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Inside
Rik Cordero’s Change
Young Video Director
Carves Place in Movies with Noted Film Project
By Christopher Windham
Rik
Cordero is laying a blueprint of his own.
After building a name developing cost-efficient music
videos for such major hip-hop artists as Jay-Z, Nas,
The Roots and Ghostface Killah, Cordero is the latest
star music director to transition into screen writing
and directing.
Cordero’s second feature film, “Inside
A Change,” an urban drama chronicling the emotional
last days before its lead character enters prison,
has been praised by critics, winning the top prize
at the 2009 New York International Latino Film Festival.
He’s also planning to direct additional feature
films, music videos and commercial projects.
Shot over three weeks with a relatively small budget
of about one million, “Inside A Change,”
follows Chris Price in the last days before he serves
a 180-day prison sentence for selling marijuana in
a first time drug offense. Rising star Ephraim Benton
plays the Queens, NY youth, who is forced to reexamine
his life in the wake of various hardships among his
family.
Many of the themes encountered by Chris’ family
are common in urban American life. For example, Chris’
mother, played by New York actor Karen Chilton, is
underemployed at her cleaning job and has fallen behind
on paying bills, leading to threatening calls from
debt collectors. His older brother Shawn, played by
Donte Bonner, is struggling in a law-abiding lifestyle
that includes a low-paying handy man job. Chris is
also conflicted about how to protect his 12 year-old
brother, Ronnie, played by Darrell Vanterpool, who
is veering toward a life of crime as well.
“This
story is very authentic,” says Cordero, who
co-wrote the film with independent film veteran Aaron
Schnore. “It’s a story that’s relatable
for a lot of people. When dealing with the story line,
we kept it basic in the family structure, the role
of the siblings, mother and the son. That dynamic
is pretty universal.”
Chris’ story is also a personal one for Cordero.
The “Inside A Change” lead character is
based on a Queens childhood friend, who committed
suicide in 2004 at age 19. “The character of
Chris is a great role of any actor,” he says.
“He exhibits every kind of emotion that an actor
likes to prepare for in a role.”
Cordero casted Benton in his first leading role following
a series of strong performances by the actor in film
and on television.
“He’s
[Cordero] a professional and his vision is special,”
Benton says of his director. “And if people
just believe in his vision, it takes you to another
place. It brings you down and makes you feel like
a human being.”
Cordero, who is Filipino, garnered praise from critics
and audiences for his ability to authentically tell
the story of an African-American family struggling
in America. “I really was trying to do a good
story,” he says, noting that he focused less
on making a good African American film, but a good
film of any genre. “I’m interested in
stories from every background.”
Cordero says he brought great perspective from his
upbringing in Queens’ diverse neighborhoods,
which enabled him to be subjective with the characters
to draw out certain emotions.
Other directors who have transitioned to film, such
as Hype Williams and Benny Boom, brought to movies
many of the highly stylized visual design elements
seen in music videos. In “Inside A Change,”Cordero
takes a more traditional approach to cinematography,
relying more on close up shots that capture the actors’
emotions. “I wanted every scene and frame static
and wasn’t really interested in crazy camera
moves,” he says.
However, in one scene Cordero does incorporate some
of the video techniques that has made him one of the
most sought-after directors in music. In the scene,
Darius, played by rapper Consequence, releases a couple
rap lyric bars to Chris before he departs for prison.
Cordero’s camera squeezes in on Consequence
in the recording booth as Chris watches in amazement.
“I thought that was very appropriate,”
Cordero says of his approach to the scene. “I
wanted to be very straight forward with the hip hop
in the scene.”
The early success of “Inside A Change”
is propelling Cordero to continue on his filmmaking
journey. Cordero says he wants to explore films of
many genres, including a horror film he is currently
developing.
He envisions his Three21 Films production company
to operate in film and the commercial space akin to
idol Spike Lee’s 40 Acres and a Mule Filmworks
Company. “That’s a great model for what
we do,” Cordero says. “I want to be able
to produce high quality commercial and film projects.”
Cordero says he’s isn’t retiring music
videos either. And Three21 Films is also planning
to screen “Inside A Change” to college
students across the U.S, including at Historically
Black Colleges and Universities. 
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