Melissa Elizondo Moreno

About

Melissa Elizondo Moreno (Mexico, 1987) specialized in documentary filmmaking at the National School of Cinematographic Arts of the National Autonomous University of Mexico, where she graduated with honors. She also has a Bachelor’s in Science of Communications from the Technological University of Mexico in Ecatepec de Morelos.

In 2018, her debut feature film THE SOWER premiered in Thessaloniki Documentary Festival in Greece. It also won the Documentary Warrior of the Press Award, the Made by a Woman Documentary Prize and Audience Award for Mexican Documentary Feature Film at the Morelia International Film Festival. THE SOWER also won best documentary award at the ONE Country ONE Film International Film Festival in France, received a honorable mention at the José Rovirosa Prize for Best Student Documentary, the audience prize at the Foto Film Tijuana Festival, the Juana Cuadrado Award at the XIII Human Rights Film Festival in Chile, and the award for Best Documentary at the International Festival for Children and Adolescents (KOLIBRI) in Bolivia.

In 2019 she premiered her documentary short film TO STIR THE HEART, produced by Educators Without Borders (Educadores somos todos AC). She has worked on various artistic projects and directed documentary and fiction short films. She has collaborated on feature films of La Media Luna Productions, in CUEC UNAM productions and on programs of Once TV México. She has participated as a director in the Guadalajara Talents program at the Guadalajara International Film Festival. In 2015 she studied creative film production at the State University of California, CSUN Northridge. She has participated in film workshops with filmmakers like Jesse Lerner, Jeanine Meerapfel, Eve Heller, Antje Ehmann and Harun Farocki.

As a director, her projects explore themes of indigenous peoples’ rights, children, and the construction of gender equality. Her documentary short film TÚMIN. SOLIDARITY ECONOMY won the Pepe Benítez Muro Mention at the Festival Cristal Screen. Her short film THE THREADS THAT WEAVE US won the Chiapaneco Radio, Television and Cinematography System Award for Best Fiction Short Film at the 2nd international film festival of the Autonomous University of Chiapas. The film also won first place at the 10th Indigenous Cinema and Video Film Festival in Morelia, received an honorable mention in the fiction category of the Latin American competition of the REC Public Universities Film Festival in Argentina, received an honorable mention at the Arica Nativa International Rural Film Festival in Chile and won in the category “Contribution to Indigenous Identity” at the International Festival of Indigenous Cinema of Wallmapu in Chile.