Age: 46
male
Barry Jenkins (born November 19, 1979) is an American filmmaker. After making his filmmaking debut with the short film My Josephine (2003), he directed his first feature film, Medicine for Melancholy (2008), for which he received an Independent Spirit Award nomination for Best First Feature. He is also a creative collaborator and a member of The Chopstars collective. Following an eight-year hiatus from feature filmmaking, Jenkins directed and co-wrote the LGBTQ-themed independent drama Moonlight (2016), which won numerous accolades, including the Academy Award for Best Picture. Jenkins received an Oscar nomination for Best Director and jointly won the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay with Tarell Alvin McCraney. He became the fourth Black person nominated for Best Director and the second to direct a Best Picture winner. He released his third directorial feature If Beale Street Could Talk 2018, to critical praise and earned nominations for his screenplay at the Academy Awards and Golden Globes. He is also known for his work in television. In 2017, Jenkins directed "Chapter V" of the Netflix series Dear White People. In 2021, he created and directed the Amazon Video limited series The Underground Railroad, based on the novel of the same name. The series received a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Directing for a Limited Series or Movie nomination and won a Peabody Award. In 2017, Jenkins was included on the annual Time 100 list of the most influential people in the world. Description above from the Wikipedia article Barry Jenkins, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Set against the electric nightlife of early 1900s St. Louis, Ragtime Ghosts dives into the short but influential life of Louis Chauvin, a young prodigy who became one of ragtime’s most talented — yet forgotten — voices. As a mixed-race pianist navigating the racially charged clubs of St. Louis, Chauvin faced discrimination, poverty, and health challenges that threatened to silence his brilliance. His natural genius and effortless improvisation would earn him the admiration of peers and audiences alike, yet fame and fortune eluded him. The film opens with Chauvin at his peak, captivating audiences with melodies that float through the streets, even as he grapples with worsening health and the unforgiving constraints of his era. Through powerful performances, viewers experience the allure of ragtime music in its earliest, most passionate form. The story is laced with iconic figures like Scott Joplin, who recognizes Chauvin's gift and fights to preserve his legacy even after Chauvin's untimely death at just 27.
