Lena Waithe, Melina Matsoukas on Making ‘Protest Art,’ Representing Black Culture With ‘Queen & Slim’

Queen & Slim” is Lena Waithe’s self-professed “battle cry.” And it’s one that’s been heard to the tune of $15.8 million at the box office, outperforming industry projections since opening over Thanksgiving weekend.“It feels like it’s sort of taken on its own life,” Waithe told Variety before the film debuted, sitting down to talk about collaborating with fellow first-time filmmaker Melina Matsoukas.

“It was just a movie, but people are like, ‘No, this is something bigger.’”Waithe makes her feature film screenwriting debut with “Queen & Slim” – a movie about a couple (played by Oscar nominee Daniel Kaluuya and newcomer Jodie Turner-Smith) that leaves a bad first date and ends up on the run together after Kaluuya’s character kills a police officer in self-defense during a traffic stop.

Filming was a momentous achievement for Waithe and Matsoukas, but also a personal and emotional one.“We just cared so much,

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