Melina Leon is a Peruvian filmmaker based in New York City. "El Paraíso de Lili" (Lili’s Paradise), her thesis short film for Columbia University, officially premiered at the 47th New York Film Festival (2009) and has received three awards from the National Film Council of Peru.

Melina’s feature film project, "Song Without A Name,” is based on a true account of child trafficking that took place at the height of the political and economic crises in 1980’s Perú. The original script was co-written with novelist Michael J. White.

Her first short film "A 45 for the month’s expenses" (2000) won the first prize from the National Film Council in Peru and was screened at a special section at the Tampere Film Festival, Finland 2002. Her short "Girl with a walkman" (2006) was an official selection at the San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival in 2007 and many more important Asian American festivals. This film was also broadcast by KTHE Public TV from San José, California.

Melina has also co-produced the film "Emigrant" (2008), the first feature film by Romanian director Florin Serban and made a sequence of videos for the musical play "Kiss of the Spider Woman" by the Peruvian director Gisela Cárdenas.

As a student, she received several fellowships through Columbia University, including the Hollywood Foreign Press Association grant. She has also worked at Columbia as a teaching assistant for the Latin American cinema class with professor Richard Peña, director of the New York Film Festival and the film department of Lincoln Center.

Before moving to NY, Melina founded the company Manzana Azul in Lima, with director Alonso F. Mayo and produced his short “Silencio” which won the “Robert Altman” prize at the Kansas Film Festival.

Melina’s work aims to reflect on the ironies and cycles of life. Her inspiration comes above all from her socialist and otherwise unruly family, the collective theater group "Yuyachkani," and the Peruvian poet José Watanabe, who told her to view films as a form of poetry.

Filmography:

• Director of short film "Lili's paradise", 2009 (16', super16mm)
• Producer of feature film "Emigrant” (35mm, 70’, in post-production).
• Director of short film “Girl with a walkman” (16mm, 13’’, 2006). Official selection at the San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival, 2007, 30th Asian American International Film Festival (New York), UC Davis Asian American Film Festval 2007, Toronto Wild Sound Film festival 2007.
• Director of short film “Julia & ” (digital video, 13’ – 2006).
• Director of the short film “Somewhere in America” (digital video, 14’ - 2004).
• Writer-Producer of the short film “Memory of my eyes” (digital video, 16’- 2004).
• Director of the short film Sweet Poison (digital video, 7’ - 2004).
• Producer of the short film “Silence” (30’ – 2002), official selection at Los Angeles, Chicago and San Diego Latino Film festivals, among other international film events.
• Director of the short film “A 45 for the month’s expenses” (Peru, 2001), broadcast by the National TV channel (TNP) and Antena 3. Screened at the Tampere Film Festival (Finland). 1st prize from the National Film Council.
• Custom Supervisor on the film "The Good Bastard" www.elbienesquivo.com, Peru-1998.
• Director of the documentary “Ballads of Well Being” broadcast by Antena 3 - Lima-Perú.
• Art Director assistant on the film Coraje Perú-1998.