The Lenny Interview: Melina Matsoukas
(SALLY NIXON) Melina Matsoukas is the woman behind some of the most iconic and influential music videos of the last decade. And when I say iconic, I mean capital-I ICONIC, videos that spawned a thousand feeble imitators, videos like Rihanna's "We Found Love," for which Melina won a Grammy (and was the first-ever solo female director to do so). She also directed "Pretty Hurts" and, oh yes, "Formation" by BeyoncĂŠ. Melina
said working on "Formation" was "magical." "We made a story about who WE are and the world chimed in and joined us. I am thankful to be a part of that conversation," she told me. Melina has also worked with Ciara, Christina Aguilera, and Kylie Minogue. Basically, if you are a female artist breaking down barriers, you get Melina to direct your video. Now that she's reached the top of the music-video game, Melina's decided to branch out into television. She signed on to direct and executive-produce Insecure, a new HBO comedy based on the book Misadventures of an Awkward Black Girl by Issa Rae. It will be a while before we can see this collision of genius minds, but we're confident it'll become one of our must-see shows. I talked on the phone with Melina, whose warm voice and chill vibes immediately put me at ease. She made me wish I were partying with her and her cool girlfriends (as captured on her Instagram). We talked about the important things in life like naps, how female directors are a "growing breed," and, of course, BeyoncÊ and Rihanna, the reigning queens of our heart. Laia Garcia: Tell me a little bit about growing up in New York City. What were you like when you were young, and when did you realize that you were interested in filmmaking? Melina Matsoukas: I grew up in the Bronx until I was about ten, and then we moved to New Jersey. I grew up in a very multicultural family. My mother is Afro-Cuban and Jamaican, and my father is Greek and Jewish. I felt the influences from all the different cultures — the stories, the ideas. And my parents are both communists and activists, so they've always been all about equality and doing something important with your life. I always wanted to do something big, I just didn't know how I would go about changing the world. I went to NYU, and I was always a good student, good at everything, but never really passionate about anything except for photography. Just meeting some of the filmmakers at NYU, I was like, "Oh my God, this is my way to change the world." It was a way to make my voice heard, and also tell some stories and make change in a place that people like me are usually unheard. LG: How did you get into making music videos? MM: I'm definitely an MTV baby. I love music. My cousin was head of production at this very small production company in New York, so I assisted her. As a filmmaker, it was a great foray into this world where you could be experimental and you could learn. It's really the only genre in film where the director has a lot of control and you can kind of do anything. You could do something fashion oriented. You could do something super-political. You can tell a story or you can not. It's a nice way to hone your skills and flex that muscle and also just be creative. I still love it.
LG: I grew up obsessed with music videos, too, and it's strange how very few female music-video directors there are. Like, there was Tamra Davis ... MM: I mean, Diane Martel was one of the first ones I remember. She's now really reinventing herself and doing things, she's awesome. Floria Sigismondi and Sophie Muller, just the fact that I can name the three of them. That's really across the board with filmmaking. It's so insane how few female directors there are. And then female women of color directors as well. It's not a dying breed ... maybe a growing breed. LG: A "growing breed," yes! You were the first woman to ever win a Grammy for directing a music video, for Rihanna's "We Found Love." Can you tell me about creating that video? MM: I was at the point in my music-video career where I had done a lot of performance-based stuff, and I just wanted to tell stories. A lot of it was based on my terrible love life and obviously her terrible love life and every woman's terrible love life, and the things we go through that we do for passion and love. She called me and was like, "Go all the way there with it, and don't be scared to take risks. Do something dark. Do something that doesn't have to be censored," and all that. That's why working with her is great, too, because you get to have that freedom to really develop your ideas. LG: I want to hear more about your forthcoming HBO comedy Insecure.