Matsoukas tells Variety that The Hollywood Foreign Press Association, the organization that votes on the Golden Globes, barely even showed up to see the film.
“We held three screenings for the HFPA and almost no members attended,” Matsoukas recalled. “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.”
Matsoukas says coming to terms with that was “extremely discouraging.”
“It’s extremely infuriating,” she said. “And it just represents an archaic system that is full of people who don’t value us.”
Queen & Slim, written and executive-produced Lena Waithe, stars Daniel Kaluuya and Jodie Turner-Smith as a new couple who go on the run after a minor traffic infraction turns deadly when Kaluuya’s character shoots a white cop in self-defense.
The HFPA refuted claims that members didn’t watch the film, telling Variety in a statement that the film “was in the conversation amongst” voters and that they all received screeners. Even so, the HFPA has also received criticism that this year’s nominations showed an extreme lack of diversity and representation of female nominees, including not a single nomination for a female director or screenwriter
Matsoukas says she felt compelled to speak out because she hopes that these ongoing conversations will eventually bring about change. But for now, she offers this message to HPFA members who continue to snub and ignore diverse narratives: “Your time is over.”
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