Melinda Raebyne

Melinda Raebyne began filmmaking in 2015 after ten years of acting in films. Melinda’s art is inspired by the saying “great art doesn’t just capture the moment, it allows you to feel it.” Motivated from her own personal experiences, Melinda is interested in making films that examine important social injustices while giving a voice to those who have and are suffering in silence. March 2016 Melinda received the Right Now Today Humanitarian Award for work on her first short film “Asylum.” This narrative short offer a poignant picture of mental trauma caused by domestic violence. Melinda’s film producing goal is to inspire her audience to feel the story being told on screen so they become vested in a solution and motivated to take action. If she can impact her audience’s attitude about social injustices, she will have succeeded in her artistic effort.

Melinda received 2017 GAP Award funding for an exhibit entitled, “For Sale.” Using a variety of compelling but non-explicit images, Melinda will invite people into a world that they may assume they already understand while allowing the viewer to come to a deeper compassion and comprehension of the “face of victimization” by exploring how a typical night plays out for a young underage girl. Putting a face to human trafficking while revealing the harsh realities of this exploitation of human life creates an emotionally powerful impact for the audience.