Melissa Haizlip is an American film producer, director and writer most notable for her 2018 award winning film, ''

Mr. SOUL! ''Mr. Soul!'' (stylized as ''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 (filmmaker), Sam Pollard. ...

''. Haizlip won an

NAACP Image Award The NAACP Image Awards is an annual awards ceremony presented by the U.S.-based National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) to honor outstanding performances in film, television, theatre, music, and literature. Similar to ...

for Outstanding Writing in a Documentary (Television or Motion Picture) for Mr. SOUL!. On June 6, 2022,

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

winning actor

Morgan Freeman Morgan Freeman (born June 1, 1937) is an American actor, director, and narrator. He is known for his distinctive deep voice and various roles in a wide variety of film genres. Throughout his career spanning over five decades, he has received ...

announced that Haizlip film Mr. Soul! won the

Peabody Award The George Foster Peabody Awards (or simply Peabody Awards or the Peabodys) program, named for the American businessman and philanthropist George Peabody, honor the most powerful, enlightening, and invigorating stories in television, radio, and ...

for Best Documentary.

Biography

Haizlip was born in

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

, Massachusetts to educator Dr. Harold C. Haizlip and author Shirlee Taylor Haizlip, while both were attending graduate school at

Harvard Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

. She grew up in New York, St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands, and Connecticut, where she later attended

Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...

. 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. 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 The Imagen Awards are administered by the Imagen Foundation, an organization dedicated to "encouraging and recognizing the positive portrayals of Latinos in film, Latinos in the entertainment industry." To be considered for an Imagen Award, a medi ...

and was screened in over 50 film festivals winning many awards. 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. In the summer of 2019, Haizlip produced "Soul at the Center," an event honoring the 60th anniversary of

Lincoln Center Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts (also simply known as Lincoln Center) is a complex of buildings in the Lincoln Square neighborhood on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. It has thirty indoor and outdoor facilities and is host to 5 millio ...

, 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 The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...

–winning vocalist

Lalah Hathaway Eulaulah Donyll "Lalah" Hathaway (born December 16, 1968) is an American singer. In 1990 Hathaway released her first album titled ''Lalah Hathaway''. After releasing another album, titled '' A Moment'' (1994), it debuted at number 34 on the To ...

, who paid tribute to her father

Donny Hathaway Donny Edward Hathaway (October 1, 1945 – January 13, 1979) was an American soul singer, keyboardist, songwriter, and arranger whom ''Rolling Stone'' described as a "soul legend". His most popular songs include " The Ghetto", "This Christmas ...

, who performed at the original 1972 event on the opening night concert. On March 22, 2021, Haizlip won a

for Outstanding Writing in a Documentary (Television or Motion Picture) for the film, Mr. SOUL!.

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. The film was screened at over 50 film festivals from April 2018 through 2019 including BFI London,

Hot Docs The Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival is the largest documentary festival in North America. The event takes place annually in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The 27th edition of the festival took place online throughout May and June ...

, Martha's Vineyard African American Film Festival,

Woodstock Film Festival The Woodstock Film Festival is an American film festival that was launched in 2000 by filmmakers Meira Blaustein and Laurent Rejto with the goal to bring high quality independent film to the Hudson Valley region. The festival takes place each fa ...

, True / False Film Festival, Urbanworld Film Festival, and

Pan African Film Festival Pan African Film Festival (PAFF) is a non-profit corporation in Los Angeles, California, that states its goal is to promote "cultural understanding among peoples of African descent" through exhibiting art and film. It hosts a film festival and an ar ...

, among others. On August 28, 2020, Haizlip's film was released in limited theaters and virtual cinemas. On November 16, 2020, Mr. SOUL! won Best First Documentary Feature at the

Critics Choice Awards The Critics' Choice Movie Awards (formerly known as the Broadcast Film Critics Association Award) is an awards show presented annually by the American-Canadian Critics Choice Association (CCA) to honor the finest in cinematic achievement. Writ ...

. 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

and

Robert Glasper Robert Andre Glasper (born April 6, 1978) is an American pianist, record producer, songwriter, and musical arranger with a career that bridges several different musical and artistic genres, mostly centered on jazz. To date, Glasper has won fou ...

and written by Hathaway, Glasper, Muhammad Ayers and Haizlip was on the shortlist for the

93rd Academy Awards The 93rd Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), honored films released from January 1, 2020, to February 28, 2021, at Union Station in Los Angeles. The ceremony was held on April 25, 2021 ...

in the category of Music (Best Original Song). HBO Max announced they will premiere the film on their streaming service August 1, 2021. On June 6, 2022

winning actor

announced that Mr. Soul! won the

for Best Documentary.

Personal

Haizlip's company Shoes in the Bed Productions LLC., is based in New York City. She resides in

Croton-on-Hudson, New York Croton-on-Hudson is a village in Westchester County, New York, United States. The population was 8,327 at the 2020 United States census over 8,070 at the 2010 census. It is located in the town of Cortlandt as part of New York City's northern subu ...

, with her husband.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Haizlip, Melissa African-American screenwriters American film producers American documentary filmmakers Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Yale University alumni