Melissa Parry, has worked in the film industry as a freelance editor since 2005. She works on feature films, documentaries, wildlife, artist’s films and series, such as Netflix’s first African Original Queen Sono (2020), Classified (2023) for Amazon USA and documentary series Senzo: Murder of a Soccer Star (2022) and Tracking Thabo Bester (2024) Showmax’s most-watched title across all genres.
She was nominated for the Rolex Mentor and Protégé Arts Initiative (2012) and has won multiple international awards for her work on the wildlife films Birth of a Pride (2019) and Okavango: River of Dreams (2020). In 2013 she enrolled and completed a part-time master’s in History of Art at the University of the Witwatersrand where she used film as a research tool to investigate the biographies of a selection of objects in the Standard Bank African Art Collection. This led to an invitation from the Wits Art Museum (WAM) for Melissa to write a chapter titled Moving images, moving perceptions: An interrogation of the use of film as a productive art history tool for the book Seen, Heard and Valued: WAM celebrates 40 Years of the Standard Bank African Art Collection (2021).
Melissa has also worked with South African artists Gabrielle Goliath, Thenjiwe Niki Nkosi, Mohau Modisakeng, Nandipha Mntambo and William Kentridge to create artist films exhibited across the world. Including La Biennale di Venezia, Stranieri Ovunque (2024), Birmingham 2022 Festival running parallel to the Commonwealth Games (2022) and The South African Pavilion at La Biennale di Venezia (2017).
In 2022 Melissa was welcomed by the American Cinema Editors (ACE) as an International Partner member and participated as a panelist in the ACE EditFest Global 2022 panel Editing for the World, as well as, the Global Editing Perspectives podcast released in January 2025.
PARRY, M. 2021. Chapter 37: Moving images, moving perceptions: An interrogation of the use of film as a productive art history tool. Seen, Heard and Valued: WAM celebrates 40 Years of the Standard Bank African Art Collection, pp. 308-314.
DE BECKER, L. & PARRY, M. 2014. Chapter 4: Deciphering the trace: Matano for Domba by Nelson Mukhuba. Lifelines: Object Biographies from the Standard Bank African Art Collection. Johannesburg: Standard Bank Gallery, pp. 39-46.
2021
Excerpt from Johannes Maswanganyi (Video) for the exhibition Seen, Heard and Valued: WAM celebrates 40 Years of the Standard Bank African Art Collection
The 7th Joburg Film Festival 2025 Judge with Ahmed Shawky, SThandiwe Kgorogo, Yolanda Ncokotwana, Muneera Sallies, Victor Okhai
The News & Documentary Emmy Awards 2023 Judge in the Outstanding Editing: Documentary category
The News & Documentary Emmy Awards 2022 Judge in the Best Documentary category
Durban International Film Festival 2016 Judge: Best South African Feature Film
Durban Talent Campus 2015 Moderator: Editing panel – Keep you Editor close
Durban Talent Campus 2013 Moderator: Editing panel – Laying the cut
5th Locations Africa Conference 2024
The Finishing Touch
Panelist with Tongai Furusa, Alastair Orr and Tunde Ogundipe
26th Encounters South African International Documentary Festival 2024
Documentary Editing
Panelist with Nikki Comninos and Khalid Shamis
ACE EditFest Global 2022
Editing for the World moderated by Alexander Berner, ACE
Panelist with Jean-Daniel Fernandez Qundez, ACE, Ahmed Hafez and Kasper Leick
Rough Cut Lab 2021
Consultant
Microsoft EMEA University Recruiting team and their interns 2021
Discussion with Kagiso Lediga about our creative experience and working processes on Queen Sono
Durban Talent Campus 2014
Panelist: Editing panel – Editing to the Beat
Durban International Film Festival 2012
Panelist: Editing panel – Deep Cuts: The Art of Editing
Durban Talent Campus 2012
Presented: Masterclass – Editing for engaging storytelling across fiction and non-fiction films
London Film School 2011
Attendee: Sound and Music Techniques for Narrative Filmmaking by Gustavo Costantini
Durban Talent Campus 2010
Selected as a participant in the Talent Campus
Maine Media Workshops 2008
Attendee: Film Editor’s Master Class by Robert Q. Lovett
Attendee: The Art of Editing by Alyer J. Breau
Women of the Sun 2008
Attendee: Kill your Darlings by Susan Korda