Melina Matsoukas (born January 14, 1981) is an American music video, film, commercial and television director. She is a two-time

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...

winner and four-time

MTV Video Music Awards The MTV Video Music Awards (commonly abbreviated as the VMAs) is an award show presented by the cable channel MTV to honor the best in the music video medium. Originally conceived as an alternative to the Grammy Awards (in the video category ...

winner for her "

We Found Love "We Found Love" is a song by Barbadian singer Rihanna released as the lead single from her sixth studio album, '' Talk That Talk'' (2011). The song features Scottish DJ Calvin Harris, whose 2012 album '' 18 Months'' also includes the track. Produ ...

" and " Formation" music videos. She was honored with the Franklin J. Schaffner Alumni Medal by the

American Film Institute The American Film Institute (AFI) is an American nonprofit film organization that educates filmmakers and honors the heritage of the History of cinema in the United States, motion picture arts in the United States. AFI is supported by private fu ...

in 2019. Her directorial debut in film was '' Queen & Slim'', starring

Jodie Turner-Smith Jodie Turner-Smith (born 7 September 1986) is a British actress. She made her feature film debut in '' The Neon Demon'' (2016) and has since acted in '' Queen & Slim'' (2019), ''After Yang'' (2022), and ''White Noise'' (2022). She is also known f ...

and

Daniel Kaluuya Daniel Kaluuya (; born 24 February 1989) is an English actor. His work encompasses both screen and stage, and List of awards and nominations received by Daniel Kaluuya, his accolades include an Academy Awards, Academy Award, two British Academy ...

, and written by

Lena Waithe Lena Waithe (; born May 17, 1984) is an American actress, producer, and screenwriter. She is the creator of the Showtime drama series '' The Chi'' (2018–present) and the BET comedy series ''Boomerang'' (2019–20) and '' Twenties'' (2020–2 ...

. She then worked as executive producer and director for television series ''Insecure'', being nominated for the

Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Comedy Series Prime time, or peak time, is the block of broadcast programming taking place during the middle of the evening for television shows. It is mostly targeted towards adults (and sometimes families). It is used by the major television networks to ...

in 2020.

Early life and education

Matsoukas was born in New York City and grew up in the Co-op City housing development in the Bronx. Her father worked as a builder, and her mother taught math in a local high school. When Matsoukas was eight, the family moved to

Hackensack, New Jersey Hackensack is the most populous municipality in and the county seat of Bergen County, New Jersey, Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.

, where she attended Hackensack High School. Her father is of mixed

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

and

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

descent, and her mother is of

Afro-Cuban Afro-Cubans () or Black Cubans are Cubans of full or partial sub-Saharan African ancestry. The term ''Afro-Cuban'' can also refer to historical or cultural elements in Cuba associated with this community, and the combining of native African a ...

and Afro-Jamaican descent. Matsoukas earned her degree at

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...

Tisch School of the Arts The New York University Tisch School of the Arts (commonly referred to as Tisch) is the performing, cinematic, and media arts school of New York University. Founded on August 17, 1965, as the School of the Arts at New York University, Tisch ...

and completed her graduate work at the

AFI Conservatory The AFI Conservatory is a private non-profit graduate film school in the Hollywood Hills district of Los Angeles. Students (called "Fellows") learn from the masters in a collaborative, hands-on production environment with an emphasis on stor ...

with an MFA in

cinematography Cinematography () is the art of motion picture (and more recently, electronic video camera) photography. Cinematographers use a lens (optics), lens to focus reflected light from objects into a real image that is transferred to some image sen ...

. Her graduate thesis was on music videos.

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. 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". In 2006, Matsoukas directed her first music video upon completing grad school in 2006 for Red Handed's
Dem Girls
featuring Scooby and

Paul Wall Paul Michael Slayton (born March 11, 1981), better known by his stage name Paul Wall, or the Ice Man, is an American rapper and DJ. He has spent much of his career affiliated with Swishahouse, and has released several albums under the label and ...

. She would later direct videos for artists such as

Jennifer Lopez Jennifer Lynn Lopez (born July 24, 1969), also known by her nickname J.Lo, is an American singer, songwriter, actress, dancer and businesswoman. Lopez is regarded as one of the most influential entertainers of her time, credited with breaking ...

Ludacris Christopher Brian Bridges (born September 11, 1977), known professionally as Ludacris (, spoken as "ludicrous" in American English), is an American rapper and songwriter. Born in Champaign, Illinois, Ludacris moved to Atlanta, Georgia, at age ...

Lady Gaga Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta (born March 28, 1986), known professionally as Lady Gaga, is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Known for her image reinventions and versatility across the entertainment industry, she is an influ ...

Katy Perry Katheryn Elizabeth Hudson (born October 25, 1984), known professionally as Katy Perry, is an American singer, songwriter, and television personality. She is one of the List of best-selling music artists, best-selling music artists in hist ...

Rihanna Robyn Rihanna Fenty ( ; born February 20, 1988) is a Barbadian singer, businesswoman, and actress. One of the List of music artists by net worth, wealthiest musicians in the world, List of awards and nominations received by Rihanna, her vario ...

Solange Solange may refer to: People with the given name * Solange Knowles (born 1986), American R&B/soul singer * Solange of Bourges (d. 880), Christian saint * Solange (psychic) (1952–2021), Italian TV personality, psychic and commentator * Solange A ...

, and eventually her most frequent collaborator, Beyonce. In 2016, Matsoukas contributed to Beyonce's visual album ''Lemonade'' with a music video for the album's lead single " Formation ". "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 Lion Awards The Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity (formerly the International Advertising Festival) is a global event for those working in creative communications, advertising, and related fields. It is considered the largest gathering of the ...

as well as the

MTV Video Music Award for Video of the Year The MTV Video Music Award for Video of the Year is the most prestigious competitive award and the final award presented at the annual MTV Video Music Awards. The award was created by the U.S. network MTV to honor artists with the best music video ...

. 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". Her work is described as "chock full of bright colors or crisp black and white images, smooth spotlights, and tasteful retro video models." 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." In an interview for '' Venus Zine''s Fall 2010 issue, she explains about being part of the music video world, "I love it. The quick turnaround, the creativity." Between 2016 and 2017, Matsoukas became the executive producer and director of several episodes of the critically and publicly acclaimed television series ''

Master of None ''Master of None'' is an American comedy drama television series, which was released for streaming on November 6, 2015, on Netflix. The series was created by Aziz Ansari and Alan Yang, with the first two seasons starring Ansari in the lead rol ...

'' and ''Insecure'' including the acclaimed episode from ''

'' "Thanksgiving", which would go on to win several

Emmy Awards The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the year, each with their own set of rules and award categor ...

, though Matsoukas herself would not be nominated for any awards for her work on the program. She was later nominated for Outstanding Comedy Series at the

72nd Primetime Emmy Awards The 72nd Primetime Emmy Awards honored the best in American prime time television programming from June 1, 2019, until May 31, 2020, as chosen by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. The ceremony was originally to be held at the Microsof ...

. Matsoukas also was nominated for two

NAACP Image Awards The NAACP Image Awards is an annual awards ceremony presented by the U.S.-based National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) to honor outstanding performances in film, television, theatre, music, and literature. The over 40 ...

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

and

, and written by

. It was released on November 27, 2019, by

Universal Pictures Universal City Studios LLC, doing business as Universal Pictures (also known as Universal Studios or simply Universal), is an American filmmaking, film production and film distribution, distribution company headquartered at the 10 Universal Ci ...

. 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 hefelt was political in a way that had something to say, that was strong and unique and powerful." ''Queen & Slim'' was well received critically and financially, and grossed $47.9 million worldwide. Matsoukas won a Black Reel Awards, a BET Award, a

National Board of Review The National Board of Review of Motion Pictures is a non-profit organization of New York City area film enthusiasts. Its awards, which are announced in early December, are considered the first major harbinger of the film awards season that ...

Awards and was nominated for the Directors Guild of America Awards for Outstanding Directing - First Time Feature Film. In 2019, Matsoukas was honored with the Franklin J. Schaffner Alumni Medal by the

, and was named to the ''

Ebony Ebony is a dense black/brown hardwood, coming from several species in the genus '' Diospyros'', which also includes the persimmon tree. A few ''Diospyros'' species, such as macassar and mun ebony, are dense enough to sink in water. Ebony is fin ...

'' Power 100 List in 2020. In 2020 she directed the commercial spot '' Beats by Dre: You Love Me,'' being recognized with the Directors Guild of America Awards for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Commercials.

Early life and education

Career

Filmography (director)

Music videos

Commercials

Television

Film

Awards and nominations

References

External links