With eight Oscar nominations to its name, there’s a palpable, and richly deserved buzz surrounding Moonlight, with the vast majority of praise falling into the lap of the man at the helm, Barry Jenkins. We had the pleasure of interviewing André Holland and Trevante Rhodes – who make up the third, and final chapter in this indelible drama – and they had plenty of kind words to say about their experiences shooting with the director.
“He’s a special one man,” Holland said. “He creates this atmosphere on set that is so, so cool, he knows what he wants, he’s very specific, and he knows how he’s gonna get it. But at the same time he gives actors an opportunity to breathe and find their way to it, which is the mark of a real master” Nodding in agreement, Rhodes added, “He’s a real genius, he is Van Gogh”
The pair were a joy to spend time with – and we could listen to Holland’s voice allllllllll day (someone give that man an audiobook gig) – as they discuss how special a project this is, and the importance in giving people a voice in cinema, who may have felt they didn’t have one otherwise. They discuss the pertinency of the release, why the shoot reminded them why they love this craft, and the touching reactions they’ve received from fans. Oh, and Holland tells us what his signature dish is.
Moonlight is released on February 17th, and you can read our 5* review of the film here.
