Today we’d like to introduce you to Ralph Celestin.
Ralph, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I’ve made it a life mission to constantly strive to express myself through multiple different platforms of which I hold value towards. Many of my works date back to a very young age, first receiving national recognition among the writing community after two poems published in the Young Poets Anthropology, 2006, a publication dedicated to nurturing the beauty, self-expression and fun of poetry in young writers.
A few months ago, I made a resolution to chase my dreams and leave behind anything preventing me from reaching my goals. This simple decision opened the floodgates. I suddenly became aware of how much I truly didn’t enjoy my current job, how much I was sick and tired of my current apartment, how much I really felt stagnant and just fed up of going to the same bars or nightclubs in Boston every weekend. Fast forward a few weeks, I soon found myself with a one-way ticket to Philadelphia with a new job offer, a new apartment waiting for me and a new city I’ve yet to explore.
Philadelphia has a horrible reputation outside of those who live in it, a sad but very true statement. Due to certain films, musicians, books, etc., that depicts Philly as a drug war-ridden, mindless crime having and overall ugly/gritty place. I came to realize that Philadelphia is an amazing city, and that when you start to unravel/tear away all the stupid stereotypes and culture raping themes that these unoriginal films, musicians, etc., use to pollute the minds of our youth and tarnish the image of this great city, you find unbelievable architecture, a vibrant music scene and real history the whole world is attached to.
The story of why I made my film really grows from this initial idea, to depict the Philly people don’t know about but is right there in front of them if they just wipe the crap from their eyes!
My directorial debut has gained notoriety among the Independent film sector with an impressive list of awards, including the Roxbury International Film Festival 2017 Kay Bourne Emerging Filmmaker Award, Motion Picture Association of Haiti Best Film, The Las Vegas Black film festival Best Actor and official selections in Miami Independent Film Festival , Houston Film Festival & San Francisco Black Film Festival. I’ve also been featured in several major newspapers including the San Francisco Tribune, The Philadelphia Inquirer, The Boston Globe, and a few others.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
It’s never a smooth road when traveling through the boulevard of broken dreams. Such is expected in this industry, there are constant challenges and obstacles that present themselves as means to stop progression or completion of your project. With Boston2Philly, the hardest struggle wasn’t, in fact, creating a 1 hour and forty-seven-minute opus but dealing with life outside of trying to complete the film.
I myself in the middle of production suffered a huge lost of a family member that raised me from adolescence to adulthood. From there everything else seemed to continue to spiral out of control. From Philadelphia rapper Freeway backing out of his role in the film the day of/a mere 2 hrs before the shoot, broken equipment, shady promoters all things we had to struggle with that really set back the mental state of the production team. The list goes on and on.
We’d love to hear more about your business.
Rise Celestial Studios, LLC is a leading global entertainment company with a strong presence in motion picture production.
Led by CEO & President Ralph Antoine Celestin’s directorial debut award-winning project Boston2philly and his sophomore film S.E.L.L.A’s Kitchen. R.C studios has become the premiere film studios of the east coast area and is available for large-scale motion picture production and distribution.
I’m most proud of my company because we aim to create content that truly is revolutionary in its approach to storytelling and changing the stereotypes and negative narratives that have plagued film culture for decades.
What were you like growing up?
I consider myself a lifelong artist from every stage of life I’ve been someone who expressed himself any which way I could. I always will say I’m more of an artist than a filmmaker before anything else, and that’s because I truthfully have been an artist since as long as I can remember. Whether it was writing poetry as a young student in middle school or writing short stories and eventually scripts in college, I’ve always seemed to find myself utilizing and creating a platform to be heard and give my story.
That is my main interest in the art form of indie filmmaking I appreciate the most – being able to give a narrative and have a voice-controlled entirely by myself. I can stretch my imagination as far as I please and have the world sit back and watch with some popcorn and a cup of soda.
Growing up I balanced a healthy lifestyle of basketball, football and flirting with as many girls as I could while at class without my strict Haitian parents finding out and whooping me with the belt.
Contact Info:
- Website: RalphCelestin.com
- Phone: (424) 279-3869
- Email: RalphCelestinPR@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ralphaworld/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Boston2Philly/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/ralphaworld
- Other: Boston2Philly.com
Image Credit:
Brad Eeles Photography
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