Meet Michele D’Acosta from London who moved to LA twenty years ago to pursue her dream to make movies, produce art, and to help children like her who had been orphaned at an early age.
Was there a particular reason you chose LA?
As a Brit, I imagined that in order to fulfill my destiny I needed to Go West! The first leg of my trip took me from London to New York (I lived in NYC for several years) until one day I upped sticks and obeyed my inner voice to go to the West Coast. When I was young woman trying to break into the film industry in North America, one of my ambitions was to work with the Los Angeles-based film director, Nick Broomfield. I was blessed to achieve this goal. Furthermore, my godfather, Eric Reed, was a Hollywood cameraman. He bought me my first camera when I was eight years old.
What do you miss most from home?
To be honest, I commute back and forth between London and Los Angeles.
What was your first impression of LA and has it changed since? If so why?
My first impression of LA was meeting Nick Broomfield at Los Angeles International Airport; we hated each other on sight! Has my impression of LA changed since that day? Yes. My perception of Los Angeles is a city that’s at a crossroads between the dystopian visions of the author Philip K. Dick and the Technicolor fairy tale of L. Frank Baum’s Emerald City. I identify myself as a mashup of Toto, Tin Man and Rachael not knowing that she is a replicant.
Do you have a hidden gem in LA that you want to share with us?
Pet cemeteries fascinate me. The Los Angeles Pet Memorial Park, one of the largest and oldest of its kind on the West Coast, offers bereaved pet owners a sense of community.
What would you suggest to others who are thinking about making the move here?
Go with your gut instinct and if you’re in two minds about moving to LA, don’t do it.
Lots of our members join our group Brits in LA seeking out words of wisdom – what is the best piece of advice you’ve been given?
The best piece of advice I’ve been given is by Nick Broomfield who said to me: “Don’t second guess yourself.”
