ONLINE PROGRAM

Winter Film Series: Medicine for Melancholy  (2008, directed by Barry Jenkins, 88 min.)

Presented by Christopher Llewellyn Reed, chair, Film & Moving Image Department, Stevenson University

With his 2016 Oscar-winning film Moonlight, director Barry Jenkins catapulted into the ranks of top filmmakers, following that masterpiece with the 2018 If Beale Street Could Talk (adapted from the eponymous James Baldwin novel). Long before either work, Jenkins made the low-budget feature Medicine for Melancholy, starring comedian Wyatt Cenac and Tracey Heggins, in 2008 (and eight years would pass before he would direct another full-length movie). The story follows Micah and Jo, who spend the day together after a one-night stand. Beautifully photographed and filled with moments of seemingly effortless mise-en-scène, Medicine for Melancholy not only stands alone as a film of great merit, but also serves as a brilliant showcase for the talent that would finally be recognized, in all its glory, eight years later.

$15 door fee for guests and subscribers (no fee for members)