Moonlight opened in just four theaters across New York City and Los Angeles on October 21, 2016. The Barry Jenkins-helmed indie film painted a poignant picture of young Black men discovering and accepting their sexuality.
Jenkins, who adapted Tarell Alvin McCraney’s play, In Moonlight Black Boys Look Blue, was drawn to the story because it resembled his own upbringing: a connection to Miami’s Liberty City and growing up with mothers who struggled with addiction. He overlapped their life’s cross connections while keeping McCraney’s queer perspective at the story’s forefront.
Three actors played the film’s protagonist, Chiron: Alex Hibbert, Ashton Sanders and Trevante Rhodes, portraying him as a child, a teen and an adult. To make each feel like they were starring in their own mini-movie of Chiron’s life, the actors didn’t meet until after they had filmed their scenes. Mahershala Ali also starred in the film, playing Juan, a local drug dealer who becomes an unlikely father figure to a young Chiron. He won his first Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his portrayal.
Moonlight won Best Picture at the Academy Awards in 2017, but a major snafu overshadowed the moment: La La Land was mistakenly announced as the year’s winner. By the time the mix-up was realized and corrected, Jenkins and the film’s cast and creatives didn’t have time to get up on stage to give the speech they so rightfully deserved.
A year later, as a keynote speaker at the 2018 South by Southwest conference, Jenkins spoke about the movie and his acceptance speech, sharing stories from his upbringing that helped shape him into a filmmaker, according to Deadline. He thanked McCraney for allowing him to adapt the story into film and stated:
“Tarell and I are Chiron. We are that boy. And when you watch Moonlight, you don’t assume a boy who grew up how and where we did would grow up and make a piece of art that wins an Academy Award — certainly don’t think he would grow up to win Best Picture. I’ve said that a lot and what I’ve had to admit is that I placed those limitations on myself. I denied myself that dream — not you, not anyone else — me. And so, to anyone watching this who sees themselves in us, let this be a symbol, a reflection that leads you to love yourself. Because doing so may be the difference between dreaming at all and somehow, through the Academy’s grace, realizing dreams you never allowed yourself to have.”
Moonlight continues to have a profound effect on audiences. EBONY contributor Cordell Jones wrote in a piece that “Watching something that took place right outside my hometown neighborhood, which humanly depicted people like me dealing with feelings I’d been battling for the first time, was life-changing. Beyond seeing myself through the film, I saw a truth I wanted to live in.”
To celebrate Moonlight’s tenth anniversary, production company A24 rolled out a limited re-release earlier this month, along with an exclusive 17-minute post-screening conversation with Jenkins, Ali and the film’s composer, Nicholas Britell. In it, Jenkins emphasized that bringing the film back to cinemas gives young people a chance to identify with, or be moved by, Chiron’s character in ways they might not even realize they need. He noted that the Oscar mix-up will always be “a unique spot in global memory.”
Moonlight is available to watch on Netflix and Apple TV, and can be purchased on Google Play.