Wikipedia

Malik Hassan Sayeed

Malik Hassan Sayeed
Born1969
New York City
Alma materHoward University

Malik Hassan Sayeed is an American cinematographer, producer and director.

He is known for his work on films directed by Spike Lee, as well as 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".[1]

Education

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Sayeed graduated from Howard University in 1990 with a degree in Film Studies.[2][3] Notably, he studied under leading member of the L.A. Rebellion, Haile Gerima.[4] He also attended the Maine Photographic Workshops.[3][5]

Career

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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.[3] Three years after Clockers, he served as director of photography for Belly.[6][7] As of 2023, this was his last dramatic feature to be released.[7] 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."[8][9][10][11][12]

After working with Arthur Jafa (cinematographer for Crooklyn) on Seven Songs for Malcolm X, Sayeed and Jafa started to develop a closer relationship.[3] 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."[13][14]

He is currently represented by production company Little Minx.[15]

Filmography

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Film

Year Title Director Notes
1995 Clockers Spike Lee
1996 Girl 6
1997 Cold Around the Heart John Ridley
1998 The Players Club Ice Cube
He Got Game Spike Lee
Belly Hype Williams
2025 After the Hunt † Luca Guadagnino Post-production
TBA Artificial † Filming

Television

Year Title Director Notes
1995 Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel Spike Lee
Jeff Winn 		Episode "Coach/The Longest Season/The Money Trail"
1998 John Leguizamo: Freak Spike Lee Stand-up comedy
2011 Da Brick TV short

Documentary film

Year Title Director Notes
2000 The Original Kings of Comedy Spike Lee
2001 Life and Debt Stephanie Black With Kyle Kibbe, Richard Lannaman and Alex Nepomniaschy
2014 Dreams Are Colder Than Death Arthur Jafa With Hans Charles and Arthur Jafa
2015 The Reflektor Tapes Kahlil Joseph With Lol Crawley and Autumn Durald Arkapaw
TBA Compton's Finest Cle Sloan

Awards

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In 1999, Sayeed was nominated for an Independent Spirit Award: Best Cinematography for Belly (1998)[16][4] He has won MTV Video Music Awards for "Formation" and "Brown Skin Girl" amongst other music videos.[10][12]

References

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  1. ^ "Malik Hassan Sayeed – Cinematographer". mubi.com. Retrieved 2025-05-21.
  2. ^ Hornaday, Ann (2013-01-28). "Howard University has become incubator for cinematographers". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2020-04-23.
  3. ^ a b c d Pizzello, Stephen. "Clockers: Between "Rock" and a Hard Place - The American Society of Cinematographers (en-US)". theasc.com. Retrieved 2024-03-29.
  4. ^ a b "Belly". Academy Museum of Motion Pictures - Timeline. Retrieved 2024-03-29.
  5. ^ "He Got Game - About The Filmmakers". www.filmscouts.com. Retrieved 2024-04-02.
  6. ^ Van Gelder, Lawrence. "'Belly': For Young Blacks, Decency vs. Crime". archive.nytimes.com. Retrieved 2024-04-01.
  7. ^ a b Burns, Sean (2023-08-19). "The Coolidge celebrates 50 years of hip-hop with a 20-film series". www.wbur.org. Retrieved 2024-04-01.
  8. ^ Haithcoat, Rebecca (25 August 2011). "THE TOP FIVE GROWN-N-SEXY NEO SOUL VIDEOS". LA Weekly. Retrieved 29 March 2024.
  9. ^ "Black Pop Kool-Aid: D'Angelo's "Left & Right" : Soul Summer". 2009-07-24. Archived from the original on 2009-07-24. Retrieved 2024-04-01.
  10. ^ a b "Get Ready: Your 2016 VMA Nominations Are Here". MTV. Archived from the original on October 6, 2022. Retrieved 2024-04-01.
  11. ^ "Bradford Young and Arthur Jafa Are Creating Their Own Gravitational Fields". www.culturedmag.com. Retrieved 2024-04-01.
  12. ^ a b "The 2021 VMA Nominations Are Here: Justin Bieber, Megan Thee Stallion, And More". MTV. Archived from the original on August 11, 2022. Retrieved 2024-04-01.
  13. ^ Coutinho, Nigel. "CINEMATOGRAPHERS ARTHUR JAFA & MALIK SAYEED TEAM W/ CURATOR ELISSA BLOUNT-MOORHEAD TO LAUNCH NEW FILM PRODUCTION COMPANY". Blavity News & Entertainment. Retrieved 2024-03-29.
  14. ^ "United States Artists » Elissa Blount Moorhead, Arthur Jafa, and Malik Sayeed (TNEG)". Retrieved 2024-03-29.[permanent dead link]
  15. ^ "Rhea Scott's new directors strut their stuff". Retrieved 2017-03-14.
  16. ^ "Awards for Malik Hassan Sayeed". IMdB. Retrieved 2009-01-17.
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