Those who have watched Melina Matsoukas’ “Queen & Slim” have praised the film, but it was surprisingly absent from the 2020 Golden Globe nominations.
A big reason for this could be the fact that “almost no members” of the Hollywood Foreign Press (who are the ones casting their votes) showed up to the three screening of the film.
“We held three screenings for the HFPA and almost no members attended,” Matsoukas told Variety. “For me, it’s reflective of their voting body. It’s not reflective of the society in which we live in or the industry as it stands today. They don’t value the stories that represent all of us, and those stories are so often disregarded and discredited, as are their filmmakers.”
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The film written by Lena Waithe follows a couple who are on the run after killing a police officer in self-defence.
Critics were sure that “Queen & Slim” would be in the running this awards season, but they didn’t predict that voting members wouldn’t watch.
“It’s extremely discouraging. It’s extremely infuriating,” Matsoukas added. “And it just represents an archaic system that is full of people who don’t value us.”
HFPA issued a response to Matsoukas stating that the members also had the opportunity to watch the film at home. “The HFPA maintains that ‘Queen & Slim’ was in the conversation amongst the membership.”
RELATED: Golden Globes Called Out For Once Again Shutting Women Out Of Best Director Race
The Golden Globe nominations were announced on Monday and faced backlash for their lack of diversity including no female directors nominated when Greta Gerwig, Alma Har-el, Matsoukas, Olivia Wilde and more had films in contention.
In the history of the awards, only five women have been nominated for Best Director.
See more on the controversy in the clip below:
