Black Hollywood: Nickel Boys - A Conversation with RaMell Ross

Filmmaker RaMell Ross discusses "Nickel Boys", his 2024 feature film adaptation of Colson Whitehead’s Pulitzer Prize–winning novel. Directed and co-written by Ross, the film follows two Black teenagers—Elwood (Ethan Herisse) and Turner (Brandon Wilson)—at a brutal reform school in Jim Crow–era Florida, modeled on the real-life Arthur G. Dozier School. Shot entirely in first-person perspective, the film alternates between the boys’ viewpoints to create an immersive, visceral experience. Drawing on his documentary background ("Hale County This Morning, This Evening") and large-format visual style, Ross shares insights into adapting the novel’s moral complexity, crafting the film’s distinctive visual language, and using point-of-view cinematography to deepen viewer empathy and emotional connection. Series: "Carsey-Wolf Center" [Humanities] [Show ID: 40545]