Melvonna Ballenger facts for kids

Melvonna "Mel" Marie Ballenger (August 6, 1954 – June 25, 2003) was an American director, producer, and writer who created activist short films, known for her involvement in the L.A. Rebellion film movement. She died at the age of 48 from breast cancer.

Education

Ballenger was born in St. Louis, Missouri. In 1972, she was selected to attend a high school workshop for Minority Broadcast Journalists hosted by University of Missouri School of Journalism in Columbia. Upon graduation, she attended Stephens College for women also in Columbia, Missouri. She then transferred to Howard University. While there, she studied broadcast journalism, worked at WHUR-FM, and earned a bachelor's degree in Communications. She moved to Los Angeles after graduating Howard and joined the University of California, LA M.F.A. program in film and television production. This is when her career as an inspirational film-maker came to birth.

Career

Ballenger resided in California for most of her life after earning her bachelor's degree. She worked in Hollywood with Capital Records for a period of time before moving on to producing TV shows with Continental Cable company. In her shows, she mainly focused on issues regarding the black community. She very much enjoyed teaching younger generations about film and its art. For many years she was the director of the student festival in the Pan African Film Festival. Later in her short life she taught humanities and film to students in Los Angeles, where she also created a talk show for them.

Recognition

The first film she ever created was Rain (Nyesha), which she completed for her Project One assignment at UCLA. Alongside her peers during the L.A. Rebellion program, she was encouraged to represent issues concerning her societal challenges which related to the black community. Raising political awareness was the main purpose of her work.

John William mentioned Ballenger in his article, "Daughters of the Diaspora: A Filmography of Sixty-Five Black Women Independent Film- and Video-Makers". Ballenger's collaboration as a student at UCLA for the L.A. Rebellion helped her gain acknowledgment as an up-and-coming African American filmmaker.

1984

1984 was a big year for Ballenger in terms of the recognition she received for her short films.

She was recognized in The Los Angeles Times for her honorable mention at the California Museum of Science and Industry. Her film Rain also received a mention as it "sees everyday life through the eyes of a poet" when it was described in the article.

Ballenger's film Nappy-Headed Lady was mentioned by Star-Gazette newspaper as a "story of a black woman who changes her her hair style as she begins to appreciate her racial heritage" in an article from 1984 during Black History Month.

Films

• Rain (Nyesha) (1978)
• Gidget Meets Hondo (1980)
• Nappy-Headed Lady (1983)
• Dreadlocks and the Three Bears (1991)
• Fragrance (1991)