Acclaimed director Barry Jenkins has revealed his favourite film of the year.

The Moonlight director gave a shout-out to RaMell Ross’ debut fiction feature Nickel Boys in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter.

When asked for his favourite film of the year, Jenkins replied, “So far, the Nickel Boys. 1,000 per cent. Point blank, period. I watched it twice in like three days. Love, love, loved that movie. RaMell Ross, he is a true visionary and a true artist. That film is extraordinary.”

Nickel Boys, which is shot in the first-person perspective, follows two African American boys named Elwood and Turner, played by newcomers Ethan Herisse and Brandon Wilson, who are sent to an abusive reform school in 1960s Florida.

In a separate essay for Variety, Jenkins continued to praise the drama, writing, “This is medium-defining work – aesthetically, spiritually – a rich and overwhelming cinema where the camera is always curious and what it finds is always arresting… RaMell has given us a new way of seeing. It is a thing to make one both humbled… and filled with gratitude.”

The drama has received critical acclaim ever since it premiered at the Telluride Film Festival in August. It was recently named one of the top 10 films of 2024 by the American Film Institute (AFI) and it took home two prizes at the Gotham Awards; Ross won Best Director and Wilson won Breakthrough Performer.

Nickel Boys, which will be released in U.K. cinemas on 3 January, is currently nominated for Best Motion Picture – Drama at the Golden Globes and Best Feature and Best Cinematography at the Independent Spirit Awards.

Jenkins is currently promoting his latest feature, Mufasa: The Lion King, which is in cinemas now.

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