“Ricky” is forging a path toward reintegration and redemption.
The drama film presents the story of 30-year-old Ricky (Stephan James) as he tries to live an independent life for the first time after 15 years of incarceration. Director and co-writer Rashad Frett originated the story as a thesis short film before developing the extended project within the Sundance Institute’s Feature Film Program. Co-starring Emmy winner Sheryl Lee Ralph, the production premiered in the U.S. Dramatic Competition of this year’s Sundance Film Festival.
Frett, James and producers Pierre M. Coleman and Sterling Brim spoke with the Daily Bruin’s Victoria Munck at the premiere press line about the feature film’s development and its presentation of the criminal justice system.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Daily Bruin: Given that this story is so connected to your own lived experience, did you find that expanding the script from a short to a feature came easily to you, or were there still challenges with bringing this project to the next level?
Rashad Frett: It wasn’t necessarily easy because the topic was so hard to talk about, because we know so many people in this community that are no longer with us. A lot of my peers who went through the criminal justice system and recidivism and deportation because of recidivism aren’t here anymore, so it was hard in that aspect. It was easy because I could pull from instances that I knew about, but in the overall picture, it was hard. It was really hard.
DB: When you reflect on the journey this story has gone through from your time at NYU to the Sundance Screenwriters Lab, what role do you think education, either formal or informal, has played in the creation of this film?
RF: Education is always good. Some people come to me and be like, “Yo, man, because you went to NYU, you got a shot.” That’s not the only way. It took me a very long time to get here. It was just my path to go to school. For me, education was, as far as really honing my craft, because that’s what I wanted to do, but that’s not the only way.
DB: Rashad has emphasized that one of his goals in creating this film was to present it in a way that felt authentic and immersive to viewers. Can you talk about some decisions you made behind the camera to help create that feeling?
Pierre M. Coleman: One of the biggest things we wanted to do, we went through the process of consulting with a lot of people in law enforcement, people who actually lived through the experiences. We had people actually on the film who have been through the system. We wanted to honor their stories while also giving them a platform. We mixed up trained actors with actors who were first-time actors. One thing that’s great about Rashad is he has a great way of seeing the light in people, of seeing the vision of where he wants to put them in the film. It really balances the film out.
Sterling Brim: It’s a very grounded film. I think the way Rashad shot the film feels very grounded and very pure in a sense, it feels very real. We’ve pulled different elements from the community around. As Rashad’s been a local of Connecticut for a while, we shot in Connecticut. He was able to really pull on his community, and I think that brings a certain realness to the film.
DB: Did you learn any lessons about the criminal justice system through this filmmaking process that you’re hoping will stick with audiences after the premiere?
Stephan James: Not really lessons, but just things to be discussed. How are we dealing with youth that we put into that system? How are we dealing with them when we take them out of that system? How are we paying attention to their mental health, their wellbeing and their reacclimating to civilian life? So I think, if anything, I don’t know that any conclusions are formed, but a lot of questions are raised.
SB: I think it’s just complex. I think, for me – maybe not me necessarily, because I’m a Black man, I grew up here in America, so the criminal justice system is very transparent to what I believe it to be – but I think we get perspective. We get to see the true ins and outs of how the process goes.
My brother, who is incarcerated right now but is looking to be released this year, God willing, has been locked up for 26 years. And he’s on work release right now, he’s working and doing all these different things, and just the simplest things for him, he’s not used to. We get to see a lot of stories tell us how someone got locked up, or what they did to end up here, but you don’t get to see people normally afterwards and how they reacclimate to society. So, I think from that perspective, you’re able to take away a lot of how the system isn’t really built for you to win.
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