The “Nickel Boys” Director RaMell Ross on Making the Most Haunting Scene

RaMell Ross walks us through a pivotal scene in his début fiction feature, “Nickel Boys,” an adaptation of the novel by Colson Whitehead. Ross has spent years honing his skills as a visual artist, teacher, and documentary filmmaker, and his work questions how we see, and how these mediums have historically depicted, Black bodies. For the film, he worked with the cinematographer Jomo Fray to employ an unusual first-person perspective and to find fresh ways to use the camera and show characters anew, bringing the viewer closer to the action. Here, Ross breaks down what he describes as “the most haunting frames of the entire film,” with the actress Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor.