Barry Jenkins reflects on the Moonlight Best Picture mix-up

Director Barry Jenkins has reflected on the emotional impact of the 2017 Academy Awards Best Picture mix-up, revealing that the incident led him to seek therapy. The error occurred when presenters Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway mistakenly announced “La La Land” as the winner before the error was corrected to reveal “Moonlight” as the actual recipient.

Jenkins described the experience as “traumatic,” noting that the psychological effects did not fully manifest until he watched the following year’s ceremony.

In light of the film’s 10-year anniversary, A24 is releasing a 4K restoration of “Moonlight” in theaters on October 2. Jenkins, who has long been involved with the Telluride Film Festival, is also preparing for upcoming projects, including an A24 biopic about Ronnie Spector titled “Be My Baby” starring Zendaya.