RaMell Ross Brings Colson Whitehead's 'Nickel Boys' to the Big Screen

The innovative filmmaker adapts the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel with a radical, immersive approach to storytelling.

RaMell Ross, known for his Oscar-winning documentary 'Hale County This Morning, This Evening,' makes his fiction debut with 'Nickel Boys,' opening in select theaters on January 10, 2025.
The film is based on Colson Whitehead's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, inspired by the real-life abuses at the Arthur G. Dozier School for Boys in Florida during the Jim Crow era.
Ross employs a first-person, 'sentient image' perspective to immerse viewers in the experiences of the two protagonists, Elwood and Turner, while avoiding graphic depictions of violence.
The production incorporates archival footage juxtaposed with the 1960s setting, blending the Civil Rights Movement and Space Race to contextualize the boys' story.
Critics have praised Ross's experimental approach and the film's evocative imagery, though some note its unconventional techniques can occasionally be disorienting.