Melina Matsoukas: Difference between revisions

{{short description|American music video, film, commercial and television directorDirector}}

'''Melina Matsoukas''' (born January 14, 1981) is an <!--Do NOT add other nationalities per WP:ETHNICITY.-->American music video, film, commercial and television director. She is a two-time [[Grammy Award]] winner and four-time [[MTV Video Music Awards]] winner for her "[[We Found Love (music video)|We Found Love]]" and "[[Formation (song)|Formation]]" music videos.<ref>{{Cite magazine|url=https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2017/03/06/the-provocateur-behind-beyonce-rihanna-and-issa-rae|title=The Provocateur behind Beyonce, Rihanna and Issa Rae|last=Okeowo|first=Alexis|date=March 6, 2017|magazine=The New Yorker|access-date=March 11, 2017}}</ref> She was honored with the Franklin J. Schaffner Alumni Medal by the [[American Film Institute]] in 2019. Her directorial debut in film was ''[[Queen & Slim]]'', starring [[Jodie Turner-Smith]] and [[Daniel Kaluuya]], and written by [[Lena Waithe]]. ItShe wasthen releasedworked onas Novemberexecutive 27,producer 2019and director for television series [[Insecure (TV series)|''Insecure'']], bybeing nominated for the [[UniversalPrimetime PicturesEmmy Award for Outstanding Comedy Series]] in 2020.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=Primetime Emmy Awards and Nominations: Melina Matsoukas |url=https://www.emmys.com/bios/melina-matsoukas |access-date=2022-05-02 |website=[[Primetime Emmy Award]] |language=en}}</ref>

Matsoukas grew up in the [[Co-op City, Bronx|Co-op City]] housing development in the Bronx. Her father worked as a builder,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/melina-matsoukas-went-music-video-170014647.html|title=How Melina Matsoukas Went From Music-Video Visionary to 'Queen and Slim'|website=www.yahoo.com}}</ref> and her mother taught math in a local high school. When Matsoukas was eight, the family moved to [[Hackensack, New Jersey]], where she attended [[Hackensack High School]].<ref>Smith, Danyel. [https://story.californiasunday.com/melina-matsoukas/ "Her Own Space Melina Matsoukas — Grammy-winning director for Beyoncé and Rihanna — makes her Hollywood feature debut with the kind of story Hollywood has overlooked."], ''[[California magazine]]'', November 18, 2019. Accessed July 12, 2022. "At Hackensack High School in New Jersey, where her family later moved, Matsoukas was into photography and hip-hop."</ref> Her father is of mixed [[Greek Americans|Greek]] and [[American Jews|Jewish]] descent, and her mother is of [[Afro-Cubans|Afro-Cuban]] and [[Afro-Jamaicans|Afro-Jamaican]] descent.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2017/03/06/the-provocateur-behind-beyonce-rihanna-and-issa-rae|title=The Provocateur Behind Beyonce Rihanna and Issa Rae|magazine=[[The New Yorker]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110712220838/http://www.honeymag.com/2010/uncategorized/females-freakin-the-industry/|archive-date=July 12, 2011|url-status=bot: unknown|access-date=14 May 2010}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.economist.com/news/2019/11/22/from-beyonce-to-the-big-screen-the-whirlwind-rise-of-melina-matsoukas|title=From Beyoncé to the big screen: the whirlwind rise of Melina Matsoukas|newspaper=The Economist|date=November 13, 2019}}</ref>

Matsoukas started out at Black Dog Film, then the now-defunct Gorilla Flix film production company, and is currently a director at Prettybird, which she has been signed to since 2011.<ref>{{cite magazine |title=Arriving: 30 top execs under 30|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AhQEAAAAMBAJ&dq=melina+Matsoukas+music+video+2006&pg=PA21|magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]|language=en|date=2008-08-23|access-date=2022-05-04}}</ref>

Matsoukas' first film was about how women are viewed in the New York meatpacking industry, though she immediately destroyed it upon completion, describing it as "a really bad film" that "made her fall in love with the medium".<ref name="Wall Street Journal OnlineWSJ1">{{cite news |last1=Gay |first1=Roxane |title=Melina Matsoukas's Fearless Vision; As an award-winning director with standout collaborators (Beyoncé, Rihanna, Issa Rae), Melina Matsoukas has created some of music and television's more memorable moments. Now, with 'Queen & Slim,' she makes her feature film debut |url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/2310282317 |access-date=7 December 2021 |publishernewspaper=Wall Street Journal (Online) |date=30 October 2019|id={{ProQuest|2310282317}} }}</ref> In 2006, Matsoukas directed her first music video upon completing grad school in 2006 for Red Handed's "[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eIEn1bpp-YI Dem BoysGirls ]" featuring Scooby and [[Paul Wall]].<ref name="Wall Street Journal OnlineWSJ1"/> She would later direct videos for artists such as [[Jennifer Lopez]], [[Ludacris]], [[Lady Gaga]], [[Katy Perry]], [[Rihanna]], [[Solange Knowles|Solange]], and eventually her most frequent collaborator, Beyonce.<ref name="Wall Street Journal OnlineWSJ1"/> In 2016, Matsoukas contributed to Beyonce's visual album [[Lemonade (Beyoncé album)|''Lemonade'']] with a music video for the album's lead single "[[Formation (song)|Formation]] ".<ref name="Wall Street Journal OnlineWSJ1"/> "Formation" went on to be critically acclaimed, winning Matsoukas numerous accolades such as a Grand Prix for Excellence in Music Video at the 2016 [[Cannes LionsLion Awards]] as well as anthe [[MTV Video Music Video Award for Video of the Year]].<ref name="Wall Street Journal OnlineWSJ1"/>

In her music video filmography, Matsoukas would utilize many of the tropes seen in other music videos at the time, but would find ways to "always articulates her aesthetic: brightly saturated color, vivid imagery, the artist at the center of the frame always establishing a video's center of gravity".<ref name="Wall Street Journal OnlineWSJ1"/> Her work is described as "chock full of bright colors or crisp black and white images, smooth spotlights, and tasteful retro video models."<ref>[http://watchlooklisten.e-fans.net/?p=46 "Visionary: Melina Matsoukas"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080118061831/http://watchlooklisten.e-fans.net/?p=46 |date=January 18, 2008 }}, ''WatchLookListen''.</ref> Matsoukas says that expensive equipment is not necessary for a quality video and one should never think that way: "A good video has the right visuals, a well [[concept art|conceptualised]] story and should be exciting and elicit reaction."<ref>Banda, Tim Kamuzu (2008). [http://www.nation.co.ke/magazines/buzz/-/441236/468006/-/item/1/-/jo324sz/-/index.html "Video queen: Melina Matsoukas"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120919030504/http://www.nation.co.ke/magazines/buzz/-/441236/468006/-/item/1/-/jo324sz/-/index.html |date=September 19, 2012 }}, p.2, ''Daily Nation''.</ref> In an interview for ''[[Venus Zine]]''{{'}}s Fall 2010 issue, she explainssexplains about being part of the music video world, "I love it. The quick turnaround, the creativity."<ref>"Venus Zine: Melina Matsoukas" ''Venus Zine'' Fall 2010 Issue No. 44</ref>

Between 2016 and 2017, Matsoukas directedbecame the executive producer and director of several episodes of the critically and publicly acclaimed television series ''[[Master of None]]'' and [[Insecure (TV series)|''Insecure'']] including the acclaimed episode from ''[[Master of None]]'' "Thanksgiving", which would go on to win several Emmys[[Primetime Emmy Awards|Emmy Awards]], though Matsoukas herself would not be nominated for any awards for her work on the program.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Ugwu |first1=Reggie |title=With 'Queen & Slim,' Melina Matsoukas Steps Beyond Beyoncé |url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/2311050419 |publishernewspaper=New York Times (Online) |access-date=7 December 2021|id={{ProQuest|2311050419}} }}</ref> She was later nominated for [[Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Comedy Series|Outstanding Comedy Series]] at the [[72nd Primetime Emmy Awards]].<ref name=":0" /> Matsoukas also was nominated for two [[NAACP Image Awards]] for Outstanding Directing in a Comedy Series and the [[Directors Guild of America Awards]] for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Comedy Series.

Matsoukas made her directorial debut in film with ''[[Queen & Slim]]'', starring [[Jodie Turner-Smith]] and [[Daniel Kaluuya]], and written by [[Lena Waithe]]. It was released on November 27, 2019, by [[Universal Pictures]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://variety.com/2018/film/news/jodie-smith-turner-queen-and-slim-daniel-kaluuya-1203022499/|title=Jodie Turner-Smith to Star Opposite Daniel Kaluuya in 'Queen & Slim' (EXCLUSIVE)|first1=Justin|last1=Kroll|date=November 8, 2018}}</ref> Though Matsoukas avoids making professional decisions based on personal relationships, she was intrigued by the opportunity to direct the script written by her past collaborator and good friend, Lena Waithe, later stating that she "was looking for something [she] felt was political in a way that had something to say, that was strong and unique and powerful."<ref name="Wall Street Journal OnlineWSJ1"/> ''Queen & Slim'' was well received critically and financially, and grossed $47.9 million worldwide. Matsoukas won a [[Black Reel Awards]], a [[BET Award for Best Movie|BET Award]], a [[National Board of Review]] Awards and was nominated for the [[Directors Guild of America Award|Directors Guild of America Awards for Outstanding Directing - First Time Feature Film]].

In 20202019, Matsoukas was honored with the Franklin J. Schaffner Alumni Medal by the [[American Film Institute]], and was named to the ''[[Ebony (magazine)|Ebony]]'' Power 100 List in 2020.<ref>{{Cite web|last=#teamEBONY|date=2020-02-26|title=2020 EBONY POWER 100 LIST|url=https://www.ebony.com/exclusive/2020-ebony-power-100-list/|access-date=2020-11-10|website=EBONY|language=en-US}}</ref> In 2020 she directed the commercial spot ''[[Beats by Dre]]: You Love Me,'' being recognized with the [[Directors Guild of America Award|Directors Guild of America Awards for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Commercial]]s.

{{ExpandIncomplete list|date=August 2008}}

| <small>''[[I Am... (Beyoncé tour)|I Am... World Tour]] interlude video''</small>

|[[Stella McCartney]] / [[Grimes (musician)|Grimes]], [[Amandla Stenberg]], [[Lourdes Leon|Lola Leon]], [[Kenya Kinski-Jones]]

|2016-2021

| rowspan="1" align="center"|<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.mtv.com/news/1910671/2014-vma-winners-full-list/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140826122932/http://www.mtv.com/news/1910671/2014-vma-winners-full-list/|url-status=dead|archive-date=August 26, 2014|title=Here's Your Full List of 2014 VMA Winners|publisher=MTV News|access-date=21 August 2018}}</ref>

| scope="row" rowspan="2"| [[London International Awards]]

| rowspan="2" align="center"| <ref>{{Cite news|url=http://blackreelawards.com/historic-night-for-queen-sugar/|title=2018 Black Reel Awards for Television|work=blackreelawards.com|access-date=20 February 2019|archive-date=June 24, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180624023653/http://blackreelawards.com/historic-night-for-queen-sugar/|url-status=dead}}</ref>

| rowspan="218"| ''Queen & Slim''

| rowspan="1" align="center"| <ref>{{cite web |title=Austin Film Critics Association Awards 2020|url=https://austinfilmcritics.org/2019-afca-award-nominations-f02ed1544f62 |access-date=13 December 2019|archive-date=December 31, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191231113559/https://austinfilmcritics.org/2019-afca-award-nominations-f02ed1544f62?gi=aff83c9a2596|url-status=dead}}</ref>

| rowspan="1" align="center"| <ref>{{cite web |title= Online Film Critics Society 2019 Awards (23RD ANNUAL)|date=December 23, 2019 |url=https://ofcs.org/awards/2019-awards-23rd-annual/ |access-date=29 December 2019}}</ref>

| rowspan="911" style="text-align:center;"| 2020

| rowspan="1" align="center"| <ref>{{Cite web|date=June 15, 2020|title=CBS announces it will simulcast the BET Awards; here are all the nominees|url=https://www.wtsp.com/bet-awards|access-date=June 15, 2020|website=[[WTSP]]|language=en-US}}{{Dead link|date=July 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

| rowspan="3" align="center"| <ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.awardscircuit.com/2019/12/11/black-reel-awards-nominations-queen-slim-lead-the-field-kelvin-harrison-nabs-double-nomination/|title=Black Reel Awards Nominations: 'Queen & Slim' Lead The Field, Kelvin Harrison Nabs Double Nomination|work=awardscircuit.com|access-date= December 13, 2019|archive-date=December 12, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191212121522/https://www.awardscircuit.com/2019/12/11/black-reel-awards-nominations-queen-slim-lead-the-field-kelvin-harrison-nabs-double-nomination/|url-status=dead}}</ref>

| {{pendingnom}}

*[http://www.mvdbase.com/tech.php?last=Melina Melina Matsoukas] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090206165713/http://www.mvdbase.com/tech.php?last=Melina |date=February 6, 2009 }} at [http://www.mvdbase.com Music Video Database]