Melissa Haizlip

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]

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

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 a NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Writing in a Documentary (Television or Motion Picture) for the film, Mr. SOUL!.[17]

Mr. SOUL!
Main article: Mr. SOUL! The Movie

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.

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". EW.com. 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. Editors, The. "2018 IDA Documentary Awards Honor". Retrieved December 22, 2020. {{cite web}}: |last1= has generic name (help)
  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. Staff, A. O. L. (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". nydailynews.com. 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.
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