“I wrote and directed Steve to honor my late father, Roy Stephen Ulrich, who passed away in 2016 from ALS. My relationship with my father left something to be desired and it wasn’t until his passing that I truly found empathy and love for him; in his passing he left my family hundreds of old sketch books and beautiful paintings. My goal in setting out to make Steve was to try and honor his memory and share with the world how complex, dark and beautiful his life was and to show how everyone we may encounter even just in passing has a beautiful, tragic story that is deserving of empathy. As a filmmaker I wanted to transform my weaknesses into strengths; I have a hard time writing dialogue that makes sense to me so I chose a minimal approach that focuses on nuance, visuals, empty space and silence. This was my first time writing and directing and the choice of simplicity gave me my own unique set of tools, shaped my directing style and let me find my voice in film to this day.”

Richard Louis Ulrich, 29, was born in St. Louis Missouri to a Filipino mother; he is a thoughtful, reflective and introspective filmmaker. Richard’s strongest traits are communicating themes and emotions in unique and nuanced ways, his focus is on telling complex human stories with simplicity and empathy.