Ellis Island

Ellis is a short film directed by JR, written by Eric Roth (known for Forrest Gump), and featuring a quiet, powerful performance by Robert De Niro.

Set in the abandoned halls of Ellis Island’s immigrant hospital, the film tells the story of an unnamed immigrant — portrayed by De Niro — who recalls his arrival in America decades earlier. As he walks through the decaying corridors, his narration blends personal memory with collective immigrant experience, capturing the hope, struggle, and disillusionment of millions who once sought a new life in the U.S.

The film is visually minimal and poetic, combining haunting imagery with De Niro’s reflective monologue. It’s a tribute to the forgotten stories of Ellis Island — a place once filled with dreams, now echoing with ghosts of the past.

“We came here to be free… to be treated fairly… to be human. But it didn’t always turn out that way. Some of us were turned away. Some of us were never the same again. And many of us… never left this place.”

This reflective passage captures the emotional weight of the film — the tension between hope and hardship experienced by immigrants arriving at Ellis Island. It’s spoken in a subdued, contemplative tone, paired with visuals of crumbling walls and empty wards, evoking both the promise of America and the pain of exclusion.