
Biography
Barry Jenkins (born November 19, 1979) is an American filmmaker. After making his filmmaking debut with the short film My Josephine (2003), he directed his first feature film, Medicine for Melancholy (2008), for which he received an Independent Spirit Award nomination for Best First Feature. He is also a creative collaborator and a member of The Chopstars collective. Following an eight-year hiatus from feature filmmaking, Jenkins directed and co-wrote the LGBTQ-themed independent drama Moonlight (2016), which won numerous accolades, including the Academy Award for Best Picture. Jenkins received an Oscar nomination for Best Director and jointly won the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay with Tarell Alvin McCraney. He became the fourth Black person nominated for Best Director and the second to direct a Best Picture winner. He released his third directorial feature If Beale Street Could Talk 2018, to critical praise and earned nominations for his screenplay at the Academy Awards and Golden Globes. He is also known for his work in television. In 2017, Jenkins directed "Chapter V" of the Netflix series Dear White People. In 2021, he created and directed the Amazon Video limited series The Underground Railroad, based on the novel of the same name. The series received a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Directing for a Limited Series or Movie nomination and won a Peabody Award. In 2017, Jenkins was included on the annual Time 100 list of the most influential people in the world. Description above from the Wikipedia article Barry Jenkins, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Awards & recognition
- Academy Award — Best Writing, Adapted Screenplay · 2017
- Time 100 · 2017
- Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association Award — Best Director · 2016
- Academy Award — Best Writing, Adapted Screenplay · 2019 · nominated
- Academy Award — Best Director · 2017 · nominated
Show all 6 awards →
- Academy Award — Best Writing, Adapted Screenplay · 2017 · nominated
Filmography19 titles

Bottomless Brunch at Colman's

Hollywood Black

True Detective

Light & Magic

Charm City Kings

Aftersun

Moonlight

The Fire Inside

Mufasa: The Lion King

The Underground Railroad

Never Rarely Sometimes Always

Sorry, Baby

If Beale Street Could Talk

The Daily Show

Medicine for Melancholy

Dear White People

Preparation for the Next Life

All Dirt Roads Taste of Salt

Sun Don't Shine