Joi McMillon facts for kids

Editor, Joi McMillon

Joi McMillon is a super talented American film editor. A film editor is like a storyteller who uses video clips! They take all the recorded scenes and put them together to make a movie or TV show. Joi graduated from Florida State University in 2003. She is well-known for her amazing work on the movies Moonlight (2016) and If Beale Street Could Talk (2018). Both of these films won many awards!

Becoming a Film Editor

Joi McMillon first thought about becoming a journalist. But then, a school trip changed her mind! She visited Universal Studios and learned about film editing. This trip made her want to go to film school. She studied at the Florida State University College of Motion Picture Arts and finished in 2003.

McMillon and director Barry Jenkins. They worked together on Moonlight, If Beale Street Could Talk, and The Underground Railroad.

In 2017, Joi was nominated for a big award. It was the Academy Award for Best Film Editing for her work on Moonlight. She shared this nomination with Nat Sanders. This was a very special moment! Joi McMillon became the first Black woman ever nominated for an Oscar in film editing.

The director Barry Jenkins was very proud of her. He said her work was amazing. Joi also won the Best Film Editing award at the 2017 Spirit Awards for Moonlight, also with Nat Sanders.

Since then, Joi has edited many other films and TV shows. In 2018, she worked with Nat Sanders again on If Beale Street Could Talk. In 2020, Joi edited the movie Zola with filmmaker Janicza Bravo. Zola later won an Independent Spirit Award for Best Editing in 2022. In 2021, Joi was in charge of the editing team for The Underground Railroad. This was a TV series for Amazon Studios, based on a famous book.

Movies and TV Shows She Edited

Here are some of the movies and TV shows Joi McMillon has edited:

• Blue Boy (Short film, 2009)
• Shades of Gray (Short film, 2009)
• Shoot the Moon (Short film, 2009)
• Chlorophyl (Short film, 2011)
• The Other Side of Silence (Documentary, 2012)
• The Radio Gamers (Short film, 2013)
• Off-Season (Short film, 2013)
• SMILF (Short film, 2015)
• Anne & Jake (TV series) (7 episodes, 2015)
• Girls (TV series) (1 episode, 2016)
• Man Rots from the Head (Short film, 2016)
• Moonlight (2016)
• Lemon (2017)
• Hum (Short film) (2017)
• American Woman (2018)
• If Beale Street Could Talk (2018)
• Zola (2020)
• The Underground Railroad (TV series) (2021)
• Mufasa: The Lion King (2024)

Awards and Nominations

Joi McMillon has received many awards and nominations for her amazing editing work.

• In 2016, she was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Film Editing for Moonlight. She shared this nomination with Nat Sanders.
• She also won the Independent Spirit Award for Best Editing for Moonlight in 2017.
• For Moonlight, she was also nominated for awards from the Alliance of Women Film Journalists, American Cinema Editors, Critics' Choice Awards, Chicago Film Critics Association, London Critics Circle Film Awards, and many more!
• In 2022, the movie Zola, which Joi edited, won the Independent Spirit Award for Best Editing.

See also

• List of film director and editor collaborations