Barry Jenkins facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Barry Jenkins
Jenkins in 2017
Born	(1979-11-19) November 19, 1979 (age 45) Miami, Florida, U.S.
Alma mater	Florida State University
Occupation	Film director screenwriter producer
Years active	2003–present
Spouse(s)	Lulu Wang ​ (m. 2024)​

Barry Jenkins (born November 19, 1979) is an American filmmaker. He is known for directing and writing powerful movies and TV shows. His films often explore important themes about life and identity.

He first directed a short film called My Josephine in 2003. Then, he made his first full-length movie, Medicine for Melancholy (2008). This film earned him a nomination for Best First Feature.

After a break from making movies, Jenkins directed and co-wrote Moonlight in 2016. This film won many awards, including the Academy Award for Best Picture. Jenkins was also nominated for Best Director. He won the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay with Tarell Alvin McCraney. He was the second Black person to direct a Best Picture winner.

In 2018, he released his third movie, If Beale Street Could Talk. This film also received great reviews. He earned nominations for his screenplay at the Academy Awards and Golden Globes.

Jenkins has also worked in television. In 2017, he directed an episode of the Netflix series Dear White People. In 2021, he created and directed the Amazon Video series The Underground Railroad. This series won a Peabody Award. In 2017, Time magazine named Jenkins one of the most influential people in the world.

Early Life and Education

Jenkins was born in 1979 in Miami, Florida. He was the youngest of four children. His father passed away when Barry was 12 years old.

He grew up in Liberty City, a neighborhood in Miami. He was mainly raised by an older woman who was not a blood relative. As a teenager, Jenkins lived with friends from Miami Northwestern Senior High School. He played football and ran track there. He was a quiet child and used his imagination a lot. He hoped to study creative writing.

Jenkins studied film at the Florida State University College of Motion Picture Arts (FSU). There, he met many people he would work with later. These included cinematographer James Laxton and producer Adele Romanski. He also met editors Nat Sanders and Joi McMillon. Jenkins felt unsure about his skills at first. He took a year off to improve them. He found inspiration in foreign films and directors like Wong Kar-wai.

After graduating from FSU, Jenkins moved to Los Angeles. He worked on different film projects. He soon realized that Hollywood filmmaking was very different from what he learned in school.

Filmmaking Career

Early Films and Projects

Jenkins at a Q&A for Medicine for Melancholy in 2009

Jenkins' first film was a short called My Josephine (2001). It was about a young Arabic-speaking man after the September 11 attacks. This film showed him that he could succeed in filmmaking. He then made Little Brown Boy, which looked at Black children being tried as adults.

His first feature film was Medicine for Melancholy (2008). It starred Wyatt Cenac and Tracey Heggins. Jenkins wanted to make a low-budget film with African-American characters. The movie was well-received by critics. It traveled to many film festivals.

After Medicine for Melancholy, Jenkins wrote several screenplays. He also worked as a carpenter and helped start an advertising company. In 2011, he wrote and directed a short science fiction film called Remigration. He also worked as a writer for HBO's The Leftovers. In 2012, he received a special grant for artists. During this time, he grew as a person and an artist.

Moonlight (2016)

In 2016, Jenkins directed and co-wrote Moonlight. This was his first feature film in eight years. He wrote it with Tarell Alvin McCraney. The story was based on McCraney's play In Moonlight Black Boys Look Blue. Both writers grew up near each other in Miami, Florida. Jenkins felt a strong connection to the main character, Chiron.

Jenkins wrote the screenplay in just ten days. The movie was filmed in 25 days in Miami. It premiered at the Telluride Film Festival in September 2016. It quickly received many awards and great reviews. Many critics called it one of the best films of 2016.

Moonlight won many awards. These included the Golden Globe Award for Best Picture – Drama and the Academy Award for Best Picture. Jenkins and McCraney also won Best Adapted Screenplay. The film received eight Oscar nominations in total. Its win was seen as a historic moment for the Oscars. In 2022, Sight and Sound magazine ranked Moonlight as the 60th greatest film of all time.

Recent Projects

In 2017, Jenkins directed an episode of the Netflix series Dear White People. He was chosen because of his work on Moonlight.

In 2013, Jenkins wrote a film version of James Baldwin's novel If Beale Street Could Talk. Production for the film began in October 2017. Jenkins worked closely with Baldwin's family. The movie was released in December 2018. It received excellent reviews. It won many awards, including Best Supporting Actress for Regina King. Jenkins was nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay.

Jenkins also directed the 2021 TV series The Underground Railroad. This series was based on Colson Whitehead's novel. It was a very important project for Jenkins. He searched worldwide to find the right actors for the show. The series was highly praised by critics. It was added to the BBC's list of the 21st century's greatest TV shows.

In 2024, he wrote a screenplay for The Fire Inside, a film about boxer Claressa Shields. He also directed Mufasa: The Lion King. This movie is a prequel to Disney's The Lion King. It tells the story of Mufasa growing up.

His production company, Pastel, has a deal with HBO and A24. In 2023, he was the head of the jury for the Platform Prize at the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival.

In 2025, Jenkins is set to direct a science fiction thriller called The Natural Order. He will also direct Zendaya in a movie about singer Ronnie Spector, titled Be My Baby.

Films That Were Not Made

Jenkins has worked on several film projects that were never completed.

• Untitled time travel film: After Medicine for Melancholy, he worked on a big film about Stevie Wonder and time travel. It involved a magical musical instrument. This film was being developed with Focus Features but did not happen.
• ... as a Young Man film: He also wrote a screenplay based on a memoir called Portrait of an Addict as a Young Man.
• The Intuitionist film: Years before The Underground Railroad, Jenkins tried to adapt another novel by Colson Whitehead called The Intuitionist.
• Expatriate film: In 2018, Jenkins was set to direct Chadwick Boseman in a thriller called Expatriate. It was about a plane hijacking in the 1970s. This film was not made before Boseman's passing.
• Alvin Ailey biopic: In 2019, it was announced that Jenkins would direct a movie about Alvin Ailey. Ailey was a very important choreographer. This film is still being developed.
• Virunga film: Jenkins was also going to work with Leonardo DiCaprio and Netflix. He would write a film based on the documentary Virunga. This true story is about park rangers saving endangered gorillas in Virunga National Park.
• The Knick season 3: In 2020, it was confirmed that Jenkins was developing a new season of the TV show The Knick.

Filmmaking Style

Jenkins works very closely with his cinematographer, James Laxton. They share a common way of thinking about how films should look. Jenkins focuses on being very precise and personal in his work. He always thinks about how to make the characters' emotions clear. Actor Aaron Pierre described Jenkins as a great leader who makes everyone feel safe and supported.

Jenkins has said that writer James Baldwin has been a big influence on him. He also credits his partner, filmmaker Lulu Wang, for inspiring him. Jenkins often re-reads the books he adapts into films. This shows he loves books and uses both old and new ideas in his work.

In Moonlight, Jenkins chose bright colors even though the story was serious. He wanted the audience to feel close to the characters. He also used a special film ratio to create a "softness" around them. Each part of the film has unique visuals that help tell the story. Jenkins is very focused on how he can "visually translate" a story. He is also interested in how time passes in his films.

Jenkins sees Moonlight, If Beale Street Could Talk, and The Underground Railroad as a group of three films. They all explore the theme of childhood abandonment, which relates to his own experiences. Moonlight shows his childhood as it was. If Beale Street Could Talk shows the family he sometimes wished for. The Underground Railroad helped him understand his feelings about abandonment. Jenkins tries to understand and connect with the characters in his films. Producer Adele Romanski noted that his first three feature films are all different kinds of love stories.

Exploring Black Identity

In his films, Jenkins often explores what it means to be Black. Moonlight and If Beale Street Could Talk are described as gentle but strong stories about African American lives. Jenkins aims to show his "personal experience, what it feels like to be a young black man in America."

With Moonlight, Jenkins combined common images of Black life with queer identity. He made these connections clearer for Black communities. Moonlight challenges traditional ideas about Black masculinity in Hollywood. It shows a wide range of Black experiences. The Underground Railroad also breaks new ground. Jenkins chose not to show enslaved people as only good. He wanted to change old stereotypes about his ancestors.

After The Underground Railroad was released, one writer said that Jenkins helps Black people see themselves clearly. Jenkins considers his audience when making films. However, he does not want to make choices just to predict how an audience will react.

Personal Life

Jenkins began dating filmmaker Lulu Wang in 2018. They were married in December 2024 in a private ceremony.

Filmography

Film

Television

Images for kids

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  Jenkins at the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival

Accolades

See also

In Spanish: Barry Jenkins para niños