search for anything! e.g. The Wild Robot or maybe 'Skeleton Crew' The Day of the Jackal Timothée Chalamet search for anything!
Mellissa Tong

Mellissa Tong

Mellissa holds an MFA in Music Composition from the California Institute of the Arts. She started her producing and broadcasting career with RTHK, the premier public broadcasting station in Hong Kong. As an associate producer, she worked on bilingual music shows and live broadcasts. Later, she brought her producing and broadcasting experience to the International Channel in Los Angeles, where she worked for their daily news program as reporter, anchor, and producer.

At IC, she created her own daily and weekly segments, featuring interviews with directors and celebrities, and coverage of movie premieres and film festivals. During her four years at IC, she produced several in-depth and acclaimed specials, such as Asian American Directors and Producers, featuring Janet Yang and Terence Chang, and the Successful Professional Women series, among others. Mellissa also created, developed, produced and hosted a new Asian American newsmagazine pilot called THE ‘A’ JOURNAL, which premiered on May 22nd 1998.

While working full time at the International Channel, Mellissa went on to further her knowledge about filmmaking at UCLA. Upon finishing her studies, she took on three film projects as producer. First was the independent feature film MY AMERICAN VACATION which won Gold Medal for Best Comedy at Houston WorldFest ’99. It was sold to HBO Asia and had a limited release at Laemmle’s Grande in Los Angeles, March ’00. Porchlight Pictures is currently handling the video distribution of the picture. Next was the American Film Institute project THE WATER GHOST which won Best Student Short at the Santa Clarita International Film Festival, and Silver Medal for Best Drama/Experimental at Houston WorldFest ’99. THE WATER GHOST was sold to LifeTime Television in ‘99. Mellissa then produced the independent 35mm short CLICK THREE TIMES, starring Isabel Sanford from the hit TV series THE JEFFERSONS; it was sold to PBS.

After the International Channel, Mellissa went on to work with executive producer and director Stanley Tong on the popular CBS series MARTIAL LAW. In November ’99, she left the show and started her own production company, DuckPunk Productions. Since then, she has produced five projects: a 12 min. short entitled TALK TO TAKA, funded by AtomFilms and IAM.com, starring THE KARATE KID’s Pat Morita and Mako; an hour-long independent documentary entitled TAKY KIMURA: THE DRAGON’S LEGACY; an independent 35mm feature entitled HELIUM; a PSA with Joan Chen for HUD; and a documentary entitled CARING, about the impact of Chinese youth mission projects on the lives of Native Americans in the reservations area of Arizona.

Currently, Mellissa has several feature and TV projects in development. Besides producing, she also handles distribution of independent films to cable TV networks. In May ’99, she was instrumental in the creation of the first Asian American Film Festival on the International Channel, distributing eight films to the event.

Mellissa's work has gained recognition in the Asian American community and has brought a positive image to all Asians. Her ultimate goal is to produce more projects that are related to, or involve Asian Americans, and to use these projects to enhance awareness of Asian Americans in the mass media.