Director RaMell Ross details horrors behind Florida School for Boys that backdropped the moving film adaptationIt was one of the darkest, most shameful episodes in Florida’s grotesque history of state-sanctioned racism: dozens of children, most of them Black, beaten or shot to death, or sexually abused in a decades-long reign of terror at a secretive and remote reform school.Early next month at the Academy Awards in Los Angeles, the horrors that befell the students of the notorious Arthur G Dozier School for Boys will be laid bare before the world, courtesy of a best picture nomination for the “transcendentally moving and frightening film” Nickel Boys, and a best adapted screenplay nod for director RaMell Ross and his co-writer, Joslyn Barnes. Continue reading...
The Oscar-nominated film "Nickel Boys" is based on the true story of the Florida School for Boys, a reform school where Black children faced severe abuse. Director RaMell Ross highlights how this dark history was attempted to be buried but is now recognized through academia, literature, and cinema. The film poignantly depicts the graves at Boot Hill, illustrating the harsh realities faced by the children. Despite the heavy subject matter, Ross emphasizes the story's message of hope and peace for affected families, hoping it resonates as a significant "movie of the moment."
