Joi McMillon is an American film editor. In 2003, she graduated from Florida State University College of Motion Picture Arts. McMillon is known for her work on the Academy Award-winning film Moonlight (2016), and If Beale Street Could Talk (2018), both winning several respective accolades.

Editor, Joi McMillon

Career

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McMillon initially planned to be a journalist, but a high school field trip to Universal Studios introduced her to the craft of editing and inspired her to apply to film school.[1] She attended Florida State University College of Motion Picture Arts, graduating in 2003.[2]

Joi McMillon's first job on an editorial team was as a night assistant editor on The Surreal Life, Season 3 with Flavor Flav and Brigitte Nielsen. Her first time cutting footage together was a teaser for Beauty and the Geek.

 
McMillon and director Barry Jenkins, with whom she worked on Moonlight, If Beale Street Could Talk, and The Underground Railroad

In 2017, she was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Film Editing (shared with Nat Sanders) at the 89th Academy Awards. McMillon is the first black woman to be nominated for an Oscar for film editing.[3][4][5] Barry Jenkins said of her nomination in 2017: "I respect her work. It makes me very proud of the work she did to see that I'm not the only one. Clearly all these folks in the academy respected the work she did as well."[6] McMillon also won (with Nat Sanders) Best Film Editing for her work on Moonlight at the 2017 Spirit Awards.[7]

Since then, she has edited numerous films and a television series. In 2018, she collaborated with Nat Sanders again on the editing of If Beale Street Could Talk. In 2020, McMillon cut together Zola with filmmaker Janicza Bravo. Zola went on to win 2022 Winner Independent Spirit Award for Best Editing. In 2021, Joi led the editorial department on The Underground Railroad, a short series adapted from Colson Whitehead's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel for Amazon Studios.

Filmography

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Editor

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Editorial department

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Other credits

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  • Little Brown Boy (2003) (Short)
  • My Josephine (2003) (Short)
  • Straw Hat (2004) (Producer, Assistant Director)
  • Medicine for Melancholy (2008) (special thanks)
  • Sausage Party (2016) (special thanks)

Accolades

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Year Award Category Nominated work Recipients Result
2016 Academy Awards Best Film Editing Moonlight Joi McMillon
(shared with Nat Sanders)
Nominated
Alliance of Women Film Journalists Best Editing Nominated
American Cinema Editors Awards Best Edited Feature Film - Dramatic Nominated
Critics' Choice Awards Best Editing Nominated
Central Ohio Film Critics Association Best Film Editing 2nd Placed
Chicago Film Critics Association Awards Best Editing Nominated
Independent Spirit Awards Best Editing Won
Indiewire Critics' Poll Best Film Editing Won
London Critics Circle Film Awards Technical Achievement of the Year Nominated
Online Film Critics Society Awards Best Editing Nominated
Phoenix Film Critics Society Awards Best Film Editing Nominated
San Francisco Film Critics Circle Best Film Editing Nominated
Satellite Awards Best Editing Nominated
Seattle Film Critics Awards Best Film Editing Nominated
St. Louis Film Critics Association Best Editing Nominated
Washington DC Area Film Critics Association Awards Best Editing Nominated

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "The Lenny Interview: Joi McMillon". Lenny Letter. 2017-02-24. Archived from the original on 2017-03-13. Retrieved 2017-03-12.
  2. ^ "FSU alumni make history with 8 Oscar nominations for 'Moonlight' - Florida State University News". Florida State University News. 2017-01-24. Retrieved 2017-03-12.
  3. ^ Giardina, Carolyn (January 24, 2017). "Oscars: 'Moonlight' Editing Nomination Marks a First". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved January 24, 2017.
  4. ^ Aguirre, Abby. "Moonlight's Cinematographer on Filming the Most Exquisite Movie of the Year". Vogue. Retrieved January 7, 2017.
  5. ^ Williams, Brennan (January 27, 2017). "Meet Joi McMillon, The First Black Female Oscar Nominee For Film Editing". The Huffington Post.
  6. ^ Anderson, Tre'vell (23 February 2017). "Meet 'Moonlight's' Joi McMillon, the first black woman editor to receive an Oscar nomination". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2017-02-24.
  7. ^ Sisavat, Monica. "Moonlight Editor Joi McMillon Just Made History at the Spirit Awards". POPSUGAR Celebrity. Retrieved 2017-02-27.


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