Melisa Önel was born in Izmir in 1980. After studying International Relations at Tufts University, she completed her Masters degree in Film Studies at Istanbul Bilgi University. A filmmaker and a photographer, Önel is a member of the photographers’ initiative RecCollective. In the past two years, her work has been exhibited in many international exhibitions including “Uncanny Encounters” (Istanbul Modern Art Museum 2011), Photomed (Sanary, France, 2011), “Not a Lens But a Prism” (Portugal, 2010), “Women Who Run with the Wolves”(Stimultania Gallery, Turkish artists in Strasbourg, 2009). Her first short film Omega Fox (2007) was selected to the Hisar Short Film Selection, a collection of the ten best short films of the year in Turkey. Her medium length documentary Me and Nuri Bala (2009) received Best First Documentary award at the 46th Antalya Film Festival. Currently Önel is working on her first feature Seaburners.