Melissa Miller Costanzo

Wellesley High School Writer: Melissa Miller Costanzo 

           Melissa Miller Costanzo is a writer/director with what she describes as “the benefit of a decisive visual point of view.”  She most recently directed the 2023 comedy film The List for Universal Pictures starring Halston Sage, Christian Navarro, and Chrissie Fit.

            The first feature film which she wrote and directed, All These Small Moments starring Molly Ringwald, Brian d’arcy James, Jemima Kirke, Brendan Meyer, and Harley Quinn Smith, had its world premiere at the 2018 Tribeca Film Festival in the spotlight narrative section and was picked up by Orion Classics.  She has produced several feature films including The Tested starring Aunjanue Ellis, Armando Riesco, and Frank Vincent which was accepted to the prestigious IFP Independent Filmmaker Lab and Emerging Narratives at IFP Film Week and took home top prize at the American Black Film Festival.

            Melissa came up through the studio system, working with industry leaders at 3 Arts Entertainment, New Line Cinema, and Universal Pictures.  From her work on such award winning films as If Beale Street Could Talk, The Fighter, and Precious, as well as critically acclaimed television shows The Affair and Prodigal Son, she is known for “an eye for detail and a perspective defined by experience.”  An article about her says, “Her time spent on set and behind the scenes, helps to inform her work and the worlds she creates. She is not only known for the intimate characters she creates, but for the clear realm in which they exist.”