s the author of “The Legal Survival Guide for Students” and has published investigative guides for the State of Montana as well as other training articles.