Moonlight and Award Season
The Academy Awards are approaching – and Florida should be taking notice.
Moonlight is a front runner for several Oscars, coming in with 8 nominations – but it has already been 
nominated for 250 some odd prestigious film awards, and won 96 including the Robert Altman Award Independent Spirit Award.
This is a Florida film – born and raised: filmed in Miami, written and directed by FSU alum Barry Jenkins.
Beyond being proud of something that is winning critic awards left and right -and maintaining a massive approval rating on sites like Rotten Tomatoes – it is an important moment for us as an art form and industry.
See, film is art. It is also work for many people – and Florida is in a constant battle to maintain a film incentive program. Programs that pave the way for films and TV shows to want to set up shop in the Sunshine state – which gives a major immediate and continual boost to our economy.
When the Truman Show filmed in my sleepy little beach town – we saw the impact. The heads in hotels, the locals hired, and extra tourists curious about the film’s fictional town ‘Seaheaven’.
The entertainment industry is connected to many corners, with fingers that reach out far further than seats in movie theaters. Films like Moonlight, and the accolades it is earning, give me hope that Florida can continue to grow as an entertainment hub.
Here’s to Moonlight – may the Oscars shine on you and Florida.
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