Mel Jones - Indie Film Producer behind DEAR WHITE PEOPLE and BURNING SANDS
Mel Jones is a multitalented producer and director. A Howard University graduate, she earned her MFA at the American Film Institute in Producing. Jones worked in development at Participant Media under producer Jonathan King and marketing guru Ricky Strauss. A Project Involve Fellow, Jones assisted veteran producer and LA Film Festival director, Stephanie Allain – a gig which turned into a five-year stint as producer of Diversity Speaks, one of the festival’s signature programs. You may recall the legendary Stephanie Allain from episode 14 of the podcast. Give it a listen! She served Producer on Wade and Jesse Allain-Marcus’ FRENCH DIRTY, Gerard McMurray’s BURNING SANDS and Clark Johnson’s Netflix original film, JUANITA. She made her directorial debut with LEIMERT PARK, an indie episodic that premiered at Sundance 2018. During our hour together, she shares her journey on growing from an assistant to a producer at Homegrown Entertainment, dives deep into how she became an Associate Producer on Justin Simien’s Sundance hit, DEAR WHITE PEOPLE, and divulges her secret to being a freaking ray of sunshine. Can’t wait to hear what you think of this week’s episode! Beijos, Caca