Moonlight

COVID-19 Upate

Unfortunately due to COVID-related staff shortages, ACMI has had to reduce the operating hours of our cinemas resulting in the cancellation of a number of cinema sessions. We have cancelled the 19 Jan 7pm Moonlight session. Affected ticketholders will be contacted and refunded directly. Please check your email or contact us if you have any questions. We apologise for the inconvenience and hope to see you again soon.

Modern masculinity and black sexuality is examined in Barry Jenkins' melodic Moonlight, an exquisite exploration rarely seen on screen.

In a nutshell, Moonlight (2016) is a coming-of-age drama, but through the film’s structure and skill, it manages to become so much more. We move through three eras of the life of Chiron, played Alex Hibbert, Ashton Sanders and Trevante Rhodes respectively, as he transitions from boy, to teen, and then eventually man. From his mother Paula’s (Naomie Harris) drug addiction to his connection with a school classmate Kevin (Jaden Piner, Jharrel Jerome, André Holland), Chiron evolves and adapts based on the love of those around him – like that of drug dealer Juan (Mahershala Ali) and his girlfriend Teresa (Janelle Monáe) – and the betrayal – his mother and ultimately Kevin. Exquisite cinematography from James Laxton and a moving score from Nicholas Britell help Moonlight linger long after the light fades.

Although not his debut, Moonlight really announced the arrival of writer/director Barry Jenkins as one of the most important new filmmakers to watch. The platform and reception and recognition the film received – including that infamous Best Picture Academy Award win – was just the beginning, with Jenkins capitalising on it in the years since with If Beale Street Could Talk (2018) and The Underground Railroad (2021) expanding the scale and scope of black stories in American film. All of that stems from Moonlight and the pure, unwavering encapsulation of black love, loss and empathy that the creative team are able to weave together in a truly singular tapestry.