Mr. Allen:
- Is an International Author, receiving a Pulitzer Prize nomination for his non-fiction book, Tao of Surfing: Finding Depth at Low Tide which was translated into Chinese from a publisher in Taiwan after the book was shown at the Frankfurt, Germany International Book Fair.
- Co-authored the Tao of Surfing film screenplay based on his Pulitzer Prize nominated book with his brother-in-law Alex T. Carig.
- Graduated with a 4.0 with his Master's degree in philosophy from the California State University at Long Beach.
- Earned a Certificate in Asian Studies from the California State University at Long Beach.
- Is a Life Member of the Golden Key National Honor Society for outstanding academic achievement.
- Is a Life Member of Phi Sigma Tau Philosophy Honor Society.
- Presented a Philosophy paper entitled "The Utilization of Taoist Metaphors in Everyday Living" at the 1989 International Society for Chinese Philosophy Conference on "Mind, Nature and Reason in Chinese and Western Philosophy", held at the University of Hawaii at Hilo.
- Discussed Bio-Ethics with the Nursing staff's Medical Ethics Committee in the Medical Intensive Care Unit (MICU) of Cedars Sinai Hospital in June of 1989.
- Wrote his Master's Thesis "Understanding the Way of the Confucian Superior Man and Aristotle's Man of Practical Wisdom."
- Wrote a graduate philosophy paper titled "Metaphors & Frameworks, an East/West Look at Thanatology in Contemporary American Medicine" A Taoist Look at Death and Dying.
- Wrote a graduate philosophy paper titled "The 1001st Time, Taoism in Western Science, a look at Regularity and Uniformity in Nature, an East/West Dialogue"
- Attended the Beijing International Conference on the Philosophy of Science in Beijing, China, June 1992. Conference topic: "Realism vs. Anti-Realism in Science".
- Organized the 1988 Student Philosophy Association Symposium on Applied Ethics with guest speaker from Rice University Dr. Tristram Engelhart.
His interest in film-making started at the age of 15 when he began shooting Super-8 films loading 50 foot reels into his Minolta XL-400 movie camera. His interests range from documentary film-making to full length feature films. He is a California Native and has been surfing for over 30 years.
Michael A. Allen:
Screenwriter; Executive Producer