Nickel Boys

11:00 Monday 20 January: Book to Film Club Screening

Elwood Curtis's college dream shatters alongside a two-lane Florida highway. Bearing the brunt of an innocent misstep, he's sentenced to the netherworld of Nickel Academy, a brutal reformatory sunk deep in the Jim Crow South.

He encounters another ward, the seen-it-all Turner. The two Black teens strike up an alliance: Turner dispensing fundamental tips for survival, Elwood, clinging to his optimistic worldview.

Backdropped by the burgeoning Civil Rights Movement, Elwood and Turner’s existence appear worlds away from Rev. Martin Luther King's burnished oratory. Despite Nickel's brutality, Elwood strives to hold onto his humanity, awakening a new vision for Turner.

'There are outstanding performances here from Ellis-Taylor, Herisse and Wilson, and Jomo Fray’s cinematography and Nora Mendis’s production design are exceptional too. This is a survivor’s coming of age: tough, disillusioned, brilliant' - Peter Bradshaw, Guardian

If you would like information about the content of this film, including potentially triggering material, please click here for guidance from the BBFC