Melina Tupa

Melina Tupa is an award-winning Argentinean and Brazilian journalist, and documentary director, editor, and producer.

Melina recently edited and produced Miss Panama, a short documentary about the first Black woman to be named Miss Panama, who prior to her victory, was requested to answer an additional obscure legal question. The short documentary premiered at the 2021 Tribeca Film Festival and was an official selection at 65th SFFILM Festival. Notable previous editing credits include additional editing the feature documentary A La Calle, a firsthand account of the extraordinary efforts of everyday Venezuelans as they struggle to reclaim their democracy from the dictatorship of Nicolás Maduro. The documentary premiered at the 2020 DOC NYC.

Melina holds a Bachelor in Journalism degree from the Pontifical Catholic University of Argentina and a Master of Journalism degree from UC Berkeley, focusing on Documentary Filmmaking and Photojournalism. Melina was awarded a Documentary Merit Fellowship, the Carlos M. Castañeda Journalism Scholarship, and is the recipient of the N.S. Bienstock Fellowship, an award that recognizes a promising minority journalist in radio or television news.

Melina Tupa is an award-winning Argentinean and Brazilian journalist, and documentary director, editor, and producer.

Melina recently edited and produced Miss Panama, a short documentary about the first Black woman to be named Miss Panama, who prior to her victory, was requested to answer an additional obscure legal question. The short documentary premiered at the 2021 Tribeca Film Festival and was an official selection at 65th SFFILM Festival. Notable previous editing credits include additional editing the feature documentary A La Calle, a firsthand account of the extraordinary efforts of everyday Venezuelans as they struggle to reclaim their democracy from the dictatorship of Nicolás Maduro. The documentary premiered at the 2020 DOC NYC.

Melina holds a Bachelor in Journalism degree from the Pontifical Catholic University of Argentina and a Master of Journalism degree from UC Berkeley, focusing on Documentary Filmmaking and Photojournalism. Melina was awarded a Documentary Merit Fellowship, the Carlos M. Castañeda Journalism Scholarship, and is the recipient of the N.S. Bienstock Fellowship, an award that recognizes a promising minority journalist in radio or television news.

Her short documentary The Search, told the story of Estela de Carlotto, the president of the Grandmothers of the Plaza de Mayo, whose grandson was abducted during the Argentinean military dictatorship. The documentary won best short documentary at the Amnesty International Film Festival, is a Student Academy Award finalist, a recipient of the Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ) Excellence in Journalism Award for Student Special Project in addition to several other awards, and has been featured in different film festivals across the world.

Melina is a BGDM member, an Alliance of Documentary Editors (ADE) member and a BIPOC Doc Editors member.