Biography

Ricardo Sean Thompson is a Jamaican-born, New York City-based independent filmmaker known for creating impactful stories that highlight underrepresented voices. His debut feature film, Rap War One (2004), starring multi-platinum rap artist Greg Mays and battle rap superstar Justin "Math Hoffa" Edwards, had its world premiere at the 2003 American Black Film Festival, where it was acquired by Maverick Entertainment for distribution. His second feature, A Kiss of Chaos (2009), premiered at the American Black Film Festival, was showcased at the New York International Latino Film Festival, and won Best Feature Film at the SoHo International Film Festival.

Thompson has received numerous accolades for his work. He was a semifinalist in the 2022 Sony Pictures Television Diverse Directors Program and a finalist in the 2023 YouTube Originals Black Voices Creator Fellowship and the CBS Studios/NAACP Venture Writers Program. In 2022, his short film Boost (2022) premiered at the Pan African Film Festival, while his short Bandulu (2022) debuted at the HBO-sponsored Martha's Vineyard African American Film Festival. Bandulu (2022) also screened at the San Francisco Black Film Festival, NY Shorts International Film Festival, and was a finalist for Best Short Film at the Charlotte Black Film Festival.

In 2023, Thompson's unproduced pilot Trench Town achieved significant recognition, ranking #2 on The Black List's Top 80 Pilots and placing in the Top 1% of scripts on The Black List and Coverfly. It was also a quarter-finalist in the ScreenCraft TV Pilot Script Competition, Shore Scripts TV Pilot Contest, and the Los Angeles International Screenplay Awards, as well as a semifinalist at the Atlanta Film Festival Screenplay Competition, finalist at the Los Angeles Crime and Horror Film Festival, and one of the Top 100 Scripts in the 10th Annual Launch Pad Pilot Competition.

Thompson's pilot script for his Caribbean supernatural series Sukunya garnered further acclaim, winning Best Horror TV Script at the Los Angeles Crime and Horror Film Festival, and being named a quarter-finalist at the 2023 Los Angeles International Screenplay Awards and a Second Rounder at the Austin Film Festival. His Caribbean coming-of-age feature script, Yankee Bwoy, was a semifinalist at the Fall 2023 Big Apple Film Festival Screenplay Competition and a quarter-finalist at the 2024 Atlanta Film Festival Screenplay Competition.

Driven by a passion for storytelling, Thompson is dedicated to producing captivating and thought-provoking narratives that center on people of color and explore untold perspectives.

- IMDb mini biography by: Scott Summers