A couple's first date spins horribly out of control in Director Melina Matsoukas’ new drama, Queen & Slim.
Matsoukas’ film tells the story of Queen (Jodie Turner-Smith) and Slim (Daniel Kaluuya), an African American couple who are on an unremarkable first date until they get pulled over for a minor traffic infraction. When the situation escalates and Slim ends up killing the cop in self-defense, they are forced to flee and the incident, which was captured on video, goes viral and makes them a symbol of trauma, terror, grief and pain for people across the country.
Following the DGA membership screening in New York on November 7, Matsoukas sat down with Director M. Night Shyamalan (Glass), to discuss the making of Queen & Slim. She also discussed the film in a conversation moderated by Director Spike Jonze (Her) following the DGA membership screening in Los Angeles on November 10.
In addition to Queen & Slim, Matsoukas’ directorial credits include episodes of the series Insecure and Master of None and music videos for Beyoncé, Christina Aguilera, Rihanna, Katy Perry, Lady Gaga and Whitney Houston. She earned a DGA Award nomination for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Comedy Series for her 2017 Master of None episode "Master of None: Thanksgiving." Matsoukas has been a DGA member since 2007.
You can listen to Matsoukas' Q&A by clicking the podcast episode embedded below. You can find more DGA podcast episodes here.