Barry Jenkins

Filmmaker Barry Jenkins explored issues of race, culture and sexuality in well-regarded independent drama "Medicine for Melancholy" (2008) and critical hit "Moonlight" (2016). Born November 19, 1979 in Miami, Florida, he was raised, along with his three brothers, in the Liberty Square neighborhood of Liberty City. His childhood was marked by turmoil: his father died shortly before separating from his mother and declaring that Jenkins was not his biological son, while his mother struggled with drug addiction and left him to be raised by another woman.

Jenkins survived his tumultuous upbringing, and excelled at football at Miami Northwestern Senior High School. From there, he attended Florida State University, where on a whim, he signed up for the school's film program. There, he met and befriended fellow students Adele Romanski and James Laxton, who would later serve as producer and cinematographer, respectively, on "Moonlight." After directing several short films at Florida State, Jenkins directed his first feature, the independent romantic drama "Medicine for Melancholy" (2008). The film received excellent reviews and numerous nominations from national film festivals and awards, but was followed by a five-year period in which he developed several feature projects that never came to fruition.

To support himself, Jenkins co-founded an advertising and content studio and wrote for drama series "The Leftovers" (HBO 2015- ). He eventually found his next project with "In Moonlight Black Boys Look Blue," a play by Tarell Alvin McCraney, a fellow Liberty City resident who had attended elementary and middle school with Jenkins, though the pair never knew each other. In 2013, he began production on a film version, "Moonlight," a multi-part drama that follows a young African-American boy through three phases of his life, during which he explores issues of family, addiction and sexuality.

The drama was among the most critically praised releases of 2016, netting numerous award nominations, including Golden Globe nods for Best Drama and Director. In a surprise upset over musical romance "La La Land" (which was mistakenly announced as the winner during the ceremony), "Moonlight" won the Oscar for Best Picture; Jenkins shared the Best Adapted Screenplay award with McCraney.