RunRunBoy,Run

An experimental flicker film that expresses the internal anxiety of a black man racing to get home.

  • George Ellzey Jr.
    Director
    Role Model, SWITCHIN',
  • Project Type:
    Experimental
  • Runtime:
    37 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    April 15, 2021
  • Production Budget:
    0 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    United States
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    9:16
  • Film Color:
    Black & White
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    Yes - DePaul University
  • Lift-Off Online Sessions

    July 6, 2021
Director Biography - George Ellzey Jr.

George Ellzey Jr. is a Chicago director and producer. He is driven to explore the oft-ignored narratives of minorities, specifically unpacking black masculinity, intercommunity prejudice, black trauma in society, and above all, romanticizing the black and brown experience.

Currently pursuing his MFA in Directing for Film & Television at DePaul University, George received his BA from Bowdoin College majoring in English & Theater with a Dance minor. His passion for the arts led him into performing in the Chicago theater scene. George is a company member of the Agency Theater Collective and a founding member of ROME Production Group. Combined with all these experiences, George crafts simple stories with complex layers.

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Director Statement

My mother tells me every time I leave, “George, come home.” RunRunBoy, Run is an experimental flicker film that explores the heaviness and frantic fear of being a black man in America fighting to return to loved ones every day.

Due to the normalized demonization of black men in all media forms, an unspoken truth has cemented itself in the culture of America - black men are targets. Men of color, especially in urban neighborhoods, fearfully avoid law enforcement through aversion or over compliance due to the risk of their face sprawled across a newspaper, tv screen, or social media feed from an obituary.

The faces of these slain men represent someone's son, a friend, a coworker, a partner, and most importantly, a human being taken from the community due to senseless violence. RUNRUNBOY, RUN is a tribute to the men we have lost and a command to the black men going out into the world.