Moonlight, taking place on the streets of a 1980s impoverished Liberty City neighborhood in Miami, FL, is the first project for Hibbert, who plays 10-year-old Chiron in the film. “He’s not an understood boy,” comments Hibbert in an interview with NPR.org. “He’s been bullied a lot, abused. And he’s trying to find his way. And he’s judged a lot about his sexuality and who he likes and what he likes.”
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Hibbert himself grew up in Miami in a neighborhood “not as bad a Liberty City was, but it’s like, bad-ish,” he commented in the same interview, agreeing that the portrayal of the complex relationships formed in neighborhoods such as Liberty City is spot-on in the film. “In my community, there’s people there that care for you, even though they do bad stuff, like, they sell drugs and stuff. But, inside they care and they have a heart.”
After already winning a host of awards this season, what if Hibbert’s first film takes home the big prize? We will definitely tune in tomorrow to hear if Moonlight made it on the 89th Oscars Nominations list. But, in the meantime, check out below what Hibbert had to say in his own words about seeing himself on the big screen!
