Barry Jenkins

A filmmaker who directed the Academy Award-winning Best Picture Moonlight and created the Peabody Award-nominated series The Underground Railroad.

Barry Jenkins is an American filmmaker born on November 19, 1979. He made his filmmaking debut with the short film My Josephine (2003) and directed his first feature, Medicine for Melancholy (2008), earning an Independent Spirit Award nomination for Best First Feature. He returned to features in 2016 with Moonlight after an eight-year hiatus. He also directs television, including 'Chapter V' of Netflix's Dear White People and created the Amazon Video limited series The Underground Railroad.

Quick Facts

Born

19 November 1979

Birthplace

Miami, Florida, U.S.

Education

Florida State University

Occupation

Film director
screenwriter
producer

Spouse

Lulu Wang (2024)

Years active

2003–present

Lore & Background

Jenkins' work on Moonlight reshaped the cultural conversation around representation. Shot over 25 days in Miami with a low budget, the film officially premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 10, 2016, to substantial acclaim. Jenkins co-wrote the screenplay with Tarell Alvin McCraney, adapting the play In Moonlight Black Boys Look Blue. The project won the Academy Award for Best Picture and Best Adapted Screenplay. Jenkins became the fourth Black person nominated for Best Director and the second Black person to direct a Best Picture winner. In 2022, a poll of critics and academics by Sight and Sound ranked Moonlight as the 60th greatest film of all time. The film was among the most celebrated of 2016, appearing on numerous major top ten lists.

Reader's Guide

Jenkins' career trajectory includes his 2018 feature If Beale Street Could Talk, released to critical praise. The adaptation of James Baldwin's novel was largely faithful but changed aspects like the opening and ending. It garnered screenplay nominations at the Academy Awards and Golden Globes, with Regina King winning Best Supporting Actress at both. In television, Jenkins directed 'Chapter V' of Dear White People in 2017. He later created The Underground Railroad for Amazon Video, based on Colson Whitehead's novel, a project initiated after his Oscar success with Moonlight. The series featured actors Thuso Mbedu and Aaron Pierre and received a Primetime Emmy nomination for Outstanding Directing and a Peabody Award. Jenkins was also included on the Time 100 list in 2017.

Formative Years and Artistic Foundations

Born at Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami, Florida, Jenkins is the youngest of four siblings, each from a different father. His father separated from his mother during her pregnancy and died when Jenkins was 12; Jenkins has stated he does not know who his 'real' father is. Raised primarily by an older woman in an overcrowded apartment in Liberty City while his mother struggled with crack cocaine addiction, he lived without blood relatives nearby despite seeing them in the neighborhood. As a teenager, he attended Miami Northwestern Senior High School, playing football and running track before retreating into an active imagination. He studied film at Florida State University College of Motion Picture Arts, where he met collaborators James Laxton, Adele Romanski, Nat Sanders, and Joi McMillon. Feeling inadequate in technology, he took a year off to develop skills and looked to foreign arthouse directors like Wong Kar-wai, Claire Denis, Hou Hsiao-hsien, and Lynne Ramsay for inspiration. He joined the Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity at FSU, moved to Los Angeles four days after graduating, and worked as a production assistant before becoming disillusioned with Hollywood while working for Harpo Productions.

Early Career Struggles and Breakthroughs

Jenkins' first film was the 2001 short My Josephine, which follows a young Arabic-speaking man's romantic life after September 11. He followed this with Little Brown Boy. His feature Medicine for Melancholy (2008), starring Wyatt Cenac and Tracey Heggins, linked to the mumblecore scene and received festival nominations and limited release in 2009 and 2010. Following this, he wrote scripts for Focus Features and adaptations of If Beale Street Could Talk and a Bill Clegg memoir, worked as a carpenter, co-founded Strike Anywhere advertising company, and directed the sci-fi short Remigration (2011). He served as a writer for HBO's The Leftovers in 2011 and received a United States Artists Fellowship grant in 2012.

Moonlight and Historic Accolades

In 2016, Jenkins directed and co-wrote Moonlight with Tarell Alvin McCraney, adapting the play In Moonlight Black Boys Look Blue. Shot over 25 days in Miami on a low budget, it premiered at the Telluride Film Festival in September 2016. The film won the Academy Award for Best Picture and Best Adapted Screenplay (shared with McCraney), along with the Golden Globe for Best Picture – Drama. Jenkins received an Oscar nomination for Best Director, becoming the fourth Black person nominated for that award and the second Black person to direct a Best Picture winner. In 2022, Sight and Sound ranked it as the 60th greatest film of all time.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who is Barry Jenkins?

He is an American filmmaker and screenwriter born in 1979 who specializes in character-driven dramas. His work often explores themes of identity and community, earning him critical acclaim worldwide.

Did he stop making movies after his first film?

There was an eight-year hiatus between his debut feature and the release of Moonlight in 2016. During this time, he focused on developing future scripts rather than directing other features immediately.

Has Barry Jenkins worked in television?

Yes, he directed an episode of Netflix's Dear White People and created the Amazon Video limited series The Underground Railroad. These projects demonstrate his ability to adapt his storytelling style for episodic formats.