Dani Melia - Producer of Lulu Wang's THE FAREWELL and Co-Founder of LOCAL TIME

Angle on Producers with Carolina Groppa

Dani Melia is an LA based producer. Her journey began with an internship at Big Beach where she eventually became an executive and worked on incredible films including Loving, Safety Not Guaranteed and The Kings of Summer.

Dani developed and produced Lulu Wang’s critically-acclaimed feature The Farewell starring Awkwafina, which went on to receive nominations for the Gotham Awards, Golden Globes and BAFTAs, and won two Film Independent Spirit Awards, including Best Picture.

A beautiful bond was born and in 2021, she founded film and television production company Local Time alongside Lulu.

They aim to champion emerging storytellers and focus on narrative possibilities that can open audiences to new perspectives in storytelling. Local Time has a first look TV deal at Amazon Studios.

Dani is currently Executive Producing the Amazon drama series Expats, starring Nicole Kidman, based on the novel by Janice Y.K. Lee.

A few takeaways from our chat include:

• Navigating risk and trusting your gut

• The magic of her partnership with Lulu​

• Knowing when it’s time to leave a job