Christine Gruder

Dear Melissa follows a young woman who is vilified and ostracized by family and friends after her ex-boyfriend commits suicide.

After suffering a profound loss, travel journalist Anna sets out to Martinique on a work trip meant only to further deflect her untended grief. While profiling locals for the piece, she is met with unexpected openness that sparks an honest reflection of her own life. Blending the lines between documentary and narrative, A/way focuses on the accomplishments of the people Anna profiles in Martinique, which builds on Anna’s own journey in accompaniment, pushing her to examine her own path forward. Is this all there is, or is there another way?