Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Melissa Vitello. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Alright, Melissa thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Did you always know you wanted to pursue a creative or artistic career? When did you first know?

That’s a hard question, I feel like I was born with a pen in my hands. I wrote my first story when I was nine, and I started writing feature scripts when I was thirteen. I always had a story in my head and I could never shake that. When I got older I think I started to try to pursue “normal” careers thinking that being a filmmaker or screenwriter was too big of a dream for me to achieve or that I didn’t have what it took. I took a private writing class with Valerie Mayhew, who was a writer for the original Charmed, and it was the first time I finally claimed my identity as a writer. She had us start by writing an essay on why we love to write and what I discovered about myself was that I HAD to write. It wasn’t something I wanted to do, it was part of who I was, it’s how I communicate, it’s where my deepest thoughts and feelings get sorted out. So, I finally gave myself permission to believe in myself, own my identity as a writer, and pursue what I had actually been wanting to pursue my whole life.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I am the co-founder of a company I launched with my best friend, Stacy Snyder. We launched Mooncastle Films in 2022, and along with being a producer there, I am a screenwriter and director.

Mooncastle Films is a horror and thriller production company that centers women and historically excluded groups in story, cast, and crew – specifically in the horror genre. I am a passionate horror fan and filmmaker and think it is such an incredible genre to explore topics that would otherwise be controversial. Horror has broken down the walls of division and opened up conversations in such a disarming and fun way. I thrive on being part of that. Women make up 60% of the horror audience, but historically, have been only 6% of the directors of horror. We have so many horror stories to tell! So, we’re working on changing that.

I got officially into this industry in baby steps when I launched my first company in my early twenties called Dark Heart Pictures. It was me and my ragtag group of friends running around making short films together and only submitting to Sundance… with very high hopes. It was a lot of fun, we learned a lot, we had a blast, I got to earn credits for myself. From there I met my husband, Bryan Ricke, and we began launching our own company where we would eventually make our first feature. That got into a lot of local festivals and really opened the door for me to start networking and learning more about the industry.

I started working as the Head of Production for a short form content studio called Dream Reach Media. That was a very small company until I created an operations procedure and brought the company to a point of creating a feature film’s worth of content per month. It was such a great way for me to really have a crash course in producing, I raised that company and turned it into a well-oiled machine, I hired from my ever-expanding network of crew, and we had a blast and it was SUPER busy. Unfortunately, the pandemic brought that to a halt for the time being, and that’s when I started focusing on independent producing and building my company.

Since then, Stacy and I developed incredible relationships in the genre space with distributors and studios that we’re excited to be progressing with. We currently have one feature film about to be distributed with Dark Star Pictures, and we’re in development on the next feature that I wrote and will direct, which is entitled Regression. It is a paranormal horror circling past life regression hypnotherapy. It’s honestly the first script I’ve written where I feel truly connected to my voice as a storyteller, so I’m very excited to be directing it soon.

Looking back, are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?

I really wish I understood the festival circuit world and how to network. I think it would have helped me move along a lot faster in my journey, but hey, everything happens in the right time! I think that I thought the only festivals were Sundance and Slamdance and I, like many young filmmakers, thought my film was unique and special enough to get into those. I think the best thing a young filmmaker can do is get your film into ANY festival, get into your local festivals and GO NETWORK. Build your film family there, meet other filmmakers that can help you and teach you. Festivals really opened up my world, I do wish I got involved in that scene earlier.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

Working in this industry is really a wild ride. It took a while to find my stride and my team, and at times it was really discouraging. I felt let down by a lot of people. Making a movie is very hard, running a company is very hard. There is no one telling you how to do it or guiding you along, it’s very independent. You either give it everything you’ve got or things start to slide to the wayside. If your team or your partners aren’t in it to win it with you and able to put their egos aside, things can very easily fall apart or blow up. I’ve been through a few blow ups, and it is really depressing to go through that. I had to drop projects, or move on, or start over, and that always feels like failure. No one wants to feel like you’ve failed at something you’ve worked so hard for, or that you have to start over because you did something wrong. But, the truth is that this industry and trying to lead the way on big projects is a process of trial and error. I’ve always had the ability to let things roll off my back, take the lessons learned, and apply them to the next attempt. Eventually, if you really work hard and stay positive, you will find your stride. But, it’s certainly not for the faint of heart and it’s no wonder a lot of people don’t stick with it. Rightfully so. It’s a rough process.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.mooncastlefilms.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/melissa_makes_movies/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/melissa-vitello-64012537/
• Other: I would love for people to check out my campaign for Regression. I’m always open and excited to meet people interested in joining our team. https://wefunder.com/regressionthemovie/

Image Credits
Cameron Thrower & Christopher Sheffield