James Staniforth Ricketson is an Australian

film director A film director controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the film crew and actors in the fulfilment of that vision. The director has a key role in choosing the cast members, p ...

, known for the feature film ''

Blackfellas ''Blackfellas'' is a 1993 Australian drama film directed by James Ricketson and starring John Moore, David Ngoombujarra, Jack Charles, John Hargreaves and Ernie Dingo. It is an adaptation of Archie Weller's 1981 novel ''The Day of the Dog''. ...

''. He became more widely known when he was charged with espionage for flying a drone in

Cambodia Cambodia (; also Kampuchea ; km, កម្ពុជា, UNGEGN: ), officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochinese Peninsula in Southeast Asia, spanning an area of , bordered by Thailand t ...

in 2017.

Film career

Ricketson studied at the

Australian Film and Television School The Australian Film Television and Radio School (AFTRS) formerly Australian Film and Television School, is Australia's national screen arts and broadcast school. The school is a Commonwealth Government statutory authority. History Establish ...

and has made a number of features and documentaries.David Stratton, ''The Avocado Plantation: Boom and Bust in the Australian Film Industry'', Pan MacMillan, 1990 p136 In 1973 Ricketson filmed and helped to organise

Philippe Petit Philippe Petit (; born 13 August 1949) is a French high-wire artist who gained fame for his unauthorized high-wire walks between the towers of Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris in 1971 and of Sydney Harbour Bridge in 1973, as well as between the Twi ...

's high-wire walk between the two north pylons of

Sydney Harbour Bridge The Sydney Harbour Bridge is a steel through arch bridge in Sydney, spanning Port Jackson, Sydney Harbour from the Sydney central business district, central business district (CBD) to the North Shore (Sydney), North Shore. The view of the bridg ...

. A short film of the walk was released on DVD with

Man On Wire ''Man on Wire'' is a 2008 documentary film directed by James Marsh. The film chronicles Philippe Petit's 1974 high-wire walk between the Twin Towers of New York's World Trade Center. It is based on Petit's 2002 book, ''To Reach the Clouds'', r ...

, the Academy Award-winning documentary on Petit's

World Trade Center World Trade Centers are sites recognized by the World Trade Centers Association. World Trade Center may refer to: Buildings * List of World Trade Centers * World Trade Center (2001–present), a building complex that includes five skyscrapers, a ...

Twin Towers walk. Ricketson directed the feature films ''

Third Person Plural ''Third Person Plural'' is a 1978 film directed by James Ricketson and starring Bryan Brown.David Stratton, ''The Avocado Plantation: Boom and Bust in the Australian Film Industry'', Pan MacMillan, 1990 p136 The script was devised by the actors ...

'' (1978), ''

Candy Regentag ''Candy Regentag'' is a 1989 Australian film directed by James Ricketson about a young woman who works in a brothel. The movie was fully funded by the Australian Film Commission and was shot in 16mm in Kings Cross, Sydney during August and Septe ...

'' (1989), ''

'' (1994). His documentaries include ''Reflections'' (1973), ''Roslyn and Blagica Everyone Needs a Friend'' (1979), ''Born in Soweto'' (1994), ''Sleeping with Cambodia'' (1997), ''Backpacking Australia'' (2001), and ''Viva'' (2004). In 1981 he became one of the founding members of the

Australian Directors Guild The Australian Directors' Guild (ADG) is an industry guild representing the interests of film, television, commercials and digital media directors, including documentary makers and animators, throughout Australia. With its headquarters in Sydney ...

. In the same year he directed one of the four episodes of the award-winning Australian miniseries ''

Women of the Sun ''Women of the Sun'' is an Australian historical drama television miniseries that was broadcast on SBS Television and later the Australian Broadcasting Company in 1981. The series, co-written by Sonia Borg and Hyllus Maris, was composed of four ...

''. In July 2012 it was announced he was suing

Screen Australia Screen Australia is the Australian Federal Government's key funding body for the Australian screen production industry, created under the ''Screen Australia Act 2008''. From 1 July 2008 Screen Australia took over the functions of its predecess ...

Trouble in Cambodia

In 2014 Ricketson was fined six-million

Cambodian riel The riel (; km, រៀល, riĕl ; sign: ៛; code: KHR) is the currency of Cambodia. There have been two distinct riel, the first issued between 1953 and May 1975. Between 1975 and 1980, the country had no monetary system. A second currenc ...

(A$1,500) and given a suspended two-year prison sentence by a Phnom Penh court for threatening to broadcast accusations that a local branch of the

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...

-based

Citipointe Church Citipointe Church, formerly Christian Outreach Centre Mansfield, is a Pentecostal Christian church founded in 1974. It is the founding church of the Christian Outreach Centre network, now known as the International Network of Churches. The foun ...

sold children. In June 2017, he was arrested while flying a drone at a

Cambodia National Rescue Party ) , headquarters = , ideology = LiberalismLiberal democracyCivic nationalismPopulismAnti-Vietnamese sentiment , position = Centre , international = Liberal International , affiliation1_title = Regional affili ...

rally in

Phnom Penh Phnom Penh (; km, ភ្នំពេញ, ) is the capital and most populous city of Cambodia. It has been the national capital since the French protectorate of Cambodia and has grown to become the nation's primate city and its economic, indus ...

, and charged with espionage, a charge he denies. He was held in

Prey Sar prison The Prey Sar Prison, previously known as S24, is the largest of 24 Cambodian prisons. It is administrated by the Cambodian Ministry of Interior with liaisons from the Ministry of Health. Kang Kek Iew Kang Kek Iew, also spelled Kaing Guek Ea ...

and his trial began in a Phnom Penh court on 16 August 2018, with character testimony from Australian film director

Peter Weir Peter Lindsay Weir ( ; born August 21, 1944) is a retired Australian film director. He's known for directing films crossing various genres over forty years with films such as '' Picnic at Hanging Rock'' (1975), ''Gallipoli'' (1981), ''Witness ...

. On 31 August he was found guilty and sentenced to six years in prison. It was announced on 21 September 2018 that Cambodian authorities had pardoned Ricketson for the offence.

Selected filmography

*''

'' (1978) *''

'' (1989) *''

'' (1994)

Awards

AACTA Award The Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts Awards, known as the AACTA Awards, are presented annually by the Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts (AACTA). The awards recognise excellence in the film and television industry, ...

for Best Adapted Screenplay, ''Blackfellas'' (1994) * AACTA Award for Best Film, ''Reflections'' (1973) * Alan Stout Award for Best Short Film, ''Reflections'' (1973)

Personal life

Ricketson is the grandson of stockbroker

Staniforth Ricketson Staniforth Ricketson (1 August 1891 – 6 December 1967) was an Australian stockbroker, financier, and political figure. Early life Ricketson was born in Malvern, Victoria, to Sophia Henrietta (née Sheppard) and Henry Joseph Ricketson. He was n ...

. He has a son, Jesse, and is a surrogate father to Roxanne Holmes, whom he met "while researching a film project about street kids" in the 1980s.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ricketson, James Australian film directors Living people 1949 births Prisoners and detainees of Cambodia Australian people imprisoned abroad Australian prisoners and detainees 2018 in Cambodia 21st-century Australian criminals