Melissa Gregory Rue is a film writer, director, and producer based in Louisville, Kentucky. She grew up on a cattle and tobacco farm in Bourbon County, Ky. long before smoking was out and Bourbon was cool. Melissa earned her M.A. in English Literature from Portland State University and a certificate in filmmaking from The Northwest Film Center. After three decades in Portland, Oregon that included working as an English professor for 20 years, studying film production, and countless outdoor adventures, she moved back to Kentucky at the beginning of the pandemic to be closer to family. Melissa’s dramas and documentaries have screened in film festivals around the world. Her feature documentary, LIVE OUT LOUD, premiered at Dances With Films in Hollywood in 2022. The movie was awarded Best Human Rights Film by the Amsterdam International Film Festival and Best Civil Rights Themed Film by New York’s IO Film Festival. Shot over one year, LIVE OUT LOUD tells the stories of three unhoused people in Portland, Oregon who begin to heal from childhood trauma by learning to make films in a grant-funded class. LIVE OUT LOUD was picked up for distribution by Porter + Craig Film and Media in Beverly Hills and is now streaming on Fandango at Home. Melissa is currently in production on a short documentary about a recent trip she made to Tuscany to help her mom heal from a brutal fall that left her unable to travel for two weeks. Together, she and her mom process global problems
and find healing through humor, nature, and home-cooked Italian meals.
As a filmmaker battling Long Covid and chronic Lyme Disease, Melissa is eager to share her story and advocate for access to reliable testing and treatment for the many people living with these disabilities.
Melissa served as a juror, vice president and then chair of the McMinnville Short Film Festival from 2021-2023 and helped relaunch Oregon Doc Camp with Women in Film - Portland many years ago.