Oscar Micheaux
Log Line
After losing his South Dakota homestead and family, an ambitious Black pioneer turns his tragedy into a story that sets him on the path to becoming America’s first Black feature filmmaker.
Meet the Cast
James Leon
James Leon is an Afro-Latino actor and digital creator whose credits include Barbie. With a social media following reaching millions, Leon brings an established audience alongside his work as an actor. He stars as Oscar Micheaux in Conquest.
JAMES LEON AS OSCAR MICHEAUX
Conroy Smith is an actor known for Her Life Is on the Line (2025), Spine Scam (2025), and Doctor Boss Is My Baby Daddy (2025). In Conquest, Smith portrays Calvin Micheaux, the hardworking and demanding father of Oscar Micheaux, whose influence helps shape the ambition that will define his son's life
CARPENTER fILM RANCH
Conquest will bring Oscar Micheaux’s South Dakota years to life at Carpenter Film Ranch, a sprawling 1,000-acre ranch in Mount Palomar, California. With its open land, wooded terrain, and rural landscape, the ranch will stand in for the South Dakota frontier where Oscar builds his homestead—and watches the life he fought for begin to unravel.
Escondido History Center
Conquest will bring Oscar Micheaux’s years as a Pullman porter to life at the Escondido History Center’s historic Santa Fe Depot. The preserved 19th-century station will serve as an early-1900s railroad stop, placing Oscar inside the world of rail travel that exposed him to new people, places, and possibilities—and ultimately helped lead him west toward a new life on the frontier.
THE CORNFIELD — LOCATION IN DEVELOPMENT
Conquest opens in the farmland of Oscar Micheaux’s childhood, where a young Oscar runs through endless rows of corn beneath the afternoon sun. The cornfield represents the world Oscar was born into—a life rooted in farming, hard work, and family expectations—while introducing the restless ambition that will eventually push him beyond it.
Meet the crew
Kristover Luaay
Kristover Luaay is a cinematographer and longtime creative collaborator of writer-director Kevin M. Gray, having served as Director of Photography on Strange Anomalies and The Estate. His additional cinematography credits include Buttman, The Mirror, The Hard Way, and The Memories. He returns as Director of Photography for Conquest, helping shape the film’s early-1900s world through naturalistic landscapes, period-inspired lighting, and intimate character photography.
Kevin Morris
Kevin Morris is a filmmaker, producer, and retired U.S. Marine Corps Lieutenant Colonel. A longtime collaborator of writer-director Kevin M. Gray, Morris previously served as Executive Producer on Strange Anomalies and The Estate. He reunites with Gray as Executive Producer of Conquest.