About Us

Melancholia Pictures is a UK and Romania-based production company focused on original independent feature films, shorts and series that defy convention. We campaign for profound narratives with global reach by working among international co-productions spanning Europe, North America, and Asia.
Our work presents on the world stage with involvement at the largest film markets and festivals such as Festival de Cannes, Venice Film Festival, Berlinale, and beyond. Our team navigates every layer of filmmaking—vision to execution, strategy to screen—delivering stories that demand to be seen.
Founded by and composed of young, multifaceted talent, Melancholia Pictures embodies the future of cinema. We provide a platform for unique voices yet to be heard, opening doors for developing artists and turning the chaos of human conflict and passion into visual brilliance.
Melancholia produces world-class, award-winning projects through thought-provoking storytelling to resonate across diverse audiences. We work to create an immersive experience blending film with other art forms, while ensuring a seamless pre- and post-production process to provide the highest quality.

Meet the Team

Mara Cracaleanu

Founder / Head producer

Mara Cracaleanu is a Romanian-born, London-based film producer whose work has earned over 70 international awards and official selections at top-tier festivals such as BFI Flare, TIFF, Torino FF, Hollywood Women’s Film Institute, DocuDays, FIPADOC, Rhode Island, and Florence Biennale. 
She is the founder of Melancholia, a UK & Romania-based film production company, dedicated to international co-productions and fostering creative collaborations between different continents. The company is currently developing several globally oriented projects.
She regularly takes part in leading film festivals and markets, including Cannes, Berlinale, Venice, TIFF, and BFI LFF, as well as the EFM, Marché du Film, and MIA Market.
Her docu-series project, developed through the Ex Oriente Lab organised by the Institute of Documentary Film, received the Council of Europe Series Co-Development Award and was pitched at MIA Market’s Doc Forum, East Doc Platform, and Docs Ireland.
Mara serves as a jury member at three U.S.-based film festivals and sits on the Honorary Board of the Independent Film Festival Association. She is an active member of Women in Film & TV UK and Women in Film LA. She also holds diplomas in Law and Leadership, blending her creative vision with legal and business acumen.

NICCOLÒ V. SALVATO

EXECUTIVE PRODUCER / DIRECTOR / WRITER

Niccolò is an award-winning director and writer based in London and Milan.
His career bridging Narrative and Documentary started while attending the University of Westminster, crafting films presented internationally at festivals and platforms such as Young Directors Award, Prime Video, Watersprite, and FipaDOC.

Niccolò's style defies the ordinary in a magic realism, weaving unheard voices into unconventional perspectives. His documentary project Near Light: Second Lives of Murderers began as an acclaimed short and is now expanding into a docu-series, selected at prestigious MIA Market and Ex Oriente, and winner of the Council of Europe Development Award.

His latest short film on love and blindness has an olfactory narrative, making the experience accessible to blind audiences in both subject and form. Niccolò's distinctive creative voice also extends to commercial work, earning him a place on the rosters of Cannes Lion winners ACNE Creative and BRW Filmland.

CYNTHIA HILL

CREATIVE EXECUTIVE / WRITER

Cynthia Hill is an American actor, writer, and creative director based in New York City. She has appeared in projects on Tubi, Tokyo Broadcasting System, and independent films, while also lending original creative concepts to luxury brand campaigns.
A graduate of the University of Florida with a degree in Telecommunications, Cynthia gained extensive experience in multimedia journalism, with her work airing on television and radio for PBS and NPR. She was also an on-screen host and producer for Gator Vision, the production arm of Gator sports media, alongside ESPN and SEC Network.
Cynthia was awarded The Denis Diderot Grant and The Emerging Artist Grant for the International Artists & Writers Residency at Château d'Orquevaux in France to complete a project that will be a part of the Château's permanent collection. Her work carries poetic sensibility upon themes of existentialism with a commitment to storytelling that resonates across mediums of cinema, literature, and music. She is currently in early development of an adapted screenplay.