Whenever I tell people I'm from Miami, they always ask me about the beach. But I can count on one hand the times I went there as a kid.

I can count my friends on one hand.

I can count on one hand how many people I trust.

I just came back from my hometown, making a movie about a kid who grew up just like me, and it was financed by white people in New York. Personally, I can't be angry. In my personal experience, the support was there.

There were times when we didn't have hot water or a phone line. But I guarantee you, we always had cable, and it was always on.

'Moonlight' is a story that hasn't been told. Whether placed as queer black cinema or urban male cinema, the lack of coming-of-age films featuring people like Chiron and set in places like inner-city Miami is pronounced and unfortunate.