Melissa Perez

Melissa Perez was born in Toppenish, Washington. She and her family of eight moved to the Mojave Desert in California where she grew up and started making films. While studying film & media at UC Santa Barbara, she directed three shorts and won a Corwin Award for Best Directing for her short film, "Over and Out." After graduation, Perez was selected as a writing and directing fellow for young filmmakers by the Los Angeles LGBT Center & Outfest which fully funded "My Mother's Orphan." In 2014, she was accepted into the American Film Institute. Being the daughter of immigrants from Guadalajara, Mexico, Perez finds inspiration from her family history, the struggles within working-class families, and the contradictions and silences within them. Her work often centers themes of intersecting identities within a family, mental health, religion, and sexuality.

San Francisco Latino Film Festival