The Melissa Rucker Fellows Fund

Melissa Rucker was a producer and development executive at Madison Wells,  who helped nurture the careers and stories of several artists including Minhal Baig, Haifaa al-Mansour, Tina Mabry, Molly Smith Metzler, Emma Straub, and several others. She eagerly stayed abreast of the zeitgeist, channeling her sensibility and passion into everything she did. A big part of this ethic was advocating for new talent, especially creatives from under-represented backgrounds. As Melissa rose through the ranks, she also made sure to help everyone around her as well. 

She shined her light and laughter on all who had the privilege of knowing her and, though she left us too soon, her creativity and passion for storytellers during her six years as a vital part of the Madison Wells family will never be forgotten.

GFS is honored to continue her work through The Melissa Rucker Fellows Fund.

​The goal of the Melissa Rucker Fellows Fund is to raise $60,000 annually to cover the cost of the 3-year Ghetto Film School Fellows Program for two students. Fellows receive more than 1,000 hours of immersive, college- level cinematic storytelling training while getting the preparation to advance their education at top universities. Madison Wells matched donations 1:1 up to $30,000, through December 31st, 2020.

For more information, please contact Jyotsna Hariharan, Marketing and Events Manager, at event@ghettofilm.org or 718-589-5470.

Watch a recap from the 2020 GFS New Voices: The Melissa Rucker Conversation Series