Barry Jenkins, director of ‘Mufasa’ and ‘The Fire Inside’, takes on double duty at the box office.

Barry Jenkins, the Oscar-winning filmmaker, kicked off the new year with two films in the top 10 at the box office – “Mufasa: The Lion King” and “The Fire Inside”. While on the surface the two films seem different, Jenkins was drawn to the themes of self-actualization and community that are present in both. “The Fire Inside” is a biopic about Claressa “T-Rex” Shields, the first American woman to earn a gold medal in boxing, while “Mufasa” is a big-budget Disney release with a huge cultural imprint. Jenkins was attracted to the character of Mufasa in particular, as he saw parallels with the journey to self-discovery and growth that he explores in his own work. He decontextualized the character to show that he, like Shields or the character in “Moonlight”, came from a different place and learned from his community to become the leader he is known as. Jenkins aims to broaden the scope of stories told in Hollywood and bring more diverse perspectives to the forefront. His themes of self-realization and found family are evident in his work, even in a global blockbuster like “Mufasa”. As Jenkins continues to grow as a filmmaker, he remains focused on telling stories that resonate with audiences on a personal level.

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