13: Melinda James on Viewfinding and "Oklahoma is Black"

Melinda James is an Black and Thai cinematographer. Her work encompasses documentaries, narratives, installations, commercials, and music videos. Centering her work on women, QTBIPOC, and underrepresented communities- Melinda recently DP’ed and co-directed, “Oklahoma is Black,” a poetic portrait of Black life in Oklahoma City which was nominated for Best Documentary Short at BlackStar and DC Black film festivals. Melinda was included on a list of “Mind Blowing Cinematographers” by Emmy Rossum & Free The Work and is a member of the International Collective of Female Cinematographers. In this episode, Melinda and Nadine chat about her journey to the filmmaking world through her education in sociology and about the differences between big commercial jobs, music videos, and video installations. We talk about safeguarding energy, in times like these but always, and about her creating of a time capsule. In connection to her work in “Oklahoma is Black,” they talk about the importance of footage and archives on who lived and how.

This episode refers to the works of David Attenborough and Clarice Lispector.

Melinda James is a Thai and Black cinematographer from California, USA. You can check out her work on her website: www.melindajamesdp.com

Nadine Reumer is a Dutch actress and podcaster based between Amsterdam and New York City. For further information on her work & to get in contact, visit her website: www.nadinereumer.com

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