Moonlight director Barry Jenkins: Black people don’t have to play slaves to win an Oscar

Modern day identity drama Moonlight could land big awards this year

The Moonlight cast with director Barry Jenkins after winning 'Best Motion Picture - Drama' at this year's Golden Globes (AFP/Getty)

Between the slave narrative of 12 Years a Slave, the servant characters of The Help and the victims of racial profiling in Crash, the Oscars has always tended to honour movies starring black people that focus on their historic subjugation.

Director Barry Jenkins doesn’t think it should be that way though, and his latest film Moonlight, which landed eight Academy Award nominations yesterday, is proof of that, a film about sexuality, identity and regret that just happens to star an all black cast.

“I think the myth that you have to play a slave to win an Academy Award is just that . . . a myth,” he told Page Six ahead of the nominations.

“I don’t even engage in that. I just tried to make the best film that had truthfulness to what I experienced growing up.”

That said, Jenkins did add somewhat ironically: “OK, so this is funny. I am actually working on [adapting] the book ‘The Underground Railroad’ by Colson Whitehead [a story about two slaves who make a bid for freedom from their plantations].

Moonlight is perhaps unlikely to win Best Picture at this year’s Oscars - with La La Land being the frontrunner - but Jenkins could land Best Director and Mahershala Ali is a good bet for Actor in a Supporting Role.

The Oscars will take place at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood on Sunday 26 February, with Jimmy Kimmel hosting.