OVERVIEW
Highlights
- Short Films Matter published a Spotlight article featuring her work.
- "Like a PowerPoint" was recognized, among other festivals, by the Always Late TV Movie Awards (Best Short Drama), Tokyo Film Awards (Best Original Composer for the song "Falling" in the credits), and Istanbul Film Awards, where it won Best Indie Short Film, Best Actress (Short Film) for Melanie Gretchen, and Best Actor (Short Film) for Stephen Sherman.
- "The Back Garden" won Best Romance Film at the New York International Film Awards and Best Thriller at Chicago Shorts.
- "Tinted View," a short horror film by Luke Masella, won at the One-Reeler Short Film Competition.
- Melanie was interviewed in Lincoln Center's promo and "Making of" feature for her participation in "the public domain," followed by "in the name of the earth," both created for Lincoln Center's Mostly Mozart Festival.
Reviews
- Short Films Matter's 4/5 of "The Back Garden": "The conversational dialogue and eerie scenes build a sense of foreboding that enhances the psychological depth of the story."
- The Monkey Bread Tree Film Awards on the "The Back Garden: "Comical, and also quite stylish with its static performances. The highlight is its production values, which embrace the space as a varied presentation of different times of day – heightening to its dark broody conclusion by the end of the short film."
- Short Films Matter's 4/5 review of "Like a PowerPoint: "This drama short, written, produced and starring Melanie Gretchen, smuggles the tension of a rom-com and the introspection of a relationship autopsy. It’s taut, cheeky, and disarmingly sincere."
- The Monkey Bread Tree Film Awards on "Like a PowerPoint" - “This could have easily been expanded into a feature film, mainly thanks to the core character and the naturalistic performance of ‘Emma’.
- The Village Voice: "A Midsummer Night's Dream" tour by Pulse Ensemble Theater, directed by Alexa Kelly, earned "High praise" for a "cheerfully vulgar production."
