Barry Jenkins was a new name to most BAFTA members. His film Moonlight was enough to leave them stunned, but in the QnA after, I focused on his vision, his intimacy with the story (and personal connections to it), his obsession with the music and his working methods. I think Barry won a lot of admirers and votes that day and BAFTA met a new star of cinema. They also got insights from a favourite in Naomie Harris, who was able to show a new side to her talents and deliver strong political messages about diversity, showing her lethal combination of intelligence, talent and natural beauty. Moonlight is such a delicate film, it required gentle appreciation and admiration for its skill and its poetic power certainly grew during that QnA . I know several audience members who confessed to me they went away and voted for it on the strength of that session.
BAFTA QnA for Moonlight, with director Barry Jenkins and actor Naomie Harris, at Soho Hotel
