Directors

Barry Jenkins

Barry Jenkins is an American film director, producer, and screenwriter based in Los Angeles. He was born in Liberty City, Miami, the youngest of four siblings. His father died when he was 12, and had earlier separated from his mother, believing that Jenkins was not his biological son. During his childhood, Jenkins was raised by another woman in an overcrowded apartment. He attended Miami Northwestern Senior High School, where he played on the school football team. Jenkins later earned a BFA in film from Florida State University in Tallahassee.


He then went on to direct Medicine for Melancholy not long after in 2008. The film centered Micah and Joanne who have a one night stand, and afterwards get to know each other eventually realizing they are separated by an array of political and philosophical differences. Then they must decide if these factors are more important than their budding relationship. The film went on to receive mild success, however it took Jenkins until 2013 to begin work on his second feature, Moonlight. Moonlight ended up being released in 2016 by A24 and was incredibly successful. The film received universal acclaim and ended up winning the Academy Award for Best Picture, Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, and Best Adapted Screenplay for co writer Tarell Alvin McCraney and Jenkins himself.


Jenkins is currently working on post-production for his third film If Beale Street Could Talk, based on the novel by James Baldwin.