When I was young, I was happiest when I was the center of attention, trying my best to make others laugh by acting silly or saying funny things. I’d lip-sync rap songs on the diving board in our backyard pool at family cookouts, then jump into the water. Or I’d retell jokes I’d heard adults tell and repeat them to my family and friends. My mother saw my spark and encouraged me to go after my dream to be an entertainer, while at the same time keeping God as my focal point. The smart move for me as an adult would have been to move to Los Angeles, but that plan wasn’t for me. So, I stayed in the Bay Area in California where I’d grown up, acting in random commercials and small-budget films.
Then in 2004, I auditioned for a nationally syndicated TV show and landed the male lead role. After a month on the show, the producers recognized my talents in other areas and brought me in to write and co-produce the show. This affirmed that films were, indeed, the path God had for me. But as a newlywed trying to balance my marriage, faith, and budding acting career, I became convinced, along with everyone around me, that my life wasn’t working.
The temptations of being on a TV show, having a bit of notoriety, and traveling a lot on my own proved too much for me to handle. It almost destroyed my marriage. Something had to change. Either I was going to start honoring my marriage and my faith, or I was going to go down the road of so many others before me, who allowed the spotlight to ruin their lives behind the camera. So, I made the difficult but right choice to resign from the TV show and focus on being a better husband and Christ-follower. I went from hosting the TV show to literally scrubbing toilets and mopping floors at my church. I was starting all over, from the ground floor.
Then in 2006, my wife Nicki and I had the first of our five children. I’d resigned myself to remain creative but to put my dreams on the back burner. To fill the void in my soul left by a lack of creative outlets, I worked in various careers. IT Help Desk. Phone Installation. Web Design. The list goes on. But none of them lasted more than a year because of how unfulfilled I felt. I thought if I could “play the game” and do the corporate thing, I’d feel content. Well, I didn’t. My work felt agonizing, and my longing to entertain and tell stories haunted me. I felt miserable inside because I knew God had called me to something else. That’s not a knock on anyone working a nine to five, I just knew for me, I was supposed to be going down a different path. And no other job or side gig I took, satisfied that feeling.
Then in 2008, Nicki and I moved with our two children to the Sacramento area so I could take a job at a video production company. My boss hired me to help make videos and work on their creative team. But on my first day, he threw me on the phones with the comment, “I like your personality so much, Ricky, I feel your skill set will be better used making sales calls for our video services.”
I was angry about this sudden change in my position and didn’t last long at the company. First, I loathed selling and was disgusted about being deceived. And second, the economy collapsed, and six weeks after my boss hired me, he let half the staff go—me among them.
That day, as I sat in my car in the video production office parking lot, I cursed my circumstances and shouted at God. When I finally wiped away my tears, I looked up saw a sign that read, “William Jessup University: Christ-Centered Education.” The college was less than half a mile from where I was parked. Long story short, I took a tour, and three months later began attending classes.
During the summer of 2009 at the university, I went on a month-long mission trip to Africa, where I had the most incredible interaction with God. While standing in a destitute village, looking at the poorest of the poor in Tanzania, God spoke to me.
“See those devices? They are how Ricky Borba is going to fulfill the Great Commission. You will make films that the whole world will see because of them.”
Now twelve years later, God’s message has come true. Anyone across the globe can pick up a smartphone or tablet and stream all forms of media, including films, immediately. A year later I graduated. Days after the ceremony, the Lord gave me a dream and showed me the rest of my life. I was an old man, and I could see thousands of people across the globe who had become Christians from watching the films I’d made.
The years that followed tested my faith when it came to that dream the Lord gave me. Would I really forge ahead and make the effort to become a filmmaker knowing God was behind that, or would I take the easier road and go back to a career where money was more stable? I felt like the Egyptians wanting to go back to slavery at times. But, my wife and I held on during painfully meager years when she and I walked through what we called “the valley.” Together, we decided we would stay the course of me pressing on toward becoming a filmmaker, no matter what. Nicki continued to work full time and bring in almost all of our income during that season while I built my business and made connections in the film industry. All the while adding our third child to our lives. To say things were difficult at that time would be a huge understatement.
I had no film industry contacts, but I believed in God’s character and the dream He’d put in my heart. He’d formed and created me. He knew my heart’s desires. He knew my strengths and abilities, as well as my weaknesses. He created me to be a good husband, father, and filmmaker. And He knew I’d follow the dreams He gave me, no matter what life threw at me. This required years of taking any small filmmaking job that came my way, making commercials, networking, which resulted in an opportunity to direct my first Hollywood film in 2017. I felt God’s hand at work in giving me this chance. It was winter, and we were two weeks away from shooting.
We’d taken care of finances—signed legal documents, provided necessary bank statements, gave every piece of information required to secure the needed $300,000. We’d also vetted an investor who’d been recommended by a friend and who was holding the $30,000 we’d given him as the 10% bridge loan for financing the film. As the days ticked by, my excitement soared. My dream was coming true! The deposit date came and went. Then days passed with unanswered phone calls and unreturned emails. The dark truth soon came to light. Our “investor” had taken our $30k and fled to Australia. My dream film was never going to be shot, and our $30k was gone.
Because life had thrown me terrible circumstances growing up, I’d learned resilience when young. When I realized our money was gone and the film would never be made, I chose to remain positive and focus on God. I looked at my perspective, not my circumstances. I’m the CEO of the Respond Well Department of my life. People and circumstances don’t have authority over my reactions. I chose to honor God in this huge setback.
The Hollywood producer on that film noticed. For six months, I tried to persuade our “investor” to give our money back. I refused to get angry or call the guy names or drag his name through the mud. I believe this is part of Christian integrity, and it’s how I live.
One day as I was sitting in a Burger King parking lot with my kids, I received an unexpected call from that Hollywood producer. “My business partner and I have noticed how you’ve remained positive during all the negotiations with your so-called ‘investor.’
“Frankly, we don’t get it, but we admire you and think you’re, indeed, cut out for directing films. We have a faith-based film called Hope for the Holidays that we think you’d be perfect to direct it.”
I started crying right there on the phone. I accepted the offer that instant. In 2018, exactly twelve months later, I walked onto my very first film set as a director and faced the cast and crew for Hope for the Holidays. My debut film as director included working with Oscar-nominees, Golden Globe winners, child stars, TV stars, and one of the biggest stars of faith-based films. I still get goosebumps whenever I think about it. Few first-time directors are blessed to work with a cast and crew of this caliber. Directing Hope for the Holidays was a uniquely special experience. The film was released on Thanksgiving 2020 and has since won Best Picture, Best Actor, and Best Supporting Actor at the prestigious Red-Letter Awards (think Oscars for faith-based films). The film has incredible ratings on Amazon and IMDb, and I could not be any prouder of what God has helped me achieve.
After Hope for the Holidays, I was hired to direct another film that has introduced scores of people to the Lord. My Brothers’ Crossing released in theaters in the fall of 2020. This film presents themes about racial reconciliation and forgiveness that touch the hearts of those who see it.
Today, I’m hard at work on other films all because God set a plan in motion that He crafted before I was born.
When I was young, the Lord gave me a dream about the end of my life, and in that dream, I saw people who became Christians because of the films I’d made. Now I’m seeing that dream coming true because I have chosen to follow God. Although I might be directing others on stage, I know God is directing me to live out His dream script written for my life.