Melina León is a Peruvian director based in Lima and New York. León grew up in Lima and moved to New York city in 2003 to study film directing at Columbia University, where she graduated with an MFA. Her short film El Paraíso de Lili (Lili’s Paradise) made its international debut in 2009 at the prestigious 47th New York Film Festival. The film won 11 awards during its 20-plus festival run, including Best Latin American Film at the Sao Paulo International Short Film Festival.

 

León was the recipient of a 2015 Jerome Foundation Emerging Artist Production Grant to direct her first feature film Canción Sin Nombre (Song Without A Name). The film premiered at Cannes Director’s Fortnight 2019 and it was nominated to the Caméra d’Or. Canción Sin Nombre has been screened at over 60 international film festivals and is the first film by a female Peruvian director to play in Cannes. The film has won several awards including the prestigious Cinevision Award for Best Emerging Director at the Munich Film Festival. León currently works internationally as a director, producer, editor and teacher.