Elwood Curtis’ dream of going to college shatters on 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.
There, 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 lives 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.
"..transcendentally moving and frightening.."The Guardian
“The POV drama that’s smashing conventions”Empire
“A bruising but lyrical prison drama”The Daily Telegraph
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