Jean Melesaine is a Samoan artist born and raised in the Bay Area. Her family members are originally from the village of Moamoa and Salani Faleali’li, Samoa. As a formerly incarcerated teen, Jean was mentored by community members at Silicon Valley De-Bug, a story-telling, organizing, and advocacy organization. De-Bug hired her upon release, changing her life by putting a camera in her hand. They are a graduate of USC SCA’s Film and Production program. Their work is grounded in their lived experience as a first gen Samoan in America. At Mesa, Jean worked on her feature narrative film, Cages, about a group of teenage Samoan girls who shoplift for survival in post-9/11 San Francisco. You can learn more about Jean Melesaine here.
