Melina Matsoukas and Lena Waithe Reunite for ‘Queen & Slim’

By Sameer Rao Jul 20, 2018

Director Melina Matsoukas ("Insecure," the "Formation" music video) will enter the feature film world directing Emmy winner Lena Waithe‘s ("The Chi") new screenplay about Black love in a racist world.

Deadline reported yesterday (July 19) that Makeready production studio will make "Queen & Slim," which Waithe scripted from an idea by author James Frey ("A Million Little Pieces"). The romantic drama follows a Black couple who kill a police officer in self-defense on their first date. 

"To me, this is protest art,” Waithe said. “It’s about being Black and trying to fall in love in a world that’s burning down around you.”

"It’s a film that defines Black love as a revolutionary act," Matsoukas added. "It shows that our union is the greatest weapon against the assault on Black people in America.”

The pair previously collaborated when Matsoukas directed the "Master of None" episode based on Waithe’s own story of coming out as a lesbian to her family. Waithe became the first Black woman to ever win a comedy writing Emmy for her work on that episode. 

Daniel Kaluuya ("Get Out") plays the male lead; the film will be released on November 27, 2019.