I remember when I first saw Rihanna’s “We Found Love” music video in 2011. I watched it five times back-to-back. I was mesmerized by the colors, the storyline and the cinematography. It was iconic. Then I found out that it was directed by a woman of color and filmmaker named Melina Matsoukas and I was hooked.
Fast-forward to today: Melina has become a leader in the current wave of fresh, talented filmmakers who diversify the industry. She’s a two-time Grammy winner (“We Found Love” won Best Short Form Music Video of 2012; Beyoncé’s “Formation” video, which she directed, won Best Music Video of 2016); she’s the director of HBO’s Insecure, and she directed “Thanksgiving,” the Emmy Award-winning episode of Master of None.
In this week’s episode of The Call, Melina tells me how she knew exactly what she wanted to do with her life, how her politics influence her work, and the bold, badass thing she said when she first met Beyoncé.
Follow Melina on Instagram @msmelina.
