MELISSA McCLUNG is an award-winning filmmaker based in Western Massachusetts. Her short documentary, LOUIE’S ANTIQUES, was an Official Selection of the 58th Ann Arbor Film Festival, the Melbourne Documentary Festival, and the Ashland Independent Film Festival, among others, and it will be preserved in Historic Northampton's permanent archive. Melissa won three national Hometown Media Awards from the Alliance for Community Media in 2015, 2016 and 2018; was a 2019 finalist for the New England Film Star Award; and has won numerous local awards and grants. In addition to writing and directing films, Melissa teaches film at Pioneer Valley Performing Arts Charter Public High School, serves on the board of Northampton Open Media, and co-owns Ghost Hit Recording Studio with her husband, audio engineer Andrew Oedel. Melissa received her Master of Fine Arts in Film from Vermont College of Fine Arts.
Melissa's films often explore themes of environmentalism, tinged with whimsy, humor, sci-fi and nostalgia. She is committed to regional filmmaking and shoots on location in Western Massachusetts with local actors, non-actors and crew members. Working in documentary, fiction and hybrid storytelling, Melissa blends reality, fantasy, animation, and found footage, to create new collaged worlds, often with strong women and girls at the center.
