Melissa Haizlip

Last updated

Melissa Haizlip
Melissa Haizlip photo.jpg
Haizlip at Howard University
Washington, D.C.
Born
Boston, Massachusetts
Occupation(s)Director
Producer
Writer
Years active1986–present
Spouse Don Wildman

Melissa Haizlip is an American film producer, director and writer most notable for her 2018 award-winning film, Mr. SOUL! . [1] [2] [3] [4] Haizlip won an NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Writing in a Documentary (Television or Motion Picture) for Mr. SOUL!. [5] [6] [7]

Contents

On June 6, 2022, Academy Award winning actor Morgan Freeman announced that Haizlip film Mr. Soul! won the Peabody Award for Best Documentary. [8]

Biography

Haizlip was born in Boston, Massachusetts to educator Dr. Harold C. Haizlip and author Shirlee Taylor Haizlip, while both were attending graduate school at Harvard. She grew up in New York, St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands, and Connecticut, where she later attended Yale University.

Haizlip started her career in musical theater, performing professionally on Broadway in New York City, and in film and television in Los Angeles, before moving into film production in 1999. [9] [10]

In 2009, Haizlip founded Shoes in the Bed Productions.

In 2013, she produced the award-winning short film entitled, "You're Dead To Me" directed by Wu Tsang, about a grieving Chicana mother coming to terms with the loss of her transgender child on Día de los Muertos. The film won Best Short at the 2014 Imagen Awards and was screened in over 50 film festivals winning many awards. [11] [12] [13]

In 2019, Haizlip, produced and directed a short documentary entitled, "Contact High: A Visual History of Hip-Hop" for the Annenberg Space for Photography as an installation for an exhibit which was based on the 2018 photography book, created and written by Vikki Tobak, an ongoing exhibition series. [14]

In the summer of 2019, Haizlip produced "Soul at the Center," an event honoring the 60th anniversary of Lincoln Center, kicking off their Out of Doors summer concert series in the Damrosch Park Bandshell. The opening night was dedicated to Ellis Haizlip paying homage to his 1972 – 1973 Black Arts festival, aptly named Soul at the Center. The celebration featured Grammy Award–winning vocalist Lalah Hathaway, who paid tribute to her father Donny Hathaway, who performed at the original 1972 event on the opening night concert. [15] [16]

On March 22, 2021, Haizlip won an NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Writing in a Documentary (Television or Motion Picture) for the film, Mr. SOUL!. [17]

Mr. SOUL!

Haizlip wrote, produced and directed the award-winning film, Mr.SOUL! It made its debut at the Tribeca Film Festival in 2018. The film won the 2018 Best Music Documentary at the International Documentary Association Awards. [18] [19] The film was screened at over 50 film festivals from April 2018 through 2019 including BFI London, Hot Docs, Martha's Vineyard African American Film Festival, Woodstock Film Festival, True / False Film Festival, Urbanworld Film Festival, and Pan African Film Festival, among others.

On August 28, 2020, Haizlip's film was released in limited theaters and virtual cinemas. [20] On November 16, 2020, Mr. SOUL! won Best First Documentary Feature at the Critics Choice Awards.

The film premiered on public television on Independent Lens during Black History Month on February 22, 2021. The end title song, "Show Me Your Soul" performed by Lalah Hathaway and Robert Glasper and written by Hathaway, Glasper, Muhammad Ayers and Haizlip was on the shortlist for the 93rd Academy Awards in the category of Music (Best Original Song). [21] [22] [23] [24]

HBO Max announced they will premiere the film on their streaming service August 1, 2021. [25] [26]

On June 6, 2022 Academy Award winning actor Morgan Freeman announced that Mr. Soul! won the Peabody Award for Best Documentary. [27] [28]

Personal

Haizlip's company Shoes in the Bed Productions LLC., is based in New York City. She resides in Croton-on-Hudson, New York, with her husband.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Andre Braugher</span> American actor (1962–2023)

Andre Keith Braugher was an American actor known for his roles as Detective Frank Pembleton in the NBC police drama series Homicide: Life on the Street (1993–1999) and Captain Raymond Holt in the Fox/NBC police comedy series Brooklyn Nine-Nine (2013–2021). He won two Primetime Emmy Awards and was nominated for two Golden Globe Awards.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lalah Hathaway</span> American singer (born 1968)

Eulaulah Donyll "Lalah" Hathaway is an American singer-songwriter. She is the daughter of musician and soul singer Donny Hathaway.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marc Levin</span> American film director (born 1951)

Marc Levin is an American independent film producer and director. He is best known for his Brick City TV series, which won the 2010 Peabody award and was nominated for an Emmy for Exceptional Merit in Nonfiction Filmmaking and his dramatic feature film, Slam, which won the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival and the Caméra d'Or at Cannes in 1998. He also has received three Emmy Awards and the 1997 DuPont-Columbia Award.

<i>Independent Lens</i> Television documentary film series (began 1999)

Independent Lens is a weekly television series airing on PBS featuring documentary films made by independent filmmakers. Past seasons of Independent Lens were hosted by Angela Bassett, Don Cheadle, Susan Sarandon, Edie Falco, Terrence Howard, Maggie Gyllenhaal, America Ferrera, Mary-Louise Parker, and Stanley Tucci, who served two stints as host from 2012-2014.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">ITVS</span>

ITVS is a service in the United States which funds and presents documentaries on public television through distribution by PBS and American Public Television, new media projects on the Internet, and the weekly series Independent Lens on PBS. Aside from Independent Lens, ITVS funded and produced films for more than 40 television hours per year on the PBS series POV, Frontline, American Masters and American Experience. Some ITVS programs are produced along with organizations like Latino Public Broadcasting and KQED.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robert Glasper</span> American jazz pianist, record producer, and songwriter

Robert Andre Glasper is an American pianist, record producer, songwriter, and musical arranger. His music embodies numerous musical genres, primarily centered around jazz. Glasper has won five Grammy Awards from 11 nominations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Abby Ginzberg</span> Film director and producer

Abby Ginzberg is an independent documentary film director and producer and founder of Ginzberg Productions. For the past 30 years, Ginzberg has been creating films that tackle discrimination and the legal profession.

Soul! is a performance/variety television program that showcased African American music, dance and literature in the late 1960s and early 1970s. It was produced by New York City public television station WNDT, and distributed by NET and its successor PBS.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thomas Allen Harris</span>

Thomas Allen Harris is a critically acclaimed, interdisciplinary artist who explores family, identity, and spirituality in a participatory practice. Since 1990, Harris has remixed archives from multiple origins throughout his work, challenging hierarchy within historical narratives through the use of pioneering documentary and research methodologies that center vernacular image and collaboration. He is currently working on a new television show, Family Pictures USA, which takes a radical look at neighborhoods and cities of the United States through the lens of family photographs, collaborative performances, and personal testimony sourced from their communities..

Vulcan Productions produced documentary films, television programming and virtual reality experiences that drove awareness around environmental and social issues. The company was founded in 1997 by late Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen and his sister Jody Allen. It closed in 2021.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joe Brewster</span> American psychiatrist and filmmaker

Joe Brewster is an American psychiatrist and filmmaker who directs and produces fiction films, documentaries and new media focused on the experiences of communities of color.

<i>Hale County This Morning, This Evening</i> 2018 American film

Hale County This Morning, This Evening is a 2018 American documentary film about the lives of black people in Hale County, Alabama. It is directed by RaMell Ross and produced by RaMell Ross, Joslyn Barnes, Su Kim, and is Ross's first nonfiction feature. The documentary is the winner of 2018 Sundance Film Festival award for U.S. Documentary Special Jury Award for Creative Vision, 2018 Gotham Independent Film Award for Best Documentary Feature and the Cinema Eye Honors Outstanding Achievement in Nonfiction Feature Filmmaking. It was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature. After its theatrical run, it aired on the PBS series Independent Lens and eventually won a 2020 Peabody Award.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sabrina Schmidt Gordon</span> American documentary filmmaker

Sabrina Schmidt Gordon is an American documentary filmmaker. She is known for producing and editing films on cultural and social issues. In 2018, she was invited to become a member of The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS).

Marilyn Ness is a documentary film producer and director based in New York City who made the social justice documentaries Bad Blood: A Cautionary Tale (2010), Cameraperson (2016), and Charm City (2018). More recent projects include the Netflix Original documentary Becoming with Michelle Obama, which was nominated for four Primetime Emmy awards and Netflix Original documentary Dick Johnson is Dead, which was on the Academy Award Shortlist for Best Documentary in 2021. She is as of 2021 an adjunct assistant professor at Columbia University.

Lorraine Hansberry: Sighted Eyes/Feeling Heart is a 2017 American documentary film by Tracy Heather Strain, Randall MacLowry and Chiz Schultz on the life and work of writer Lorraine Hansberry. Hansberry is best known as the playwright of A Raisin in the Sun, a story that partially mirrored experiences of her family in confronting racial segregation. It premiered in 1959, won the New York Drama Critics Circle Award for Best Play and was the first play by a Black woman to be produced on Broadway.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stuart Bascombe</span> American musician

Stuart D. Bascombe is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and record producer. Bascombe is an original member of the R&B/soul vocal group Black Ivory who recorded a number of R&B hits in the 1970s, including "Don't Turn Around", "You and I", "Time Is Love", "I'll Find a Way ", and their disco hit "Mainline".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nancy Buirski</span> American documentary filmmaker and producer (1945–2023)

Nancy Florence Buirski was an American filmmaker, producer, and photographer. She wrote, directed, and produced the documentary films A Crime on the Bayou (2020) and Desperate Souls, Dark City and the Legend of Midnight Cowboy (2022).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ellis Haizlip</span> American television producer

Ellis B. Haizlip was an American television and theatrical producer, broadcaster and promoter of African American culture. Haizlip is best known as the creator, producer and host of the television variety show, SOUL!.

<i>Mr. Soul!</i> 2018 film by Melissa Haizlip

Mr. Soul! is a 2018 American documentary film produced, written and directed by documentary filmmaker Melissa Haizlip. The film was co-produced by Doug Blush and co-directed by Sam Pollard. The film tells the story of Ellis Haizlip, the producer and host of SOUL!, the music-and-talk program that aired on public television from 1968 to 1973 and aimed at a Black audience. It was released in 2018 and has since received 21 filmmaking awards. Attorney Chaz Ebert, record executive Ron Gillyard, producer and director Stan Lathan, producer Rishi Rajani, producer Stephanie T. Rance, actor Blair Underwood and screenwriter, producer and actress Lena Waithe are the executive producers of the film.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Beth Levison</span> American documentary film producer and director

Beth Levison is an Academy Award-nominated American independent documentary film producer and director based in New York City. Following a career in unscripted television, she has been in the independent documentary filmmaking trenches for the last 15 years.

References

  1. ↑ "Tribeca 2018 Women Directors: Meet Melissa Haizlip— "Mr. SOUL!"". womenandhollywood.com. Retrieved December 22, 2020.
  2. ↑ "2018 IDA Documentary Awards Honor "" . Retrieved December 22, 2020.
  3. ↑ "MR. SOUL! Wins Critics Choice Documentary Award for Filmmaker Melissa Hailzip | Black Star News". www.blackstarnews.com. Retrieved December 22, 2020.
  4. ↑ Tangcay, Jazz (September 23, 2020). "How 'Mr. Soul!' Honors Ellis Haizlip and His Groundbreaking Late-Night Legacy". Variety. Retrieved April 14, 2021.
  5. ↑ Jackson, Angelique (March 25, 2021). "Chadwick Boseman, 'Black-ish' and 'Insecure' Win Big at Final Night of Non-Televised NAACP Image Awards". Variety. Retrieved April 14, 2021.
  6. ↑ Zhan, Jennifer (March 29, 2021). "NAACP Image Award Winners Include Megan Thee Stallion, VERZUZ". Vulture. Retrieved April 14, 2021.
  7. ↑ "Regé-Jean Page, Viola Davis, and more win big at 2021 NAACP Image Awards". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved April 14, 2021.
  8. ↑ "Morgan Freeman Presents Peabody Award to Documentary Film 'Mr. Soul!' (Exclusive)". Billboard .
  9. ↑ "Melissa Haizlip". Playbill. Retrieved December 22, 2020.
  10. ↑ Oxman, Steven (October 20, 2000). "The Lion King (Pantages Theatre)". Variety. Retrieved December 22, 2020.
  11. ↑ "PBS's Independent Lens to Premiere Mr. SOUL! in Its Upcoming Season, Bringing America's First Black Variety Show Back to Public Television". About PBS – Main. Retrieved December 22, 2020.
  12. ↑ Foundation, Imagen. "2014 Imagen Awards Winners & Nominees". Imagen Foundation. Retrieved December 22, 2020.
  13. ↑ Tsang, Wu (July 14, 2013). "You're Dead to Me". Public Broadcasting Service (PBS). Retrieved December 22, 2020.
  14. ↑ "Contact High Credits". IMDb. Retrieved December 22, 2020.
  15. ↑ Haizlip, Melissa (2019). "Lincoln Center Out of Doors Kicks Off With a Tribute to a Pioneering Series on Black Culture and Art". Playbill. Retrieved December 22, 2020.
  16. ↑ "Soul at the Center" . Retrieved December 22, 2020.
  17. ↑ "NAACP Image Awards Winners List: 'John Lewis: Good Trouble', 'The Last Dance' And 'Mr. Soul!' Among Early Winners". Washington News Post. March 23, 2021. Retrieved March 23, 2021.
  18. ↑ Falk, Tyler (November 9, 2020). "Film explores 'quiet revolutionary' behind groundbreaking TV show of Black culture". Current. Retrieved December 22, 2020.
  19. ↑ "2018 IDA Documentary Awards Honor" . Retrieved December 22, 2020.
  20. ↑ "'Mr. Soul!', Doc on Pioneering Black Talk Show Host, Continues Virtual Cinema Run". NON FICTION FILM. Retrieved December 22, 2020.
  21. ↑ "MR.SOUL! | Films | PBS". Independent Lens. Retrieved December 22, 2020.
  22. ↑ Lang, Brent (December 22, 2020). "Independent Lens Winter Slate Includes Documentaries by Jared Leto, Shalini Kantayya (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved December 22, 2020.
  23. ↑ A. O. L. Staff (February 9, 2021). "Songs From Black Films Dominate as Oscar Music Shortlists Are Released". www.aol.com. Retrieved July 24, 2021.
  24. ↑ "93rd OSCARS SHORTLISTS". Oscars.org | Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. February 5, 2021. Retrieved July 24, 2021.
  25. ↑ "'Mr. Soul!' documentary about groundbreaking 60s talk show is coming to HBO Max". TheGrio. July 22, 2021. Retrieved July 24, 2021.
  26. ↑ Daniels, Karu F. (July 22, 2021). "HBO Max to premiere 'Mr. SOUL!' documentary about almost forgotten talk show trailblazer Ellis Haizlip on Aug. 1". New York Daily News. Retrieved July 24, 2021.
  27. ↑ "Mr. SOUL!". The Peabody Awards. Retrieved September 23, 2022.
  28. ↑ "Mr. Soul! Wins 2022 Peabody Award | Festivals & Awards | Roger Ebert". rogerebert. Retrieved September 23, 2022.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.