Even on a small budget of less than two million dollars, the people involved with making "Moonlight" knew they had something big.
An independent film that used an open casting call to find young actors to portray the leads early in the movie, the crew quickly felt from watching the dailies that they had an exceptionally strong film telling the story of a man dealing with issues from his sexuality, bullying and an abusive, crack-smoking mother in Liberty City.
Following months of awards season buzz and the biggest botched announcement in the history of the Academy Awards, Alex Hibbert and Jaden Piner are back at Norland Middle School with their drama teacher, Tanisha Cidel, who knew the writer of the film and got the boys their auditions before scoring a role herself.
"It was a different feeling," Piner said about returning to class. "Everybody said 'congratulations' and everything and it felt wonderful."
The trio returned to school after a whirlwind trip to the Oscars where, although it didn't seem like it at first, they celebrated being a part of the film named Best Picture of the Year. They discussed what it was like shooting the movie, what the accolades mean for their careers and the local area and what lies ahead:
Coming off the visit to Hollywood, which included walking the red carpet, meeting the boys' favorite actor in Andrew Garfield and winning the biggest prize in American cinema, the boys are back at school, where they both enjoy learning about science in addition to drama class, and are making plans to grow their careers from here while their devoted teacher works on ways to provide other potential stars with an opportunity.
Hibbert is already signed for the new Showtime series "The Chi" which will require him to move to Chicago from April through July for shooting. Piner, whose mother knew Cidel when both were students at Norland, now has an agent who is fielding offers for future projects but his parents want to keep him local, grounded and in school. The boys are thrilled to be in an Oscar-winning film, especially one featuring their hometown.
"It shows that Liberty City is not really a bad place," said Hibbert. "There's a lot of talent, a lot of beauty in Liberty City, you just have to find that and when you watch 'Moonlight,' you'll find the beauty."
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As for Ms. Cidel, a former classmate of Tarell Alvin McCraney whose never-produced play served as the basis for the film, the drama program director is in the process of setting up Saturday classes for students interested in trying their hand at the stage but are unable to attend Norland during the week.
"If your child has any talent or shows an interest in the arts, take it seriously," Cidel said. "Put them in something that they can learn from. They can train. It teaches them commitment, discipline, so many different things. And then, they can win Oscars."
That program is scheduled to begin in March and students who get their start at Norland may end up with their own trip down the red carpet or up on stage to accept a trophy someday.