Biography

Ronnie S. Riskalla is an award-winning Screenwriter and Director who produced dozens of films as a young child with only a Betacam. Years later he went on to study film and drama in High School and performed regularly in school talent shows, police youth clubs and various school theatre productions.

After High School Riskalla attended a private film college before going on to study and attend workshops at The Australian Film, Television & Radio School finding his forte' behind the camera. A passionate and hardworking writer and director, he continued his film studies through a UCLA extension learning from professional crew working in Hollywood. His passion to entertain an audience extends into his professional life where he worked in the cinema industry for 20 years as a Projectionist & Technical Manager, managing and maintaining dozens of 35mm projectors well into the digital projection age.

He ran thousands of regular screenings of films to Australian audiences as the showman, and also running special event screenings while working alongside filmmakers and distributors. Juggling his film-making and his career he went onto work for American company Deluxe Entertainment, a company established more than a 100 years ago in the golden-age of Hollywood. He project managed the QC and digital delivery for hundreds of Hollywood films for theatrical release in the Asia-Pacific region for all the major film studios. Further to this he managed thousands of hours of Streaming and TV content for Netflix, Amazon, Hulu and hundreds of production companies.

The transition from behind the film projector and working for the Hollywood studios to behind the camera was a natural one. After attending the highly sought out Hollywood Film School run by Independent film guru Dov S-S Simens his willingness to undertake a challenge led to his producing and directing experimental feature film: The Day Hollywood Died which had a limited theatrical run in Sydney and Melbourne and was officially selected at the ECU Film Festival premiering in Paris, France.

In 2009 he established a Film production & Distribution company called Rising Pictures. In 2011 Rising Pictures acquired the distribution rights for ANZ and Pacific Islands for feature film Mooz-Lum a film starring Danny Glover and Nia long. He has worked tirelessly on seven other feature films scripts in various stages of development over the past decade. In 2016, a screenplay he co-wrote; Fire Mountain was shortlisted for multiple awards.

In 2020, Riskalla established another production company SkyCross Entertainment with friends and co-founders Drew Pearson & Nenif David. In 2023 his second feature film will be released in cinemas: Streets of Colour, an urban drama that tackles racism and cultural identity.

Ronnie is developing a Teen-action thriller with Disney Asia-Pacific as well as an Australian Crime-Thriller feature and a true-crime TV series for streaming.

Ronnie is a member of AACTA - The Australian Academy of Cinema, Television & Arts Awards, ADG: The Australian Director's Guild and is a member of the Australian Cinema Pioneers.
- IMDb mini biography by: Ronnie S.Riskalla