Getting a Sneak Peek

Award-winning cinematographer, writer and director Ramell Ross recently came to CSUDH to have lunch, host a master class, and showcase his 2018 documentary, "Hale County This Morning, This Evening."

According to Filmmaker Magazine, Ross attended Georgetown University with a basketball scholarship but soon realized he wasn't going to the NBA after one too many injuries. Ironically enough, he was spotted by ESPN after he took photos and they told him he had "a good eye" when it came to taking pictures. Ross's passion for photography grew and was soon published in The New York Times and book covers for his striking photos.

Filmmaker Magazine also mentions that he made short films as a hobby and crossed paths with two individuals, Daniel Collins and Quincy Bryant, who later became featured in his documentary.

Ross' visit to CSUDH this year was sponsored by Hollywood by the Horns, which provides connections for Communication students with industry professionals. The students had the privilege of first enjoying lunch with Ross, who then facilitated a master class where Assistant FTVM Professor Virginia Toddy Eames said he presented his work and uncovered the process of film and media making.

"With a firsthand conversation of how something gets made, it just deconstructs the process," said Ross during his visit. "That's encouraging because when you can see how something is made, you can see the steps taken, and hear the troubles that went into making it. That's encouraging and stirs the confidence."

After the master class, Ross showcased his award-winning documentary, "Hale County This Morning, This Evening," that took viewers into the Black community in Hale County, Alabama. This was an exclusive viewing for CSUDH students and the film was later nominated for an Oscar as the "Best Documentary Feature" and an "Audience Award" at the Americana Film Fest this year.

Students appreciated a person of color talking about their journey in the film industry as it motivated them to make their dreams a reality of working in an industry that historically marginalizes the representation of people of color.

"I like to think that my fellow classmates and I left feeling special in a sense, feeling seen, feeling like we mattered," Carrie McClain, Media Studies, said. "It meant the world to me, especially that our COM Department is working hard to get creative from the industry to meet and have events on campus for us--especially people of color, people who look like me. I do hope in the future CSUDH can have more creatives of color, folks who work in the industry, who come from marginalized backgrounds, who all of us POC students can see being living, working examples of doing what we want to do."