Melina Leon is a Peruvian director whose film debut, Canción sin Nombre (Song without a Name), premiered at Cannes Directors Fortnight 2019, making her the first Peruvian female filmmaker to be invited to the festival. The film was nominated for Best Iberoamerican Feature at the Goya Awards 2022 and was Peru’s Oscar® Entry for Best International Feature.
Song without a Name has been selected for over 100 international film festivals winning several awards including Best Director at the Thessaloniki Film Festival, Best Film at the Stockholm Film Festival and the Cinevision Award for Best Emerging Director at the Munich Film Festival. Set in Peru, in 1988, the film is inspired by a true account of child trafficking originally reported by Ismael Leon, her father.
Her short film El Paraíso de Lili (Lili’s Paradise), also set in Peru in 1988, made its international debut at the 47th New York Film Festival, was an official selection at Clermont Ferrand and won over a dozen awards, including Best Latin American Short at the Sao Paulo Kino Film Festival.
Melina’s work has been supported by the Columbia Institute for ideas and Imagination, the Jerome Foundation, the Ibermedia program and the Ministry of Culture of Peru. She is currently filming Ho.. , a hybrid doc that takes place in NY, Chicago and LA.
MELINA LEON 