Congratulations to director Ryan Richmond for his short film "Money Matters" which was a winner in the screenplay competition at Urbanworld VIBE Film Festival.
Interview with Director Ryan Richmond
Hi Ryan, it’s nice to hear from you, tell me something about yourself?
Well, I'm from Washington DC, I went to film school at NYU and there I studied cinematography and directing. I now shoot and produce docs, music videos and narratives.
What made you realize that you wanted to work in the film industry?
First I was interested in acting. I was introduced to Shakespeare in the fourth grade and I've had the itch for performance ever since. I started as a child actor and did professional theater in DC. As I got older, I decided I would rather tell stories from behind the spotlight. Movies have always been very influential in my life. I often felt that despite enjoying these worlds in these movies I was so unfamiliar with I wanted to see more movies I could directly relate to. And, I guess I had to make those movies.
I recently watched "Money Matters" excellent short! Tell me about the actor Carson Grant and the actress Bianca Van Heydon? Working with Carson was truly a blessing. That was my very first directing experince and he was extremely willing to work. Carson was very in tune to what I wanted and creative enough to add to the character. It made a perfect relationship and a great learning experience.
Bianca had a hard role to play and off the bat I could tell she was ready to take on that character. She really dug deep in search for what I wanted and to make it authentic. I enjoyed finding the character through her. She made the film come to life and took it beyond I had imagined.
What made you come up with the idea for this film? My first concept was to have two individuals with completely separate backgrounds meet at one place and forever be connected. And that's what it was, these characters' stories evolved so much that I had to make a feature. "Money Matters," is a feature script now.
Are you involved with any upcoming film festivals? My feature script Money Matters was accepted to the Tribeca All Access Program. And my feature documentary, I co-directed, God of a Second Chance Screened at Washington DC's International Film Festival.
What are some of your upcoming future projects? The next project for me is making a feature of “Money Matters.” The script was recently accepted to Tribeca and we hope to be shooting by the end of the year.
The documentary “God of a Second Chance” is a cautionary and inspirational story that follows two men approaching the same challenge from different angles:
18-year-old Tyrone Leonard David Israel "Sleepy" Curry is beginning to make choices, while 40-year-old recovering addict Richie Barkley is freeing himself from poor decisions made long ago. What united them both is Gordon's CAG, Steve Fitzhugh's The House, which is an outreach program and included other faith-based community programs.
In 2007, the 82-minute feature will be expanded into a three-hour series for television to be entitled “Faith in the Hood.”
Is there a DVD of Money Matters available?
No there isn't a DVD, but the film may be seen on my website.
Thank you so much for the wonderful interview Ryan and keep up the great work.
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