from ESSENCE

Did You Know There Were Two Black Financiers Behind ‘Queen & Slim?’

WHEN WRITER LENA WAITHE AND DIRECTOR MELINA MATSOUKAS SAID THE FILM WAS “FOR US, BY US,” THEY MEAN IT.

BY DANIELLE YOUNG

Angelo Pullen and Reginald Cash

The brilliance that is Queen & Slim has been described as a “for us, by us” film, with Black women Melina Matsoukas and Lena Waithe at the helm.

The Black excellence was apparent with Waithe telling ESSENCE that she and Matsoukas, who made her directorial debut with the feature film, didn’t use any feedback about their film from anyone at the studio who wasn’t Black.

The “Black out” around Queen & Slim didn’t stop there. In fact, while we were at the AFI Fest premiere last month, we met the CEO and President of entertainment studio 3BlackDot, Angelo Pullen and Reginald Cash. These two Black men are among the financiers behind the film.

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