Page 30 - ARUBA TODAY

A30 PEOPLE & ARTS
Tuesday 7 February 2017
Jenkins & Chazelle: The young

directors at center of Oscars

have expressed mutual “They’ve watched a lot
respect and admiration of movies, they grew up
This Jan. 14, 2017 file photo for each other. If they are immersed in movies, and
shows Barry Jenkins at the Academy Awards rivals, it shows. You can see the
42nd Annual Los Angeles Film they don’t act like it. classic musicals — and not
Critics Association Awards in “It’s nice to have some- just Hollywood musicals but
Los Angeles.
Associated Press body who’s sort of on your French musicals and films
side of the age bracket to from all over the world — in
look across the room and ‘La La Land.’ And you can
be like, ‘This is crazy, right?’” see in ‘Moonlight’ the influ-
says Jenkins. “Yeah, this is ence, which Barry’s talked
crazy.” about, of Claire Denis, of
They’ve crossed paths be- Hou Hsiao-hsien, of Wong
fore. Both released their first Kar-wai, of a lot of Europe-
films — “Medicine for Mel- an and Asian cinema.”
ancholy” for Jenkins and Both Chazelle and Jenkins
“Guy and Madeline on a are now in that enviable
Park Bench” for Chazelle — position of being able to
around the same time: late get just about anything
2008, early 2009. Jenkins’ they want made. But it’s
initial plans for his sopho- less clear what kind of path
more film stalled. Chazelle, Hollywood has to offer ei-
who wanted “La La Land” ther.
to be his second film, was The last time a number of
forced to pivot instead nascent filmmakers with
This Dec. 6, 2016 file photo with “Whiplash,” which be- such self-evident talent
shows director Damien Cha- came his Oscar-nominated were breaking through —
zelle at the premiere of “La La breakthrough. the likes of Paul Thomas
Land” in Los Angeles. “I’ve admired Barry Jen- Anderson, Wes Anderson,
Associated Press kins from afar since ‘Medi- Sofia Coppola — the in-
cine for Melancholy,’” says dependent film world was
JAKE COYLE Chazelle. “I definitely feel booming. But the land-
AP Film Writer the future of cinema is in scape Jenkins and Cha-
NEW YORK (AP) — At the good hands with him. I just zelle find themselves in is far
forefront of this year’s think he’s one of the finest less hospitable to emerging
Oscar race are two film- filmmakers on the planet.” auteurs.
makers in their 30s with They are very different film- In a Hollywood where
seemingly limitless careers makers. Jenkins, whose film blockbusters are the de
ahead of them: Damien bears echoes of his Miami facto business, landing a
Chazelle, the 32-year-old upbringing, has a rare gift franchise has been the
wunderkind behind “La La for lyricism and startling trajectory of many young
Land” and Barry Jenkins, intimacy. Chazelle, the directors, from Colin Trev-
the 37-year-old writer-di- Harvard-educated son orrow (“Jurassic World”) to
rector of “Moonlight.” The of college professors and Ryan Coogler (“Creed”).
combined nominations a former jazz drummer, Meanwhile, others like
of their films amount to 22 makes movies with a bright Lena Dunham and Steven
even while their ages add musicality that cloaks dark- Soderbergh have gravi-
up to less than that of Mar- er questions of art and am- tated toward television for
tin Scorsese or Steven Spiel- bition.Yet both are clearly greater artist freedom.
berg. It’s rare for young auteur filmmakers express- But “La La Land” and
directors to rise to such ing a personal vision with “Moonlight” are both, in
heights. If Chazelle, the fa- a deep awareness of their their own way, big-screen
vorite, were to win best di- place in cinema history. arguments for the power
rector, he’d be the young- (Just watch Jenkins’ re- of movies, whether to enter-
est winner ever. Should cent kid-in-a-candy-store tain or to create empathy.
Jenkins pull it off, he’d be moment at the Criterion Unlike previous generations
the youngest since Sam Collection offices.) Cam- of filmmakers, Jenkins and
Mendes won in 2000 for eron Bailey, artistic direc- Chazelle became directors
“American Beauty,” and, tor of the Toronto Interna- at a time when the cultural
more significantly, he’d tional Film Festival, has pro- sway of the big screen was
be the first African-Amer- grammed both of Jenkins’ waning. Their movies are
ican filmmaker to win the films and two of Chazelle’s. each a kind of a response
award. History seems sure That each has chan- to those who would sound
to be made, one way or neled movie history while the death knell for film.
the other. finding their own voice, he “It’s not obvious why a lush,
On an awards circuit that says, is proof of a “healthy romantic musical — some-
has brought them together future ahead for movies.” thing intimate and beauti-
repeatedly, Chazelle and “The thing I find most heart- ful and fragile — should be
Jenkins (whose screen- ening is that they’re both such a blockbuster, except
plays are also nominated) cinephiles,” says Bailey. that it is. q