Malik Hassan Sayeed
{{short description|American film director}}
{{BLP sources|date=February 2016}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Malik Hassan Sayeed
| birth_date =
| birth_place =
| alma_mater = Howard University
| occupation = Cinematographer, producer, director
| notable_works = Belly
}}
Malik Hassan Sayeed is an American cinematographer, producer and director. He is known for his work on films such as Spike Lee's Clockers (1995) and He Got Game (1998), and the Hype Williams' film Belly (1998). Sayeed has also contributed to music videos including Lauryn Hill's "Ex-Factor", Kanye West's "Gold Digger" featuring Jamie Foxx, and Beyoncé's "Formation".{{Cite web |title=Malik Hassan Sayeed – Cinematographer |url=https://mubi.com/en/cast/malik-hassan-sayeed/films/cinematography |access-date=2025-05-21 |website=mubi.com}} He is set to serve as the cinematographer for Luca Guadagnino's upcoming film After the Hunt.
Education
Sayeed graduated from Howard University in 1990 with a degree in Film Studies.{{cite news|last= Hornaday|first=Ann|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/movies/howard-university-has-become-incubator-for-cinematographers/2013/01/28/39202f00-697f-11e2-ada3-d86a4806d5ee_story.html|title=Howard University has become incubator for cinematographers|date=2013-01-28|newspaper=The Washington Post|access-date=2020-04-23}}{{Cite web |last=Pizzello |first=Stephen |title=Clockers: Between "Rock" and a Hard Place - The American Society of Cinematographers (en-US) |url=https://theasc.com/articles/clockers-lee-sayeed |access-date=2024-03-29 |website=theasc.com}} Notably, he studied under leading member of the L.A. Rebellion, Haile Gerima.{{Cite web |title=Belly |url=https://www.academymuseum.org/en/programs/detail/belly |access-date=2024-03-29 |website=Academy Museum of Motion Pictures - Timeline}} He also attended the Maine Photographic Workshops.{{Cite web |title=He Got Game - About The Filmmakers |url=http://www.filmscouts.com/scripts/matinee.cfm?Film=he-got&File=filmmkrs |access-date=2024-04-02 |website=www.filmscouts.com}}
Career
Sayeed was a second unit director of photography on Stanley Kubrick's Eyes Wide Shut and Andrew Niccol's Gattaca and was the cinematographer for Hype Williams' Belly and Spike Lee's The Original Kings of Comedy, Girl 6, He Got Game and Clockers.
Sayeed had served on the electrical crews for Spike Lee's Malcolm X and Crooklyn before Lee promoted him to director of photography for Clockers. Prior to this promotion, Sayeed had worked on music videos with Hype Williams and television commercials with Lee. Three years after Clockers, he served as director of photography for Belly.{{Cite web |last=Van Gelder |first=Lawrence |date= |title='Belly': For Young Blacks, Decency vs. Crime |url=https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/library/film/110498belly-film-review.html |access-date=2024-04-01 |website=archive.nytimes.com}}{{Cite web |last=Burns |first=Sean |date=2023-08-19 |title=The Coolidge celebrates 50 years of hip-hop with a 20-film series |url=https://www.wbur.org/news/2023/08/19/the-coolidge-corner-theatre-50-years-hip-hop-film-series |access-date=2024-04-01 |website=www.wbur.org |language=en}} As of 2023, this was his last dramatic feature to be released. Though Sayeed has continued working in music, notably directing or serving as cinematographer for videos like Lauryn Hill's "Ex-Factor," D'Angelo's "Left & Right," and Beyonce's "Formation" and "Brown Skin Girl."{{Cite news |last=Haithcoat |first=Rebecca |date=25 August 2011 |title=THE TOP FIVE GROWN-N-SEXY NEO SOUL VIDEOS |url=https://www.laweekly.com/the-top-five-grown-n-sexy-neo-soul-videos/ |access-date=29 March 2024 |work=LA Weekly}}{{Cite web |date=2009-07-24 |title=Black Pop Kool-Aid: D'Angelo's "Left & Right" : Soul Summer |url=http://soulsummer.com/ezine/feature-stories/black-pop-kool-aid-dangelos-left-right/ |access-date=2024-04-01 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090724034951/http://soulsummer.com/ezine/feature-stories/black-pop-kool-aid-dangelos-left-right/ |archive-date=2009-07-24 }}{{Cite web |title=Get Ready: Your 2016 VMA Nominations Are Here |url=https://www.mtv.com/news/js9lax/2016-vma-nominations |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221006014719/https://www.mtv.com/news/js9lax/2016-vma-nominations |url-status=dead |archive-date=October 6, 2022 |access-date=2024-04-01 |website=MTV |language=en}}{{Cite web |title=Bradford Young and Arthur Jafa Are Creating Their Own Gravitational Fields |url=https://www.culturedmag.com/article/2023/03/08/arthur-jafa-bradford-young-cinematography |access-date=2024-04-01 |website=www.culturedmag.com |language=en}}{{Cite web |title=The 2021 VMA Nominations Are Here: Justin Bieber, Megan Thee Stallion, And More |url=https://www.mtv.com/news/1yh0ik/vma-nominees-2021-justin-bieber-megan-thee-stallion |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220811221707/https://www.mtv.com/news/1yh0ik/vma-nominees-2021-justin-bieber-megan-thee-stallion |url-status=dead |archive-date=August 11, 2022 |access-date=2024-04-01 |website=MTV |language=en}}
After working with Arthur Jafa (cinematographer for Crooklyn) on Seven Songs for Malcolm X, Sayeed and Jafa started to develop a closer relationship. In 2014, Sayeed along with Jafa and Elissa Blount Moorhead launched TNEG, an independent film studio and production company with the goal of creating a "Black cinema as culturally, socially, and economically central to the 21st century as was Black music to the 20th century."{{Cite web |last=Coutinho |first=Nigel |title=CINEMATOGRAPHERS ARTHUR JAFA & MALIK SAYEED TEAM W/ CURATOR ELISSA BLOUNT-MOORHEAD TO LAUNCH NEW FILM PRODUCTION COMPANY |url=https://blavity.com/entertainment/cinematographers-arthur-jafa-malik-sayeed-team-w-curator-elissa-blount-moorhead-to-launch-new-film-production-company |access-date=2024-03-29 |website=Blavity News & Entertainment |language=en}}{{Cite web |title=United States Artists » Elissa Blount Moorhead, Arthur Jafa, and Malik Sayeed (TNEG) |url=https://www.unitedstatesartists.org/fellow/tneg/ |access-date=2024-03-29 |language=en-US}}
He is currently represented by production company Little Minx.{{Cite news |title=Rhea Scott's new directors strut their stuff |url=http://www.adweek.com/creativity/rhea-scotts-new-directors-strut-their-stuff-16190/ |access-date=2017-03-14 |language=en-US}}
Awards
In 1999, Sayeed was nominated for an Independent Spirit Award: Best Cinematography for Belly (1998){{cite web |title=Awards for Malik Hassan Sayeed |url=https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0768434/awards |access-date=2009-01-17 |publisher=IMdB}} He has won MTV Video Music Awards for "Formation" and "Brown Skin Girl" amongst other music videos.
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{IMDb name|0768434}}
{{Authority control}}
{{MTV Video Music Award for Best Cinematography}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sayeed, Malik}}
Category:African-American film directors
Category:American music video directors
Category:Place of birth missing (living people)
Category:Year of birth missing (living people)
Category:American film producers
Category:African-American film producers
Category:American cinematographers
Category:African-American cinematographers
Category:MTV Video Music Award winners
Category:Howard University alumni
Category:21st-century African-American people
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