Naomie Harris, André Holland, Mahershala Ali, and Janelle Monáe Cast In Barry Jenkins’ MoonlightPosted by Wilson Morales
October 21, 2015
Naomie Harri, André Holland and Mahershala Ali and Grammy-nominated singer and songwriter Janelle Monáe have been cast in Barry Jenkins’ Moonlight, which has begun production.
Written and directed by Jenkins, and based on the play “In Moonlight Black Boys Look Blue” by MacArthur Fellow Tarell McCraney, Moonlight tells the story of Chiron, a young man who comes of age during “War on Drugs” era Miami. Structured in three different time periods – the most pivotal moments of Chiron’s fraught quarter-life, battling a deteriorating home life and his dawning sexuality – the film aims for a radical depiction of modern masculinity.
Moonlight is shooting in Miami, Florida, the city in which the story takes place. A24 has partnered with Brad Pitt’s Plan B and Adele Romanski to produce the film. A24 is fully financing and owns worldwide rights. The company is planning a fall 2016 theatrical release.
Also added in the film are Ashton Sanders, Trevante Rhodes, Jharrel Jerome, Alex R. Hibbert and Jaden Piner, with the latter two cast after the filmmakers did an extensive open casting call in local schools and colleges in the Miami area.
For Monáe, it will be her big screen debut. She is repped by WME and Paradigm. Harris is repped by WME, Untitled Entertainment and Ziffren Bittenham. Ali is repped by WME, Anonymous Content and Sloane & Offer. Holland is repped by CAA and Brookside Artist Management.
Jenkins’ previous film was the critically acclaimed Medicine for Melancholy.
