YDA Gold Short Film Winner on Crafting The Cage

His street-inspired short, The Cage tells the story of life on a tough neighbourhood in the US... rightly earning him the Gold YDA award at this year's show. We caught up with Ricky Staub to find out about the movie's inspiration and how he got involved with such a community in the first place.

How did the idea for The Cage come about?

A close friend runs a non-profit in the North Philadelphia neighbourhood where we filmed. He’d tell me about kids he coached, who had hard home lives, and how playing basketball was a miracle for them. Outside communities see North Philly as this evil place. But I came to know it as somewhere I was accepted and loved and learned from. I wanted to give people a view of a world I loved – both the darkness and the beauty.

Tell us about the casting process.

I did months of prep and writing leading up to the shoot, scouting locations and also relationship-building. I knew that I wasn’t going to be able to cast this film traditionally: it was too nuanced a world to capture. Instead I did “stoop casting” – meeting with real people in their own environment. Our producer grew up in the neighbourhood so introduced me to many of the characters in the film, like Miss Margaret, the elderly woman who protects the main character from the police. She knew exactly how to play the role because she was the role.

Where did the title come from?

My original inspiration was the sequence on the rooftop with the vines: the main character playing basketball against his own elements. And people would often describe the neighbourhood as a cage – keeping people in and not letting them be free. When I saw “The Cage” was graffitied on the backboard of the court where we were shooting I knew for sure that was the title.

What does it mean to win a YDA?

Many people told me I wasn’t going to be a good director. So to win Gold means a lot, because of the negativity I overcame. 

What’s next for you?

I’m really excited to see new commercial and music video opportunities opening up since joining Great Guns.

Representation France/Netherlands: insurrection.paris

Rest of the world: greatguns.com