Melanie Levy is currently pursuing an MFA degree at Stanford University's program in documentary film/video. Prior to her graduate studies she received a BFA in Drama from NYU's Tisch School of the Arts where she performed with the Atlantic Theater Company, Playwrights Horizons Studios, and later on independent projects based in film, theater and multimedia. An exploration of her family's complicated history urged her towards documentary film and the documentary that emerged, Leaving Paradise: The Jews of Jamaica, has been screened at international festivals in New York City, Atlanta, Miami and around the world. She is most interested in documentaries that shed light on the unexpected and explore communities, individuals, and situations that fall between our typical modes of definition. While building experience in the photography/ documentary field she has also collaborated on projects with Ping Chong and Company, The Aperture Foundation, Two Tone Productions and Axis Films.

The Secret Life of Beards
16mm color film
5:47 min.

When the thing that matters most is right under our nose. Through the personal testimony of beardophiliacs who stand by their own through thick and thin, this documentary explores how the simple daily choice to shave or not to shave, impacts social perceptions, perspective and identity.

The Backstretch
Co-directed by Melanie Levy
and Meghan O'Hara
Digital Video - Widescreen
10:30 min.

After nearly eighty years of horse racing history, San Mateo's legendary Bay Meadows Racecourse is facing its final season. At this pivotal moment in California racing history, The Backstretch takes a look at life on the other side of the tracks.

A different Color Blue
16mm black and white film
3:59 min.

In a dusty art studio tucked away in San Francisco's Tenderloin district artist Charles Curtis Blackwell pours over works of beauty and remarkable spirit. 'a different color blue' is the story of a man who despite a brush with tragedy that would alter his life forever, finds hope in the most unlikely of places. This short, black and white, 16 mm film, explores the redemptive power of art, ideas of perception, and the courage of an artist who refuses to turn away from inspiration.