My name is Michelle Melles and I am an independent filmmaker, storyteller, director and creative producer. I am a fierce believer that the personal is in dialogue with the political and that multidimensional story telling has the power to transform our world. At the turn of the twenty first century, I began my career producing and story-editing an internationally-syndicated and multiple award winning Canadian docu-series SexTV (1999-2010). Ahead of its time, this ground-breaking show explored the complexity of sexual and gender expression in the modern world. The feminist filmmaker Julia Reichert said that “anytime you tell the true story of a woman, it’s a radical act.” I produced numerous documentaries for the show's ten season run telling true stories of women, sexuality and gender in all its complexity.

After a long career in the broadcast media, I went back to school and now hold a Master of Fine Arts (MFA) in Documentary Media (Gold Medal, 2021, summa cum laude) from Toronto Metropolitan University.

Under my banner Parallel Vision Pictures, I produce independent, multidimensional social issues documentaries that challenge preconceived ideas and offer unique ways of perceiving ourselves, each other, and the world. I am a member of New Day Films a filmmaker-run distribution company, providing social issue documentaries to educators since 1971.

In 2021, for my MFA, I released my first feature length documentary Drunk on Too Much Life.