Melissa Marquez(I)

Melissa Marquez is a writer, director, and producer originally from Lima, Peru. She immigrated with her family to the U.S. at the young age of 5 where she discovered a love of writing, drawing, and filmmaking as she handled the family's first film camera. She went on to study film, graduated in 2014, and went on to write and direct the award-winning short "Dream" starring So You Think You Can Dance? and High School Musical The Series talent Stephani Sosa. In August of 2019, she wrote and directed the short "Ballroom Dreams", a film that resonates with her on a personal level, inspired by true events "Ballroom Dreams" is a story about a Latina who pursues Latin ballroom despite her overly protective mother's wishes and status in the country. Melissa is inspired by the topics and events that have shaped her life and hopes that audiences can connect with her work on a deeper level. "We all seek truth beyond the same story."