Photo by Nelta Kasparian
Mélodie Roulaud is a Franco-British film director, photographer, art director and educator whose practice examines the body, identity, and representation. Working across moving image, photography, and audio, her collaborative methodology blurs the boundaries between author and subject, positioning participants as co-creators and questioning the mechanisms of representation.Her research is rooted in a critical reflection on the power and influence of imagery on self-perception and our presence in the world. Her collaborative approach places the body and sensory experience at the centre, and aims to create dialogue between individual and collective lived experiences.

This approach is embodied in "Fragments" (2023-2024), a multi-award-winning documentary video series that reveals the bodily experiences of trans and non-binary people, receiving Best Super Short Film awards at New York Super Short Film Festival (2024) and Doc. Berlin Documentary Film Festival (2023), and Best Underground Film at Lisbon International Film Festival (2025). In "Devenir Chair" (2025), she explores her own relationship with her body through multimedia installation. In her photographic series "Intertidal" (2025), she extends her collaborative approach to include the natural world: algae, sand, and seawater become co-creators through chemigrams and photograms.

Her work has been recognised through the Photoforum Prix 2025 (Photoforum Pasquart, Switzerland, December 2025 – February 2026), shortlisting for the Taylor Wessing Portrait Prize (National Portrait Gallery, 2024), and selection for Festival Impulse (Arles, 2026). Her work has been featured in publications including Fisheye Magazine, Nowness, THIIIRD Magazine, Half the Sky, and Art Doc Magazine.

Trained in literature at the Université du Maine and then in photography at the University of the Arts London, she began her career as a producer at Wanda Productions before moving into directing and photography. Alongside her artistic practice, she has directed commercial campaigns for brands including Dove and Durex, and editorial projects for clients including Nowness and Stylist Magazine. Based in London, she teaches at the London College of Fashion and Central Saint Martins, University of the Arts London, while pursuing her artistic research
PRIZES, GRANTS & ACCOLADES
2025
- Lisbon International Film Festival, Portugal - Winner, Best Underground Film, "Fragments" Ep. 2

2024
- Taylor Wessing Photographic Portrait Prize, UK - Shortlisted, "Where is the Softness"
- New York Super Short Film Festival, United States - Winner, Best Super Short Film, "Fragments" Ep. 1
- Sicily Photo Masterclass, Italy - Grant winner

2023
- Doc. Berlin Documentary Film Festival, Germany - Winner, Best Super Short Film, "Fragments" Ep. 1
- Nowness, UK - Pick of the Day, "Fragments" Ep. 1

2016
- A Shaded View of Fashion Film, France - Finalist, "Skin"
- Grand Indiewise Convention, United States - Winner, "Solomon Grey - Choir to the Wild"

2015
- VOTD (Video of the Day), UK - Winner, "Solomon Grey - Choir to the Wild"


SELECTED EXPOSITIONS & SCREENINGS
2026
Chantier Photo, St Denis/Paris, France - "Devenir Chair"
Festival Impulse, Arles, France - "Intertidal"

2025
- Prix Photoforum, Photoforum Pasquart, Switzerland - "Intertidal"
- "Fragments" Ep. 2 screened at 8 international film festivals including Cannes International Film Week, Toronto Film Festival, Brussels Independent Film Festival
- "Fragments" Ep. 1 screened at Cannes International Film Week and UAL Future Fashion Film Festival

2024
- A Shaded View of Fashion Film Festival, Dover Street Market Paris - "Fragments" Ep. 1 & 2
- Raw Canvas Summer Exhibition, UK - "Nowstalgia"
- Leytonstone Art Trail, London, UK - "Gravità"
- "Fragments" Ep. 2 screened at 3 film festivals including Los Angeles Super Short Film Festival
- "Fragments" Ep. 1 screened at 12+ international film festivals including Venice Film Week, Feminist Border Arts Film Festival, Toronto Film Week

2023
- Doc. Berlin Documentary Film Festival, Germany - "Fragments" Ep. 1

2016
- A Shaded View of Fashion Film, France / International Fashion Film Festival Brussels, Belgium / Walthamstow International Film Festival, UK / Grand Rapids Feminist Film Festival, United States - "Skin"
- Grand Indiewise Convention - "Solomon Grey - Choir to the Wild"
- Nowness, UK - "Skin"

2015
Independent Days International Film Festival, United States - "Scream Queens"

2013
Aesthetica Short Film Festival, UK / La Jolla Fashion Film Festival, United States - "Impossible Shoes"


SELECTED PUBLICATIONS

2025
- Thiiird Magazine, UK - "Where is the Softness"
- Fisheye Magazine, Les Coups de Coeur, France - "Intertidal"

2023
- Half the Sky, Éphémère, Women Street Photography, Japan - "Le Luci di Palermo"



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