Moonlight (2016 film)

Moonlight
A multicolored monochrome close image of Chiron (Portrayed by Alex Hibbert, Ashton Sanders, and Trevante Rhodes), in three different stages of his life, as a child, teenager, and young adult. Accolades and excerpts of text from film reviews can be seen in the poster. The film's tagline reads "This is the story of a lifetime".
Theatrical release poster
Directed byBarry Jenkins
Screenplay byBarry Jenkins
Story byTarell Alvin McCraney
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyJames Laxton
Edited by
Music byNicholas Britell
Production
companies
Distributed byA24
Release dates
  • September 2, 2016 (2016-09-02) (Telluride)
  • October 21, 2016 (2016-10-21) (United States)
Running time
111 minutes[1]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$1.5 million[2][3]
Box office$65.2 million[3]

Moonlight is a 2016 American coming-of-age drama film written and directed by Barry Jenkins, based on Tarell Alvin McCraney's unpublished semi-autobiographical play In Moonlight Black Boys Look Blue. It stars Trevante Rhodes, Mahershala Ali, Naomie Harris, Ashton Sanders, Jharrel Jerome, Janelle Monáe, and André Holland.

The film presents three stages in the life of the main character: his childhood, adolescence, and early adult life. It explores the difficulties he faces with his sexuality and identity, including the physical and emotional abuse he endures growing up.[4] Filmed in Miami, Florida, beginning in 2015, Moonlight premiered at the Telluride Film Festival on September 2, 2016. It was released in the United States on October 21, 2016, by A24, receiving critical acclaim with praise towards its editing, cinematography, score, Jenkins' direction and screenplay, and handling of the themes of sexuality and masculinity. The performances of Harris and Ali also received widespread acclaim. It grossed over $65 million worldwide.

Moonlight has been cited as one of the best films of the 21st century and of all time.[5][6][7][8][9] The film won the Academy Award for Best Picture, along with Best Supporting Actor for Ali and Best Adapted Screenplay for Jenkins and McCraney from a total of eight nominations, at the 89th Academy Awards. It was released as the first LGBTQ-themed mass-marketed feature film with an all-black cast and was, at the time of its release, the second-lowest-grossing film domestically (behind The Hurt Locker) to win the Oscar for Best Picture.[10][11][12] Joi McMillon became the first black woman to be nominated for an editing Oscar, and Mahershala Ali became the first Muslim to win an acting Oscar.[13][14]

  1. ^ "Moonlight". British Board of Film Classification. Retrieved January 20, 2017.
  2. ^ @BarryJenkins (February 28, 2018). "Yes fellas by why on earth is the budget of Moonlight quoted as 4 million dollars here? I point it out because it would be a disservice to our hard working crew if that were the budget of the film. The budget was roughly 1.2 million and rose to 1.5 through post" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  3. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference BOM was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Lee, Benjamin (September 3, 2016). "Moonlight review – devastating drama is vital portrait of black gay masculinity in America". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved February 28, 2017.
  5. ^ Dargis, Manohla; Scott, A. O. (June 9, 2017). "The 25 Best Films of the 21st Century ... So Far". The New York Times. Retrieved July 8, 2017.
  6. ^ "The 100 best films of the 21st century". The Guardian. September 13, 2019. Retrieved November 12, 2019.
  7. ^ "The 100 Best Movies of the 2010s". IndieWire. July 22, 2019. Retrieved November 12, 2019.
  8. ^ "The Best Films of the 2010s". Rogerebert.com. November 4, 2019. Retrieved November 12, 2019.
  9. ^ Murrian, Samuel P. (October 6, 2023). "We Ranked the 100 Best Movies of All Time!". Parade.
  10. ^ France, Lisa Respers (February 28, 2017). "Oscar mistake overshadows historic moment for 'Moonlight'". CNN. Retrieved March 1, 2017.
  11. ^ Rose, Steve (February 27, 2017). "Don't let that Oscars blunder overshadow Moonlight's monumental achievement". The Guardian. Retrieved February 27, 2017.
  12. ^ Lincoln, Kevin. "Don't Let the Best Picture Debacle Overshadow Moonlight's Great Win". Vulture. Retrieved February 28, 2017.
  13. ^ Zak, Dan (February 26, 2017). "Joi McMillon, the first African American woman to be nominated for best editing". The Washington Post. Retrieved March 1, 2017.
  14. ^ Yan, Holly (February 27, 2017). "Mahershala Ali becomes first Muslim actor to win an Oscar". CNN. Retrieved March 1, 2017.