Moonlight

Followed by a talk with Josephine Apraku and Kristin Lein

Moonlight tells the story of Chiron, a boy growing up in Miami with his addicted mother, in three acts – childhood, adolescence and adulthood. In an environment marked by poverty and violence, he searches for belonging and space for his vulnerability. In Juan, a drug dealer, he unexpectedly finds security and a different image of masculinity. As a teenager, he experiences reciprocated affection for the first time through his school friend Kevin. Years later, he encounters Kevin again: an encounter that shakes his hard shell. A sensitively told story, characterised by deep emotion, which reveals queer, black realities with great tenderness. 

As Josephine states: “One aspect that particularly impressed me is the visual design: it is the first film to deliberately tailor both the colour grading and camera calibration to the different skin tones of Black people – in a film history that was otherwise geared towards white bodies. In doing so, Moonlight creates a visual practice that puts Black people at the centre in all their beauty and emotionality. Through this visual language, emotionality is conveyed without the need for words – creating an immediate connection to the characters that transcends the realities of life.” (JA)

Josephine Apraku is an African studies scholar, author, podcaster and speaker on intersectional anti-racism education. Josephine's work moves between criticism and utopia – with the aim of making oppression visible and initiating collective change.

Kristin Lein is a cultural scientist and author. She co-founded the online magazine ‘brausemag’, which gave young people insights into music, culture and society. For more than ten years, she has been writing about motherhood, intersectional feminism and music – critically, personally, and with an eye on current debates