MÉLO (Mélodie Roulaud) is a French-born film director and photographer based between France and the UK and with a background in film production, documentary, advertising, and fashion. Always drawn to characters and storytelling, she studied literature in France before a second degree in fashion visual communication at the London College of Fashion, University of the Arts London. Her work focuses on representations of bodies and lived experiences.
Her moving image and photography practice spans different genres such as global TV commercial campaigns, documentaries, fashion and beauty, and portraits. From working with a range of commercial brands including Nowness, Durex, Dove, Hugo Boss, Tiffany & Co and Stylist Magazine to personal projects screened at festivals around the world, MÉLO has created work with a desire to challenge mainstream ideas of image creation.
Her film, Fragments, recently received Best Super Short Documentary Film at Doc. Berlin 2023 and is part of the official selection at Doc. London Documentary festival, the Ghent International Short Film Festival 2024 and Toronto Film Week 2024. Other screenings and nominations include A Shaded View on Fashion Film, Aesthetica Short Film Festival, La Jolla Fashion Film Festival, Berlin Feminist Film Week, Brussels Fashion Film Festival, etc.
MÉLO is also an associate lecturer on the Creative Direction For Fashion BA (Hon) at the London College of Fashion.
Selected publications and accolades:
2024 - Taylor Wessing shortlist 2024 - Portrait photography
2024 - THIIIRD Magazine - Fashion story (still) - Softness
2024 - A Shaded View of Fashion Film Festival - Dover Street Market Paris - Official selection - Fragments Ep. 1 & 2
2024 - New York Super Short Film Festival - Winner, Best Super Short Film - Fragments Ep. 1
2024 - Doc. London Documentary Film Festival - Official selection - Fragments Ep. 1
2024 - Raw Canvas Summer Exhibition 2024 - Photography
2024 - Fragments Ep. 1, official selections: Venice Film Week, Doc. Sydney Film Documentary Film Festival, Feminist Border Arts Film Festival, New Jersey Independent Film Festival, Doc. Boston Documentary Film Festival, Amsterdam Independent Film Festival
2023 - Doc. Berlin Documentary Film Festival - Winner, Best Super Short Film - Fragments Ep. 1
2023 - Nowness Pick of the Day - Fragments Ep. 1
2023 - Half the Sky - Ephemere - Women street photography
2016 - A Shaded View of Fashion Film - Fashion Documentary - Finalist - SKin
2016 - Grand Indie Wise Convention - Finalist - Solomon Grey - Choir to the Wild
2016 - Skin, official selections: International Fashion Film Festival Brussels, Walthamstow International Film Festival, Grand Rapid Feminist Film Fest.
2015 - VOTD - Winner - Solomon Grey - Choir to the Wild
2013 - Aesthettica Short Film Festival - Official selection for experimental film -- Impossible Shoes
2013 - La Jolla Fashion Film Festival - Official selection for best picture and best director - Impossible Shoes