Melissa Purcell

Seattle Film Commissioner

Position: Film industry labor unions

Appointed by: Mayor

Term: 4/24/23 to 4/23/25

Bio: Melissa Purcell is the Northern Business Agent of the I.A.T.S.E. Local 488, Studio Mechanics of the Pacific Northwest. These are the technicians and artists that work as freelance crew on film, television, commercial and corporate content. In the mid-90's she served on the Executive Board of Women In Film Seattle. In 2006, she was asked to help bring Labor on board in the forming of a new state tax incentives program. Working in partnership with the stakeholders involved, the program was passed through state legislation and was signed by then Governor Christine Gregoire, which became Washington Filmworks. She is on the King County Executive's Film Advisory Board and is a former WA Filmworks Film Leadership Council and Seattle Film Task Force member. She is a prop master by trade in the commercial advertising, television and feature film industry and occasionally works as a production designer on corporate and commercial content. Her credits as a Prop Master include such films as “Rushmore,” “Forces of Nature,” “The Details,” “Nightjohn,” and “Smoke Signals,” to name just a few. She has worked with well-known directors such as Martha Coolidge, Wes Anderson, Charles Burnett, Bronwen Hughs, Chris Eyre, and Curtis Hanson. She is a strong proponent of social justice and worker's rights and is passionate about advocating for Local 488 members and the film industry as an economic driver and job creator.