Melina Matsoukas
Melina Matsoukas | |
---|---|
Born | U.S. | January 14, 1981
Alma mater | New York University |
Occupation | Director |
Years active | 2006–present |
Melina Matsoukas (Greek: Μελίνα Ματσούκα; born January 14, 1981) is an 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" and "Formation" music videos.[1] 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. It was released on November 27, 2019, by Universal Pictures.
Early life and education[]
Matsoukas grew up in the Co-op City housing development in the Bronx. Her father worked as a builder,[2] and her mother taught math in a local high school. When Matsoukas was eight, the family moved to Hackensack, New Jersey. Her father is of half-Greek and half-Jewish descent, and her mother is of Afro-Cuban and Afro-Jamaican descent.[3][4] She earned her degree at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts and completed her graduate work at the AFI Conservatory with an MFA in cinematography. Her graduate thesis was on music videos.[5]
Career[]
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.
Her work is described as "chock full of bright colors or crisp black and white images, smooth spotlights, and tasteful retro video models."[6] 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 conceptualised story and should be exciting and elicit reaction."[7] In an interview for Venus Zine's Fall 2010 issue, she says about being part of the music video world, "I love it. The quick turnaround, the creativity."[8]
In 2016 and 2017, Matsoukas directed several episodes of the critically and publicly acclaimed television series Master of None and Insecure.
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.[9]
In 2020, Matsoukas was named to the Ebony Power 100 List.[10]
Filmography (director)[]
Music videos[]
![]() | This list is incomplete; you can help by . (August 2008) |
Commercials[]
Year | Title | Client | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
2011 | Year off | Target / Beyoncé | |
Fuel for Life | Diesel | ||
2012 | All Originals Represent | Adidas | |
2013 | Change Lanes | Lexus | |
2016 | Pop | Stella McCartney / Grimes, Amandla Stenberg, Lola Leon, Kenya Kinski-Jones | |
2017 | Equality | Nike | |
2020 | You Love Me | Beats by Dr. Dre | Translation (ad agency) |
Television[]
Year | Title | Notes |
---|---|---|
2016 | Insecure | 7 Episodes |
2017 | Master of None | 2 Episodes |
TBA | Y: The Last Man | Executive producer[11] |
Film[]
Year | Title | Notes |
---|---|---|
2019 | Queen & Slim | also producer[12] |
Awards and nominations[]
Year | Award or Organization | Category | Nominee | Result | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
2008 | UK Music Video Awards | People Choice Awards | "Bleeding Love" (Leona Lewis) | Won | [13] |
2012 | Antville Music Video Awards | Best Hip-Hop | "Losing You" (Solange Knowles) | Nominated | [14] |
Best Performance | Nominated | ||||
MTV Video Music Awards | Video of the Year | "We Found Love" (Rihanna with Calvin Harris) | Won | [15] | |
UK Music Video Awards | Best Pop Video – International | Nominated | [16] | ||
2013 | Grammy Awards | Best Music Video | "We Found Love" (Rihanna with Calvin Harris) | Won | [17] |
Music Video Production Awards | Best Direction of a New Artist | "Losing You" (Solange Knowles) | Won | [18] | |
Best Direction of a Female Artist | Won | ||||
UK Music Video Awards | Best Pop Video – International | Won | [19] | ||
2014 | Camerimage | Video of the Year | "Pretty Hurts" (Beyoncé) | Nominated | [20] |
Best Cinematography | Nominated | ||||
MTV Video Music Awards | Best Direction | Nominated | [21] | ||
2016 | Camerimage | Video of the Year | "Formation" (Beyoncé) | Nominated | [22] |
Best Cinematography | Nominated | ||||
Cannes Lions International Festival | Excellence in Music Video | Gran Prix | [23] | ||
Clio Awards | Video of the Year | Won | [24] | ||
Kinsale Shark Awards | Best International Director Music Video | Won | [25] | ||
Best International Music Video | Won | ||||
London International Awards | Best Music Video | Bronze | [26] | ||
Music Video Direction | Bronze | ||||
MTV Video Music Awards | Video of the Year | Won | [27] | ||
Best Direction | Won | ||||
Best Cinematography | Won | ||||
UK Music Video Awards | Best Urban Video - International | Nominated | [citation needed] | ||
Best Styling in a Video | Won | ||||
2017 | Black Reel Awards for Television | Outstanding Comedy Series | Insecure | Nominated | [28] |
Outstanding Directing - Comedy Series | "Thanksgiving" (Master of None) | Nominated | |||
Gold Derby Awards | Best Comedy Episode of the Year | Won | [29] | ||
Grammy Awards | Best Music Video | "Formation" (Beyoncé) | Won | [17] | |
NAACP Image Awards | Outstanding Directing in a Comedy Series | "Insecure as F**k" (Insecure) | Nominated | [30] | |
Webby Awards | Best Music Video - People's Voice | "Formation" (Beyoncé) | Won | [31] | |
Best Music Video | Nominated | ||||
2018 | Black Reel Awards for Television | Outstanding Comedy Series | Insecure | Nominated | [32] |
Outstanding Directing - Comedy Series | "Hella Perspective" (Insecure) | Nominated | |||
Directors Guild of America Awards | Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Comedy Series | "Thanksgiving" (Master of None) | Nominated | [33][34] | |
2019 | African-American Film Critics Association | Impact Award | Queen & Slim | Won | [35] |
Top 10 Best Films | Won | ||||
American Film Institute | Franklin J. Schaffner Alumni Medal | Herself | Won | [36] | |
Austin Film Critics Association Awards | Best First Film | Queen & Slim | Nominated | [37] | |
Florida Film Critics Circle | Best First Film | Won | [38] | ||
Los Angeles Online Film Critics Society Awards | Best First Feature | Nominated | [citation needed] | ||
National Board of Review Awards | Best Directorial Debut | Won | [39] | ||
Online Association of Female Film Critics Awards | Breakthrough Filmmaker | Nominated | [40] | ||
Online Film Critics Society | Best Debut Feature | Nominated | [41] | ||
Toronto Film Critics Association Awards | Best First Feature | Nominated | [42] | ||
2020 | BET Awards | Best Movie | Queen & Slim | Won | [43] |
Black Reel Awards | Outstanding Motion Picture | Nominated | [44] | ||
Outstanding Director | Nominated | ||||
Outstanding Emerging Director | Won | ||||
Directors Guild of America Awards | Outstanding Directing - First Time Feature Film | Nominated | [45] | ||
Hawaii Film Critics Society Awards | Best First Film | Nominated | [citation needed] | ||
Best New Filmaker | Nominated | [citation needed] | |||
NAACP Image Awards | Outstanding Motion Picture | Nominated | [46] | ||
Outstanding Independent Motion Picture | Nominated |
References[]
- ^ Okeowo, Alexis (March 6, 2017). "The Provocateur behind Beyonce, Rihanna and Issa Rae". The New Yorker. Retrieved March 11, 2017.
- ^ "How Melina Matsoukas Went From Music-Video Visionary to 'Queen and Slim'". www.yahoo.com.
- ^ "The Provocateur Behind Beyonce Rihanna and Issa Rae". Archived from the original on July 12, 2011. Retrieved May 14, 2010.CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
- ^ "From Beyoncé to the big screen: the whirlwind rise of Melina Matsoukas". The Economist. November 13, 2019.
- ^ Kamuzu Banda, Tim. Saturday, September 6, 2008 at 22:01. "Video queen: Melina Matsoukas", Daily Nation.
- ^ "Visionary: Melina Matsoukas" Archived January 18, 2008, at the Wayback Machine, WatchLookListen.
- ^ Banda, Tim Kamuzu (2008). "Video queen: Melina Matsoukas", p.2, Daily Nation.
- ^ "Venus Zine: Melina Matsoukas" Venus Zine Fall 2010 Issue No. 44
- ^ Kroll, Justin (November 8, 2018). "Jodie Turner-Smith to Star Opposite Daniel Kaluuya in 'Queen & Slim' (EXCLUSIVE)".
- ^ #teamEBONY (February 26, 2020). "2020 EBONY POWER 100 LIST". EBONY. Retrieved November 10, 2020.
- ^ Andreeva, Nellie (April 5, 2018). "FX Orders 'Y' Drama Pilot Based On 'Y: The Last Man' Comic Book Series". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved July 11, 2018.
- ^ Fleming Jr, Mike (July 19, 2018). "Makeready Sets 'Queen & Slim'; Daniel Kaluuya Stars, Melina Matsoukas Directs Lena Waithe Script". Deadline. Retrieved July 22, 2018.
- ^ "Bjork promo triumphs at UK Music Video Awards | News | Music Week". Music Week. Retrieved August 21, 2018.
- ^ "Antville Music Video Awards 2012 – THE WINNERS". videos.antville.org. December 30, 2012. Retrieved December 22, 2017.
- ^ "One Direction beat Justin Bieber and Rihanna at MTV awards". The Daily Telegraph. September 7, 2012. Retrieved November 3, 2017.
- ^ "Music Genre Categories". UKMVA. December 12, 2012. Archived from the original on March 12, 2016. Retrieved February 20, 2019.
- ^ Jump up to: a b "Grammy Awards: Melina Matsoukas". National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. Retrieved November 3, 2017.
- ^ "2013 MVPA Award Winners". VideoStatic. Archived from the original on August 13, 2017. Retrieved April 23, 2019.
- ^ "UK Music Video Awards 2013 – all of last night's winners!". promonews.tv. October 29, 2013. Retrieved December 22, 2017.
- ^ "2014 MUSIC VIDEOS COMPETITION NOMINATIONS ANNOUNCED". camerimage.pl. Retrieved August 21, 2018.
- ^ "Here's Your Full List of 2014 VMA Winners". MTV News. Retrieved August 21, 2018.
- ^ "2016 MUSIC VIDEO NOMINATIONS ARE HERE!". camerimage.pl. Retrieved August 21, 2018.
- ^ "Beyonce's 'Formation' Music Video Wins Grand Prix at Inaugural Cannes Lions Entertainment for Music Awards". Billboard. Retrieved August 21, 2018.
- ^ "Beyoncé – Formation". Clios. Retrieved August 21, 2018.
- ^ "2016 Kinsale Shark Awards - Short Film and Music Video". Kinsale Shark Awards. Archived from the original on November 16, 2016. Retrieved November 3, 2017.
- ^ "London International Awards". 2016.liaentries.com. Retrieved February 19, 2019.
- ^ "MTV VMAs 2016: the MTV Video Music Awards – as it happened". The Guardian. August 29, 2016. Retrieved November 3, 2017.
- ^ "2017 Black Reel Awards for Television". goldderby.com. Retrieved February 20, 2019.
- ^ Montgomery, Daniel (July 26, 2017). "2017 Gold Derby TV Awards nominations: 'This is Us,' 'Veep,' 'The Leftovers,' 'Stranger Things' among top contenders". GoldDerby. Retrieved July 28, 2017.
- ^ Washington, Arlene; Lewis, Hilary (February 10, 2017). "Hidden Figures, Loving, and Queen of Katwe nominated". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved February 15, 2017.
- ^ "Here Are The Winners Of The 21st Annual Webby Awards". Webby Awards. April 25, 2017. Retrieved April 27, 2017.
- ^ "2018 Black Reel Awards for Television". blackreelawards.com. Retrieved February 20, 2019.
- ^ Swertlow, Meg (February 3, 2018). "DGA Awards 2018 Winners: The Complete List". E! News. Retrieved February 4, 2018.
- ^ "DGA Announces Nominees for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Television, Commercials and Documentary for 2017". Directors Guild of America. January 10, 2018. Retrieved January 10, 2018.
- ^ "Jordan Peele's 'Us' Named Best Film by African-American Film Critics Association 2019". hollywoodreporter.com. October 10, 2019. Retrieved December 14, 2019.
- ^ "Director Melina Matsoukas To Receive AFI's Franklin J. Schaffner Alumni Medal". deadline.com. May 10, 2019. Retrieved July 16, 2019.
- ^ "Austin Film Critics Association Awards 2020". Retrieved December 13, 2019.
- ^ "Florida Film Critics Circle Awards 2019 - Winners". Retrieved December 29, 2019.
- ^ Sharf, Zack (December 3, 2019). "National Board of Review 2019: 'The Irishman' Wins Best Film, Adam Sandler Named Best Actor". IndieWire. Retrieved December 3, 2019.
- ^ "Online Association of Female Film Critics 2019 Awards". January 5, 2018. Retrieved December 29, 2019.
- ^ "Online Film Critics Society 2019 Awards (23RD ANNUAL)". Retrieved December 29, 2019.
- ^ "StLFCA Awards 2020". Retrieved December 13, 2019.
- ^ "CBS announces it will simulcast the BET Awards; here are all the nominees". WTSP. June 15, 2020. Retrieved June 15, 2020.
- ^ "Black Reel Awards Nominations: 'Queen & Slim' Lead The Field, Kelvin Harrison Nabs Double Nomination". awardscircuit.com. Retrieved December 13, 2019.
- ^ Jackson, Angelique (January 7, 2020). "Directors Guild Nominees Include Bong Joon Ho, Sam Mendes, Taika Waititi". Variety. Retrieved January 9, 2020.
- ^ "NAACP | NOMINEES ANNOUNCED FOR 51st NAACP IMAGE AWARDS". NAACP. January 9, 2020. Retrieved July 17, 2021.
External links[]
- Melina Matsoukas (Prettybird) at Prettybird
- Melina Matsoukas at IMDb
- Melina Matsoukas (Melina) at Music Video Database
- Melina Matsoukas at Clipland
- Melina Matsoukas on Twitter
- 1981 births
- AFI Conservatory alumni
- American music video directors
- American people of Cuban descent
- American people of Greek descent
- American people of Jamaican descent
- American people of Jewish descent
- Female music video directors
- Grammy Award winners
- Living people
- Tisch School of the Arts alumni