Stories that reach millions and change things.

Director and producer for streamers, global institutions, political campaigns, and the world's most ambitious brands.

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Work

Streaming & Networks

Documentary series and narrative films, made for streamers and networks.

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Documentary series

Impossible Cleanups

Extreme engineering at the ends of the earth.

The impossible work of pulling civilization's debris off the most untouched places on earth.

  • Henderson Island · UNESCO World Heritage Site
  • 38 million pieces of plastic. One island.
  • Pre-sold and funded for production
  • Greenstone TV · Bomanbridge Media

“I swam to the shore of an uninhabited island, a jungle paradise alive with species that exist nowhere else on earth. As I started walking, I saw strange artifacts poking out of the sand.”

Ricky Rhodes
Ricky Rhodes speaking at LA Climate Week 2026 at the Rivian South Coast Theater, with the Impossible Cleanups slide behind him

Narrative short · 18 min

Yellow Wallpaper

A period drama thriller about a woman, a room, and a quiet undoing.

  • Audience Award for Best Short Film, Coronado Island Film Festival
  • Oscar-qualifying · LA Shorts Fest
Ricky Rhodes directing on the Yellow Wallpaper set, beside a vehicle-mounted camera rig

“The Flamenco grew out of her suffering. It became her means of expression, until the dance and the character were one.”

Ricky Rhodes

Mission-Driven & NGOs

Environmental and impact films for global institutions and NGOs that move treaties, policy, and protected areas.

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8-film documentary series · UN DOALOS

United Nations

Eight films. One treaty into law.

An 8-film documentary series for UN DOALOS, turning ocean science and policy into human stories across Fiji and France. The work supported the ratification momentum that carried the BBNJ Agreement into global law on January 17, 2026.

  • BBNJ treaty entered into force · Jan 17, 2026
  • Ratifications climbed 29 → 60
  • Shared by the President of the European Commission
  • 109 nations in the programme

“Hearing the stories of island nations opens your eyes to what's really happening out in the open ocean.”

Ricky Rhodes

A film from the series

UN — Peni's Last Catch

A Fijian fisherman tells the truth, and his village protects its own waters.

Resulted in a marine protected area

“I filmed Peni at 5am before the boats went out.”

Nature documentary

Humanatee

A man and the manatees who recognize him by name.

Award-winning · Festival selections

“The manatees recognized him by the shape of his snorkel.”

Documentary

Not Just Another Day

What a normal day costs when the system isn't normal.

Featured in Forbes · Award-winning

Political Campaigns

Hero films and vertical social campaigns built to move votes: gubernatorial, Senate, ballot initiatives.

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California Lt. Governor campaign · Hero film + 20+ verticals

Janelle Kellman — Change Is Coming

Hero film, vertical army, and a candidate who became unmissable.

  • Reached more than half a million people
  • Distributed across streaming and TV
  • 20+ verticals shipped

“Janelle has boundless energy. She genuinely loves this work, and that's how you know she'll get things done.”

Ricky Rhodes

Vertical social

Free Community College

200K+ views

Interview Compilation — Community College
Nobody Knows What Lt. Gov Does
Wildfires

Premium Brands

Commercials and branded films that bring feature-film craft to brand stories.

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Warner Bros · Gal Gadot · Hans Zimmer

Wonder Woman 1984 — Premiere

A global launch on the biggest stage: Hans Zimmer, Gal Gadot, a 50-person crew, six ARRIs.

  • Tens of millions of views
  • 6-camera ARRI setup
  • A-list talent
Ricky Rhodes with Hans Zimmer

Branded documentary

Truist Bank — Behind the Story

I built a real rapport with the CMO, and what we captured was pure authenticity.

Directing the CMO

Commercial · Planet Froth era

Acura

A national commercial shot across California as a two-person unit.

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About

Ricky Rhodes on Henderson Island, holding a camera, emerging from dense jungle
The adventurer
The expert · UN Ocean Conference 2025
Ricky Rhodes surfing — California coast
The human

I'm Ricky Rhodes, a director and producer based in Los Angeles. For ten years I've made films in places most cameras don't go: Henderson Island, a manatee community in the Indian River Lagoon, a fishing village in Fiji at 5 a.m., a polling stop in Compton with a Lieutenant Governor candidate.

The work spans documentary series, narrative shorts, branded campaigns, and political hero films. The thread is the same: stories that reach millions and change something on the way out.

CSUN BA in Film Production, emphasis in Cinematography. FAA Part 107 Remote Pilot Certificate. Speaker at the UN Ocean Conference 2025. Represented by Authentic Talent and Literary Management, Liz DeCesare.

I surf when I'm not filming.

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Recognition

60M+

Views across his work

A UN treaty

Into global law

25+

Festival selections

9

Awards won, including Best Film

Oscar-qualifying

LA Shorts Fest

Ricky Rhodes speaking at SF Climate Week 2026 with audience applauding, Impossible Cleanups slide visible behind
SF Climate Week 2026 · Impossible Cleanups

Screenings

  • UN Ocean Week — The Explorers Club, 2024
  • French Embassy Residence of France, Los Angeles, 2024

Speaking

  • UN Ocean Conference 2025 — Nice, France
  • SF Climate Week 2026 — Capgemini
  • LA Climate Week 2026 — Rivian South Coast Theater

Officially Selected

  • LA Shorts Film Festival
  • San Luis Obispo Film Festival
  • Palm Springs Shortsfest
Ricky Rhodes at a film festival — visual proof of the 25+ selections and 9 awards won, including Best Film
On the festival circuit

Selected clients & partners

United Nations
UN DOALOS
Warner Bros
Hans Zimmer
Truist Bank
Acura
Plastic Odyssey
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Contact

Start a project.

Tell me about the project. I read every inquiry personally and reply within two business days.

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