Melissa Fox (she/her) grew up on the south-side of Chicago, utilizing city arts programs and Chicago public schools from a young age. Painting, storytelling and playing with cameras became an obsession. Her first films are made with a toy camera, her cousins and lots of laughs. She jokes that she hasn't changed much since then, she just has bigger toys to play with.

With a BFA from the University of Illinois at Chicago, studying with artists from Kartemquin to Pixar in Time-Based visual arts - Melissa also minored in Art History and English all while working part time, finding opportunities to PA on films and working unpaid internships to launch a career. She took every opportunity to work and credits her time filming weddings with Fig Media, where she currently collaborates to produce films, as the place that solidified her love of documentaries.

With over 20 years of experience in a wide range of commercial projects with luxury brands and international companies, Melissa is most proud of the co-created community storytelling work she does with non-profits, often working in the neighborhoods she grew up in. With clients ranging from The MacArthur Foundation to American Heart Association, her impressive roster of films has aided in raising over 50million for communities, critical systems changes in policies and garnered countless awards. She currently holds 12 Telly’s. Melissa currently volunteers to run an annual artist residency for local artists, is a member of Arts Alliance Illinois and the NATAS Emmy Chicago / Midwest Chapter.

She challenges her clients to examine their roles in perpetuating harm through media making; centering her process of documentary making around human connection and joy. 

In the city you can find her painting watercolor landscapes, frolicking barefoot through the grass, gazing at clouds to predict the weather, exploring the world with her singer song-writer husband and dog while pitching the merits of excellent planning as radical self care.