RaMell Ross

“Oh, The Tin Drum. Stop it. This is one of the films that I just found in the library. And, honestly, I just remember it being incredibly moving.”

“Oh, The Mirror. Let’s see, what to say about the film? I teach it in my class. Kind of defies language, but kind of resides in the remembering of the film itself, that’s kind of where it exists. Almost in the Godfrey Reggio, you know, ‘the viewer completes the film’ type of way. Maybe The Mirror is completed when you remember it.”

“I’ll take anything that he’s done. I don’t have a copy of Stalker. I’ve seen it a couple of times but I kind of want it. Yeah. Just the psychological horror that is not a horror at all. It’s kind of just like an electricity that exists outside of human consciousness or perception or something. Something that science is way behind.”

“Cameraperson, shout out KJ. I mean, this is the first film I show in every class, every film class I teach. And I’ll take it because I may be able to gift it to someone and they may also fall in love with the film. Edited by Nels Bangerter, one of the best editors out there. If you don’t know them, look them up.”

“Sleep with Anger because Danny Glover’s amazing and obviously Charles Burnett is, I guess we’d call him a hero of cinema or something, kind of changing our understanding of community, art, aesthetics.”

“Ooh, Ghost Dog. I’ve always wondered why... Where the films about Black culture’s relationship to the Eastern intellectual tradition, when those are going to start emerging? This was the first one that reminded me that, like, Wu-Tang Clan was just, like, all kung fu.”

“Jubal? Is this a western? This is directed by Delmer Daves. I never in the history of my knowing myself would grab this or watch this if I saw it online. And now I will. And this is kind of what it’s about. I say, unexpected knowledge encounters. Boom.”

“That makes me want Wong Kar Wai things because I don’t know if I’ve... Like, I know his work but I haven’t digested it. I think people should digest or not encounter it. You need to bring it in. You need to eat it. Whoa! Speak and it shall... Woah... This... I could leave now, but I won’t, obviously.”

“Wait, I saw Sans Soleil too because Chris Marker. There’s many GOATs, right? The GOAT is the greatest of all time. There’s many GOATs and... He’s one of the GOATs. He has this line in La Jetée, 'Nothing tells memory from ordinary moments. Only afterwards do they claim remembrance on account of their scars.' Which was really great for Nickel Boys. Oh, yeah, Sans Soleil, Sans Soleil. Come on.”

“And I do see over there The Qatsi Trilogy. Shout out to Godfrey Reggio. He’s vital for understanding the world, I believe, the visual world.”

“And boy, was it cool to, like, watch Bruce Lee movies with my dad. No! The greatest hits, too? I mean, my dad loves me, but I think maybe more now, you know?”