Quintessential Directors: Barry Jenkins
A brief look at two Barry Jenkins films that have established him as one of the greatest filmmakers of our time.

Longhorns is cine-dance with a surrealist tang. There are no human figures in this early short from Hilary Harris, only a pair of Texas longhorns turning endless spirals in the tall reeds of a New York inlet. The strangeness of this scene abstracts the horns’ mesmerizing rotation, the better for Harris to explore the choreographic possibilities of cutting and framing (Cyril Jackson’s propulsive drum score provides the beat). Harris was a lifelong sculptor in addition to being a pioneering experimental filmmaker, and in Longhorns we see him reveling in the interplay between the two mediums. Though somewhat shaggier than his later motion studies (such as 9 Variations on a Dance Theme), Longhorns remains a tactile treat. The majestic images of clouds, in particular, evince his special ability to transform the mundane into something revelatory. —Max Goldberg, fandor.com
A brief look at two Barry Jenkins films that have established him as one of the greatest filmmakers of our time.
Canvas illustrates the story of a grandfather who, after suffering the loss of his beloved, struggles to reclaim his love for painting.
Hokum is an enjoyable horror film that will probably get a little under your skin, but it isn’t the tour de force that you might be expecting.
If you want to feel the rush, you have to take the risk.
The power to function. As people, we are richly blessed to have the wide ranging scope of what we can accomplish…physically and mentally…that aid in everything we desire to strive for and, ideally, accomplish. However, what if someone was experiencing daily life with these elements….only in a more muted manner?