Melina Matsoukas facts for kids

Melina Matsoukas (born January 14, 1981) is an American director. She creates music videos, films, TV shows, and commercials. She has won two Grammy Awards and four MTV Video Music Awards for her amazing music videos like "We Found Love" and "Formation". In 2019, she received a special award from the American Film Institute. Melina also directed her first movie, Queen & Slim, and was a producer and director for the TV series Insecure.

Early life and education

Melina Matsoukas grew up in a place called Co-op City in the Bronx, New York. Her dad was a builder, and her mom taught math. When Melina was eight, her family moved to Hackensack, New Jersey. She went to Hackensack High School there. Her family background is a mix of Greek, Jewish, Afro-Cuban, and Afro-Jamaican heritage.

Melina studied at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts. She then went on to get a master's degree in cinematography from the AFI Conservatory. For her final project, she focused on music videos.

Career

Melina Matsoukas started her career at film production companies like Black Dog Film. Since 2011, she has been a director at Prettybird.

Her first film was about women in the New York meatpacking industry. She later said it was "a really bad film" but that it made her love filmmaking even more. In 2006, after finishing grad school, Melina directed her first music video. It was for Red Handed's song "Dem Girls".

She then directed videos for many famous artists. These include Jennifer Lopez, Lady Gaga, Katy Perry, Rihanna, Solange, and her most frequent collaborator, Beyoncé. In 2016, Melina directed the music video for Beyoncé's hit song "Formation". This video won many awards, including a Grand Prix at the 2016 Cannes Lion Awards and the MTV Video Music Award for Video of the Year.

Melina's music videos often use bright colors and clear images. She likes to put the artist right in the middle of the screen. She believes that you don't need expensive equipment to make a good video. She says, "A good video has the right visuals, a well conceptualised story and should be exciting and elicit reaction." She loves how quickly she can create things in the music video world.

Between 2016 and 2017, Melina became an executive producer and director for popular TV shows. These included Master of None and Insecure. She directed the famous "Thanksgiving" episode of Master of None. Later, she was nominated for an Emmy Award for Insecure. She also received nominations for NAACP Image Awards and Directors Guild of America Awards.

Melina made her first full-length movie, Queen & Slim, in 2019. It starred Jodie Turner-Smith and Daniel Kaluuya and was written by her friend Lena Waithe. Melina was excited to direct a story that was "political" and "strong and unique". The movie was very successful and earned $47.9 million worldwide. Melina won several awards for it, including a Black Reel Awards and a National Board of Review Award.

In 2019, Melina received the Franklin J. Schaffner Alumni Medal from the American Film Institute. She was also named to the Ebony Power 100 List in 2020. In 2020, she directed a commercial for Beats by Dr. Dre called You Love Me, which also won an award.

Filmography (director)

Music videos

Commercials

Television

Film

Awards and nominations

See also

In Spanish: Melina Matsoukas para niños