Residing in sunny Echo Park, Los Angeles, Melissa is currently in post-production on her short film Creep. Her second short film, A Ghost Story, starring Ed Begley Jr. and Derek Cecil, made the rounds at several film festivals, winning Best Actor in A Short Film for Ed Begley Jr. at the Hollywood Reel Film Festival. Best Screenplay and Best Actor for Derek Cecil at the Long Story Shorts International Festival and Best Short Film at the Los Angeles Independent Film Festival. Shorts International acquired for distribution and it is available to watch on Amazon.

A Girl and A Gun, Melissa’s first short, hit the circuit in 2009, playing at several festivals and winning Most Original Short Film at the Portland Women’s Film Festival. Her screenplays Radical, All Are Not Lost, and American Gothic have all been recognized at screenwriting festivals. She looks forward to bringing these stories from script to life.

Melissa has also been a successful costume designer for the past twenty-five years. From Indie favorites like Kissing Jessica Stein and Super Troopers to tent pole features like War of the Planet of the Apes and Space Jam 2, she has vast experience making films. Her costume design portfolio is available at www.melissabruning.com.