Brandon Wilson poses for a portrait to promote the film "Nickel Boys" on Sunday, Sept. 29, 2024, in New York.

NEW YORK (AP) -- RaMell Ross sometimes sends his photography students out on a unique assignment. He tells them to photograph a white person, a Black person, an Asian person and an Indian person. "And," he adds, "I want you to ask them how they want to be represented."

Before Ross was a photographer, a professor, a documentarian and, most recently, a feature filmmaker, he was a point guard whose 6-foot-6-inches height allowed him to peer over defenders to see the entire court. Ross' basketball career was derailed by injuries while at Georgetown University. But he has, ever since been fascinated with the ways we see.