Rico Johnson-Sinclair

Rico Johnson-Sinclair is a Film and HETV consultant working across inclusion, talent development and curation.

Rico Johnson-Sinclair is a professional working across talent development. In his most recent role he’s worked as Skills and Training Director at Warner Bros. Discovery developing and leading on CrewHQ, a skills and training centre based at the renowned Warner Bros. Studio Leavesden. Rico works to develop and nurture ‘below-the-line’ crew and embed inclusion into training and skills from inception.

After starting his career after volunteering at 17 different arts organisations, Rico went on to work at Flatpack Festival in Birmingham. Rico Johnson-Sinclair then went on to build CineQ, a Queer film festival that prioritises QTBIPOC audiences. Although his career has developed since then, his ethos has always centred on audiences and care first, understanding that the screen industries and the arts have the power to shape hearts and minds.

During his career as a film programmer, He’s programmed for festivals such as Outfest in Los Angeles, Fringe! Queer Film Festival, Vancouver Queer Film Festival, Aesthetica Short Film Festival and more.

Outside of programming and exhibition, Rico has had a long career of working in the inclusion space all across the creative arts sector

He has developed training as an Inclusion Specialist, embedding inclusive practices into filmmaking and exhibition which has been delivered Berlinale (EFM), Cannes (Official Marche Du Film Programme), and Sheffield DocFest (official Industry programme), as well as national and international postgraduate universities and film school courses such as London Film School and the Danish Film Institute. He was also Co-Director of the Anti-Racist Taskforce for European Film, an organisation that seeks to develop equitable processes across European exhibition and production, with successful events at Cannes and BFI London Film Festival in 2022. Rico has also previously worked for organisations such as Coventry City of Culture and Film Hub Midlands.

Not limited to film, Rico has led campaigns that focus on marginalised communities at Birmingham LGBT, a charity that seeks to build community for the LGBTQIA+ community and he was also Festival Manager of SHOUT Festival, Birmingham’s queer arts and culture festival offering a mix of dance. music, theatre, live art, visual arts, and film, with a key focus on artist development. His love of music and storytelling in any form has allowed him to be flexible in his work.

Rico has worked at Race Equality Lead for the British Film Institute, working to bring a critical perspective into conversations about race in the film industry and working intersectionality to develop work around class, disability and gender from an intersectional perspective. Working interdepartmentally Rico has helped develop key works in the regions and nations, providing connections to relevant partners and subverting gatekeeping which is so prevalent in the industry.

He produced the BFI-backed film ‘Sweet Mother’ in 2019 written and directed by Zane Igbe, has worked as a consulting producer for many films in the regions, and completed his first short film as Writer/Director titled ‘PREY’ which was also funded by BFI, in 2022