Editor, Producer, Writer Ri-Karlo Handy on Success, Diversity and Giving Back from Post In Black

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Editor, Producer, Writer Ri-Karlo Handy on Success, Diversity and Giving Back

41 minutes Posted Mar 9, 2023 at 2:00 am.

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Having began his career in the entertainment industry at the early age of 14, writer, producer and editor, Ri-Karlo Handy's pathway into post-production is largely due to a television production class offered at his school while he was in the ninth grade. This early learning opportunity gave him the skills he needed to jump-start a professional path. Sadly, those programs lost funding and weren't even in existence a decade later.

In this conversation, Ri-Karlo talks about his early beginnings directing music videos. He's worked with artists, Too $hort, En Vogue and E-40 and later directed music videos for Bone Thugs-N-Harmony, Mack 10, Master P and many more. It was at the age of 22, during the reality TV boom, that he began editing for television.

Ri-Karlo's currently the showrunner on the series NBC's Play It Forward: Harlem Globetrotters and just recently signed a deal with A3 Artists Agency. He's executive produced for Making of a Black Tech Company, Greenwood: When Finance meets Literacy, Hope Village and Saints & Sinners, which he also created. While having edited for the series Love Island, MTV Floribama Shore, Jersey Shore Family Vacation, Hell's Kitchen and College Hill, this is just a short list of a wider, broader professional career, as he's the CEO of his own multi-platform media company, Sunwise Media.

He attributes his 'secret sauce' as an editor to having grown up in Germany and then moving to Oakland, California and also discusses a pivotal moment sparked by his message in a private Facebook group that read, “I NEED AN EDITOR,” adding, “Looking for black Union editors, please DM” which went viral and led to a firestorm of reaction that prompted a larger, bigger discussion around diversity in the industry. It also led to his creation of Handy Foundation, a nonprofit whose apprenticeship level training aids many in job placement for positions in film and television. The nonprofit recently partnered with the California Film Commission. The training program's diversity initiative is to help create a more accessible pathway into the industry.

Host: David Hunter Jr. | Executive Producers: Daniel K. Hunter, David Hunter Jr, Tatiana M. Johnson | Producers: Eric Johnson, Aurelia Belfield | Editor: Landon T. Bost | Audio Post/Re-recording Mixer: Ryan Virgin | Theme Song: "Sanctuary" by Chvrles | BTS Photography: J Nyce | Produced by Made for More Entertainment in association with Trailblazer Studios and Landon Bost Media

Stay tuned for more episodes of Post In Black's fourth season as we continue to amplify the stories and experiences of Black professionals working in post-production. Look out for new episodes every second and fourth Wednesday.