Willie Jones | “American Dream”

Producer | Dreambear, Our Secret Handshake

Director | Jamal Wade

Production Design | Melissa Cripe

Artist | Cyrille Aimée

Director | Melissa Cripe

DP | Levi Porter

Production Design | Emily Kingston, Melissa Cripe

Stills Photography | Noé Pierre

Sabrina Carpenter | “Skin”

Produced | Laura Burhenn, Our Secret Handshake

Director | Jason Lester

Production Design | Taylor Almodovar

Set Decoration | Melissa Cripe

Tyga | “Ayy Macarena”

Produced | Geenah Krisht

Director | Tyga x Psycho Films

Production Design | Taylor Almodovar

Set Decoration | Melissa Cripe

Client | The Innocence Project

Prod Co | FatHappy

Director | Lo Harris

Producer | Eritria Pitts

DP | Levi Porter

Prod Designer | Melissa Cripe

Photography, Art Direction | Melissa Cripe

Featured in Burnt Canoe Studios Gallery Exhibition “Slow Open: The Process of Revealing Yourself”

Photography, Production Design | Melissa Cripe

Creative Direction, Set Design | Melissa Cripe

Lighting | Trent Wayne

Wardrobe | Kay Stogner

Makeup | Sabrina Costley, Summer Velega

Model | Meg Paiter @ Ursuala Weidman Models

Creative Direction, Set Design | Melissa Cripe

Photography | Chloe Rice

Fabrication | Gabriela Cobar

Solo Exhibit at the Front Gallery, October 2025

Artist Statement:

Can’t Can’t is a collection of works by visual artist Melissa Cripe that serves as a call to silence the inner critic and celebrate the stickiness of the artistic process. 

These images span a decade of collaborations in which she constructs surreal worlds that playfully embody the harmful inner dialogue of self doubt, comparison, and belonging. The characters portrayed in them illustrate the energetic dance between faith and fear that often occurs while transmuting an idea into reality. 

By reshaping these anxieties into tangible creations, she aims to alleviate the stories we tell ourselves of how we “should” be and instead imagine a world in which we give ourselves joyful permission to access the depth of our own potential.

Creative Direction, Set Design | Melissa Cripe

Digital Photography | Iris Ray

Film Photography | Rayana Rasamee

Preview | Full Photo Series Coming Soon

Client | Sasha Masakowski for Tra$h Magnolia

Creative Direction, Set Design | Melissa Cripe

Photography | Reyna Hope

Creative Direction, Styling, Editing | Melissa Cripe

Photography | Rayana Rasamee

Lauv & Conan Gray | “Fake”

Produced | Laura Burhenn for Our Secret Handshake

Director | Jason Lester

Production Design | Taylor Almodovar

Set Decorator | Melissa Cripe

Phe | “Worst Days”

Director | Brit Phelan

Production Design | Melissa Cripe

Photography, Art Direction | Melissa Cripe

Makeup | Valesca

Writer, Director | Melissa Cripe

Producer, Editor | Drew Barretto

Set Designer | Matthew Adams

Stills Photographer | Rayana Rasamee

DP | Derek James Robinson

Photography, Creative Direction | Melissa Cripe

Lighting Assist | Noe Cugny

Models | Christin Bradford, Chelsea Hines

Costume Assist | Christina Solis

Photography, Creative Direction | Melissa Cripe

Director | Kristyna Archer

Produced by | Vacation Theory

Production Design | Amy Taylor

Set Decoration | Melissa Cripe

Creative Direction, Styling | Melissa Cripe

Photography, Animation | Chloe Rice

Creative Direction, Prop Styling, Photography | Melissa Cripe

Writer, Director | Kevin Maxwell

Executive Producer |. Salvador Carrasco

Production Designer | Melissa Cripe

Costume Designer | Melissa Cripe

AWARDS

Winner | Best Production Design, Best Costume Design; Santa Monica International Film Festival; Santa Monica, CA

Winner | Best Short Film; Prague Film Festival ; Czech Republic

Winner | Best Period Short Film; Marina Del Rey Film Festival ; Marina Del Rey, CA

Winner | Bronze Remi, Best Student Film category; WorldFest Houston International Film Festival

Winner | Best Film, Honorable Mention; LA Shorts Awards; Los Angeles, California

Winner | Best Editing, Silver Award; LA Shorts Awards; Los Angeles, California

Shortlist | BAFTA (British Academy Awards)

Nomination | Best Short Film; Cannes Film Festival-American Pavilion Emerging Filmmaker Showcase

Written & Directed | Kelly & Melissa Cripe

Edited | Kelly Cripe

Set Design, Costumes | Melissa Cripe

Voiceover | Heather Leith

Creative Direction, Styling | Melissa Cripe

Photography | Chloe Rice

Photography, Creative Direction | Melissa Cripe

Photography | Natasha Mounsey

Creative Direction, Set Design, Styling | Melissa Cripe

Photography | Chloe Rice

Creative Direction, Styling | Melissa Cripe

Photography | Natasha Mounsey

Creative Direction, Styling | Melissa Cripe

Creative Direction, Styling | Melissa Cripe