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.

Four people share the stories of their first sexual experience in this animated short subject from Swedish filmmaker Jonas Odell. Each vignette features a different look and animation style, and the stories cover a time span from the 1920s to the present day. Each narrator recalls their loss of virginity in a different way, ranging from deeply romantic nostalgia to befuddled disappointment to terror in the face of unexpected violence as their stories play out on screen.
A brief look at two Barry Jenkins films that have established him as one of the greatest filmmakers of our time.
When a powerful church leader is found dead, Benoit Blanc enters a tight-knit community where everyone has secrets, but not everyone is fully developed.
Eloquent and informative, Hajera Sheikh’s documentary Kathak: Dancing With Taboos tells a story of love for one’s culture and perseverance through adversity.
In Spike Lee’s She’s Gotta Have It (1986), we follow the love life of powerful female protagonist Nola Darling (Tracy Camilla Johns) and explore the relationship dynamics she has with her partners. She sees three men simultaneously: Greer Childs, (John Canada Terrell) Mars Blackmon (Spike Lee), and Jamie Overstreet (Tommy Redmond Hicks). Though an 80’s film, She’s Gotta Have It is surprisingly progressive with its themes of female sexuality, although at some points in the film it is handled clumsily. Overall Nola is an incredibly compelling character especially for modern women, as we as a society acknowledge female sensuality more and more without the negative stigma.
A wondrously imaginative, diverse, and spirited allegory of childhood and the arduousness of adulthood.
Honey Don't! is a chaotic queer noir that's part detective story, part midnight movie madness. Margaret Qualley is fantastic as the wise-cracking private eye Honey, with Aubrey Plaza and Chris Evans adding their own dry humor to the mix. The mystery itself is pretty loose, but the film makes up for it with crackling sexual tension, weird side characters, and razor-sharp dialogue. It's messy and uneven, but in the best possible way.