Barry Jenkins’ Oscar-winning coming-of-age drama Moonlight turns 10 this week. The 2016 American drama, written and directed by Jenkins, is based on Tarell Alvin McCraney’s unpublished semi-autobiographical play In Moonlight Black Boys Look Blue, and it presents three stages in the life of its main character. To mark the milestone, here are eight things about how the film came together.
The play was shelved for about a decade
In 2003, Tarell Alvin McCraney wrote the semi-autobiographical play In Moonlight Black Boys Look Blue to cope with his mother’s death from AIDS. The theatre piece was shelved for about a decade before it served as the basis for Moonlight.
Jenkins wrote the first draft in Brussels
After the release of his debut feature Medicine for Melancholy in 2008, Barry Jenkins wrote various screenplays, none of which entered production. In January 2013, producer Adele Romanski urged Jenkins to make a second film. The two brainstormed a few times a month through video-chat, aiming for a low-budget “cinematic and personal” film. Jenkins was introduced to McCraney’s play through the Borscht arts collective in Miami, and he wrote the first draft in a month-long visit to Brussels.
A24’s first production
Jenkins looked for financing during 2013 and found success after showing the script to executives of Plan B Entertainment at that year’s Telluride Film Festival. Dede Gardner and Jeremy Kleiner of Plan B Entertainment became producers, while A24 undertook to finance the film and handle worldwide distribution. That marked the company’s first production.
Adult Chiron first auditioned for Kevin
Different actors portrayed Chiron and Kevin in each chapter of the film. Trevante Rhodes originally auditioned for the role of Kevin before he was cast as adult Chiron. André Holland had read In Moonlight Black Boys Look Blue a decade before the film’s release and later said the script was “the best thing I’ve ever read.”
Naomie Harris shot her scenes in three days
Naomie Harris was initially reluctant to portray Paula, stating that she did not want to play a stereotypical depiction of a black woman. Jenkins emphasized the character’s representation of both his and McCraney’s mothers, and Harris later took the role. In preparation, she watched interviews of those with addiction to crack cocaine and met with addicted women. She shot all of her scenes in three days without rehearsals.
Mahershala Ali drew on his own Juan
Producer Adele Romanski proposed Mahershala Ali for Juan. Jenkins was hesitant because of Ali’s role as Remy Danton in House of Cards, but was convinced after witnessing Ali’s acting range and understanding of his character. Ali considered the role an important opportunity to portray an African-American male mentor and drew on his experiences of “growing up with a Juan.” Janelle Monáe connected to the role of Teresa because she too had family members with similar struggles relating to drugs and sexual identity.
Liberty Square was chosen for authenticity
Filming began on October 14, 2015, in Miami, Florida. Despite Florida’s not having tax incentives for film productions, the team was able to shoot in Florida with support from its financiers. Had the production relocated to a different state with legislative incentives, the budget might have provided up to 30% more resources. The decision to film in Florida was made to maintain authenticity as a Florida based story. Liberty Square was chosen as one of the primary locations because both McCraney and Jenkins grew up in the area.
Naomie Harris later reflected: “It was the first time someone had come to their community and wanted to represent it onscreen, and since Barry Jenkins had grown up in that area, there was this sense of pride and this desire to support him.”
The three Chirons never met until after filming
During filming, Jenkins made sure that the three actors for Chiron did not meet each other until after filming to avoid any imitations of one another. Consequently, Trevante Rhodes, Ashton Sanders, and Alex Hibbert filmed in separate two-week periods. The film was shot in twenty-five days. Jenkins worked with cinematographer James Laxton, and the two chose to avoid the “documentary look,” shooting on an Arri Alexa digital camera with widescreen CinemaScope to better render skin tone. Colorist Alex Bickel helped create a grade that increased contrast and saturation while preserving detail and color.
Which of these Moonlight details is your favourite? Tell us what you would add.
Facts from Wikipedia: Moonlight (2016 film), available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Film images from TMDB. This product uses the TMDB API but is not endorsed or certified by TMDB.