Developing a Short into a Feature with Sundance Award Winner Rashad Frett

In Episode 33, host and WFF shorts programmer Amanda Naseem speaks with director Rashad Frett about the making of his award-winning short film RICKY and how he is currently working on a feature-length version. Rashad also discusses his journey in finding himself as an artist and filmmaker and the process of casting non-actors and family members. Rashad Frett is an award-winning Caribbean-American filmmaker. He is an NYU Tisch Graduate Film alumni, a Spike Lee Film Production fellow, a Ryan Murphy HALF Initiative fellow, a Sundance Feature Film Lab fellow, and a Cary Fukunaga Production fellow. In 2023 he was named one of Filmmaker magazine’s “25 New Faces of Independent Film.” His feature film RICKY won the Best Directing Award in 2025 Sundance Film festival's U.S. Dramatic Competition category and Best Short Doc at the 2023 Woodstock Film Festival. To learn more about Rashad, check out his website.Listen to more WFF podcast episodes