{{short description|Australian film director (born 1949)}} {{Use Australian English|date=August 2018}} {{Use dmy dates|date=August 2018}} {{Infobox person | pre-nominals = | name = James Ricketson<!-- use common name/article title --> | post-nominals = | image = <!-- filename only, no "File:" or "Image:" prefix, and no enclosing [[brackets]] --> | image_upright = | alt = | caption = | native_name = | native_name_lang = | pronunciation = | birth_name = James Staniforth Ricketson<!-- only use if different from name above --> | birth_date = <!-- {{birth date and age|YYYY|MM|DD}} for living people supply only the year with {{Birth year and age|YYYY}} unless the exact date is already widely published, as per [[WP:DOB]]. For people who have died, use {{Birth date|YYYY|MM|DD}}. --> | birth_place = | baptised = <!-- will not display if birth_date is entered --> | disappeared_date = <!-- {{disappeared date and age|YYYY|MM|DD|YYYY|MM|DD}} (disappeared date then birth date) --> | disappeared_place = | disappeared_status = | death_date = <!-- {{Death date and age|YYYY|MM|DD|YYYY|MM|DD}} (death date then birth date) --> | death_place = | death_cause = | body_discovered = | resting_place = | resting_place_coordinates = <!-- {{coord|LAT|LONG|type:landmark|display=inline}} --> | burial_place = <!-- may be used instead of resting_place and resting_place_coordinates (displays "Burial place" as label) --> | burial_coordinates = <!-- {{coord|LAT|LONG|type:landmark|display=inline}} --> | monuments = | other_names = | citizenship = | education = | alma_mater = [[Australian Film and Television School]] | occupation = [[Film director]] | years_active = | era = | employer = | organization = | agent = <!-- Discouraged in most cases, specifically when promotional, and requiring a reliable source --> | known_for = | credits = {{bulleted list|''[[Third Person Plural]]'' (1978)|''[[Candy Regentag]]'' (1989)|''[[Blackfellas (film)|Blackfellas]]'' (1994)}} <!-- produces label "Notable work"; may be overridden by |credits=, which produces label "Notable credit(s)"; or by |works=, which produces label "Works"; or by |label_name=, which produces label "Label(s)" --> | style = | television = | title = <!-- Formal/awarded/job title. The parameter |office= may be used as an alternative when the label is better rendered as "Office" (e.g. public office or appointments) --> | term = | predecessor = | successor = | party = | movement = | opponents = [[Cambodian Children's Fund]] | boards = | criminal_charge = [[Espionage]] <!-- Criminality parameters should be supported with citations from reliable sources --> | criminal_penalty = Six years in custody {{no wrap|{{small|(sentenced under [[Cambodia|Cambodian law]])}}}} | criminal_status = Pardoned | spouse = <!-- Use article title or common name --> | partner = <!-- (unmarried long-term partner) --> | children = | parents = <!-- overrides mother and father parameters --> | mother = <!-- may be used (optionally with father parameter) in place of parents parameter (displays "Parent(s)" as label) --> | father = <!-- may be used (optionally with mother parameter) in place of parents parameter (displays "Parent(s)" as label) --> | relatives = [[Staniforth Ricketson]] (grandfather) | family = | callsign = | awards = {{bulleted list|AACTA Award for Best Adapted Screenplay, ''Blackfellas'' (1994)|[[AACTA Award for Best Film]], ''Reflections'' (1973)|Alan Stout Award for Best Short Film, ''Reflections'' (1973)}} | website = <!-- {{URL|example.com}} --> | module = | module2 = | module3 = | module4 = | module5 = | module6 = | signature = | signature_size = | signature_alt = | footnotes = }} '''James Staniforth Ricketson''' is an Australian [[film director]], known for the feature film ''[[Blackfellas]]''. He became more widely known when he was charged with espionage for flying a drone in [[Cambodia]] in 2017.
==Early life and education == James Staniforth Ricketson<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/ricketson-family-express-eternal-gratitude-filmmakers-pardon|title=Ricketson family express 'eternal gratitude' for filmmaker's pardon|newspaper=The Phnom Penh Post|first=Niem|last=Chheng|date=24 September 2018|access-date=15 August 2020}}</ref> is the grandson of Australian businessman and politician [[Staniforth Ricketson]].<ref name=satpaper>{{cite news|url=https://www.thesaturdaypaper.com.au/2018/02/10/gadfly-the-scarlet-man/15181812005774|title=The scarlet man|publisher=The Saturday Paper|date=10 February 2018|access-date=15 August 2020}}</ref>
Ricketson studied at the [[Australian Film and Television School]] in [[Sydney]].<ref name="stratton2"/>
==Film career== Ricketson has made a number of features and documentaries.<ref name="stratton2">[[David Stratton]], ''The Avocado Plantation: Boom and Bust in the Australian Film Industry'', Pan MacMillan, 1990 p136</ref>
In 1973 Ricketson filmed and helped to organise [[Philippe Petit]]'s high-wire walk between the two north pylons of [[Sydney Harbour Bridge]]. A short film of the walk was released on DVD with ''[[Man On Wire]],'' the Academy Award-winning documentary on Petit's [[World Trade Center (1973–2001)|World Trade Center]] Twin Towers walk.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://open.abc.net.au/explore/44681|title=ABC OPEN: Man on a Sydney wire {{!}}{{!}} From Project: 500 Words: I Was There|website=open.abc.net.au|language=en-AU|access-date=2018-08-19}}</ref>
Ricketson directed the feature films ''[[Third Person Plural]]'' (1978), ''[[Candy Regentag]]'' (1989), ''[[Blackfellas]]'' (1994).{{cn|date=February 2026}} 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).{{citation needed|date=February 2022}}
In 1981 he became one of the founding members of the [[Australian Directors Guild]].<ref>{{Cite news |url=http://www.screendirector.org/post/2014/6/1/history-of-the-adg-part-1|title=History of the ADG - Part 1|work=Screen Director|access-date=2018-08-19|language=en-AU}}</ref> In the same year he directed one of the four episodes of the award-winning Australian miniseries ''[[Women of the Sun]]''.{{cn|date=February 2026}}
From around 1995, Ricketson made repeated trips to Cambodia to make a documentary film called ''Chanti’s World'', about a girl growing up in the capital city [[Phnom Penh]].<ref name =sa2012/>
== Legal issues == === Screen Australia=== In July 2012 Ricketson sued [[Screen Australia]] for the sum of $1, for not following the specified process when assessing his film project for funding, and subsequently banning him from talking to the organisation in May of that year.<ref name =sa2012>{{cite web | last=Hicks | first=Robin | title=Film-maker James Ricketson takes legal action against Screen Australia | website=Mumbrella | date=19 July 2012 | url=https://mumbrella.com.au/film-maker-james-ricketson-sues-screen-australia-104060 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220911104147/https://mumbrella.com.au/film-maker-james-ricketson-sues-screen-australia-104060 | archive-date=11 September 2022 | url-status=unfit | access-date=12 February 2026}}</ref> ===Cambodia=== In 2014 Ricketson was fined six-million [[Cambodian riel]] (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]]-based [[Citipointe Church]] sold children.<ref>{{Cite news |url=http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/filmmaker-%E2%80%98guilty%E2%80%99-conflict-church|title=Filmmaker 'guilty' in conflict with church|last=Ratana |first=Uong|date=2014-04-03|work=Phnom Penh Post|access-date=2018-08-19|language=en}}</ref><ref name=fact>{{cite web | title=Fact Sheet: James Ricketson and CCF - the facts | website=Cambodian Children's Fund| date=27 September 2018 | url=https://www.cambodianchildrensfund.org/fact-sheet-1/ | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180927085835/https://www.cambodianchildrensfund.org/fact-sheet-1/ | archive-date=27 September 2018 | url-status=dead | access-date=1 February 2022}}</ref>
In June 2017, he was arrested while flying a drone at a [[Cambodia National Rescue Party]] rally in [[Phnom Penh]], [[Cambodia]], and charged with [[espionage]], a charge he denied.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/jun/11/australian-film-maker-charged-with-espionage-in-cambodia|title=Australian film-maker charged with espionage in Cambodia|agency=Australian Associated Press|date=2017-06-10|work=The Guardian|access-date=2017-07-06|language=en-GB|issn=0261-3077}}</ref> He was held in [[Prey Sar prison]] and his trial began in a Phnom Penh court on 16 August 2018, with character testimony from Australian film director [[Peter Weir]].<ref>{{cite news |last1=Handley |first1=Erin |title=James Ricketson secures a trial delay until after Cambodian election |url=https://www.smh.com.au/world/asia/james-ricketson-secures-a-trial-delay-until-after-cambodian-election-20180716-p4zrro.html |access-date=24 July 2018 |publisher=Sydney Morning Herald |date=16 July 2018}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Blomberg |first=Matt |date=2018-08-17 |title=Cambodian judges question accused spy James Ricketson's links to Australian Government |language=en-AU |work=ABC News |url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-08-17/james-ricketson-filmmaker-cambodia-trial/10129780 |access-date=2018-08-19}}</ref> On 31 August he was found guilty and sentenced to six years in prison.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.smh.com.au/world/asia/australian-james-ricketson-found-guilty-of-espionage-in-cambodia-20180831-p500yp.html|title=Australian James Ricketson found guilty of espionage in Cambodia|first=Erin|last=Handley|date=31 August 2018|website=The Sydney Morning Herald|access-date=31 August 2018}}</ref> It was announced on 21 September 2018 that Cambodian authorities had pardoned Ricketson for the offence.<ref>{{cite web |last=Blomberg |first=Matt |date=21 September 2018 |title=James Ricketson: Cambodia pardons Australian filmmaker jailed for espionage |url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-09-21/australian-filmmaker-james-ricketson-pardoned-for-espionage/10292752 |access-date=21 September 2018 |website=Australian Broadcasting Corporation}}</ref> === NSW Police === On 9 February 2026, Ricketson was tackled to the ground by six [[New South Wales Police]] officers while taking part in a Sydney rally protesting the visit by Israeli President [[Isaac Herzog]] to Australia. Ricketson sustained injuries to his arms and was held for several hours at Darlinghurst Police Station, but was released without charge.<ref name="g966">{{cite web | last1=Martino | first1=Matt | last2=Greenbank | first2=Amy | last3=Carter | first3=Lucy | title=New video shows violent arrest of Australian filmmaker James Ricketson at Sydney's anti-Herzog protest | website=ABC News | date=12 February 2026 | url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-02-12/video-shows-arrest-filmmaker-james-ricketson-sydney-protest/106337470?utm_source=abc_news_app&utm_medium=content_shared&utm_campaign=abc_news_app&utm_content=other | access-date=12 February 2026}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | last1=Schultz | first1=Amber | last2=Duffin | first2=Perry | last3=Surdo | first3=Daniel Lo | last4=Sibthorpe | first4=Clare | title=Isaac Herzog protest: Protesters condemn police as calls mount for independent inquiry | website=[[The Sydney Morning Herald]] | date=10 February 2026 | url=https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/teen-charged-with-assaulting-police-after-torch-incident-at-sydney-protest-20260211-p5o18i.html | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20260211164254/https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/teen-charged-with-assaulting-police-after-torch-incident-at-sydney-protest-20260211-p5o18i.html | archive-date=11 February 2026 | url-status=live | access-date=12 February 2026}}</ref>
==Selected filmography== *''[[Third Person Plural]]'' (1978) *''[[Candy Regentag]]'' (1989) *''[[Blackfellas (film)|Blackfellas]]'' (1994)
==Awards== * [[AACTA Award]] 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]].<ref name=satpaper/> 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.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-12-17/fighting-for-james-ricketsons-freedom/10430358?nw=0|title=Fighting for a father's freedom|publisher=ABC News|date=17 December 2018|access-date=15 August 2020}}</ref>
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== *{{IMDb name|0725497}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Ricketson, James}} [[Category:Australian film directors]] [[Category:Living people]] [[Category:1949 births]] [[Category:Prisoners and detainees of Cambodia]] [[Category:Australian people imprisoned abroad]] [[Category:Australian prisoners and detainees]] [[Category:2018 in Cambodia]] [[Category:21st-century Australian criminals]]