Melissa de Raaf was born in 1976 in the Netherlands. She is currently studying art theory, philosophy and media art in Germany. She is an independent curator of experimental film programs and exhibitions in the Netherlands, Germany and Russia and she works with visual artists, film- and documentary-makers on productions as writer and director. She has written several screenplays, includingShelter (Dragomir Sholev) and Clean(Sylvie Michel Cassey).