84 Time November 25, 2019
EMPOWERING
DIRECTOR
MELINA MATSOUKAS | 38
By Daniel Kaluuya
I can usually tell from the first
frame whether a film knows its
voice. The first shot of Melina
Matsoukas’ debut feature film,
Queen & Slim, is of a waitress.
And you can tell Melina deeply
cares about every thread of
that woman’s costume, every
follicle of her hair. Immediately,
it’s clear this director knows
exactly who she is. She is deeply
passionate about presenting
black people with the kind of
visual consideration and love that
we haven’t seen in the industry.
She’s honest, and her truth will
resonate, whether it’s a positive
or negative effect. I don’t want
to pigeonhole her. If you look at
her back catalog of music videos
for Beyoncé and Rihanna and
Solange, and the diversity of
images in those projects—she can
do anything. She’s not monolithic.
Her work is going to be broad but
always empower people like her.
And that’s exciting.
Kaluuya is a writer and an Oscar-
nominated actor who stars in
Queen & Slim