#raphael saadiq

Ryan went from Football to Film due to a football injury and the encouragement of his creative writing professor, Rosemary Graham, who told him he should, "go to Hollywood and write screenplays." He noted in an interview that before his big break with Creed (2015) and eventually Black Panther (2018) he was $200,000 in debt from Film School loans. He and Zinzi got married in 2016 and later founded Proximity Media in 2021 with Sev Ohanian. Ryan and Zinzi have technically been working together since 2009 since she helped him with his short films at the time.

Imagine this man who didn't initially consider film to be his trajectory in life, writes and directs a movie from the deepest of his heart to honor his beloved Uncle...and that movie gets an Oscar nomination. The movie Variety tried to spit on about it's amazing opening weekend of 65.5 million dollars globally for a film that had a budget of 90 million. The movie that has been featured at iMAX theatres approximately 3 separate times since it's release in April 2025. A film that is beloved by its' audience and highlights the experience of many but mainly African Americans in a way we've never seen in film. A movie that has one of the most phenomenal surreal montages film audiences have ever seen. A film production that employed Black creatives, and other creatives of color, which allowed them to showcase their skill, craft, voices, and creativity through their work on this film. This film that has secured every academy award nomination that it could surpassing Titanic (1997), All About Eve (1950) and La La Land (2016) 14 nominations with 16 nominations for Sinners. Thus, Sinners is now the most nominated movie in the Academy Awards history with 16 nominations. I will also include that Sinners has also received 18 nominations from the NAACP Image Awards occurring on February 28, 2026.

There is a lot of conversation about how these awards are viewed, which awards matter, who should care and/or who should not. But I think there is something to be said about being recognized for your work let alone awarded. It is a nice feeling and it is encouraging. It's a beautiful feat when you can be recognized by those who love and respect you, but also those you may have expected to overlook you. It allows you to look at the room, the industry, the audience and realize that the work you did was seen, felt, understood and hell, maybe even appreciated. February and March will come and go but the impact that Sinners will resonate for years to come. The work of Ryan, Wunmi, Michael, Delroy, Jayme, Miles, Ludwig, and Ruth will weigh on the hearts of the audience and the culture for years to come. Whether Sinners wins anything at The Academy Awards, it will always be clear that Sinners has won the hearts of many. The support will continue and awards will never change that.