“Provocative subject matter isn’t foreign to [the director of Queen & Slim], who was raised in the Bronx by a Cuban mother and a Jewish Greek father, whom she describes as ‘freedom fighters.’ She’s the visionary behind a number of cultural touchstones from the past decade … [and in] an industry that lacks opportunities for female directors, Matsoukas is one of the few with a major-studio release this year. Perhaps most notable is her talent for capturing the inextricable beauty and brutality of life for black Americans, and the necessity of exuberance in the face of hardship.” – The Atlantic