Ryan Booth

A few more BTS scenes from @stagesfilm See you in Dallas! #diff2026

A few stills from @stagesfilm . We screen tomorrow (4/25) as a part of @wearediffdallas ’ ‘26 program. Very excited to share this movie again, and in a venue as historic as the Texas Theater. If you’re in Dallas and would like to join at 1p, hit me up. @davidramirez and I will be kicking around this weekend. (lovely images by @packdrawn , @trois_ , @wlaastyle , and @josephbicknell )

Very excited for @stagesfilm to screen at @wearediffdallas in April. Thank you to @jamesfaustdallasfilm and the programmers for catching the vision for what this movie could be and bringing it to audiences at DIFF. Upwards x Onwards 💫💫💫

where do I begin?? truly one of the most dense, emotional, inspiring weeks of my life. beginning the process of sharing this film, seeing the thing we made reflected back to us through conversation, laughter, tears… learning how to speak about the film. So many moments of serendipity, magic, and visions of the future. we made a movie about building an internal process that can sustain you irrespective of the external validation that may or may not ever come. basically - until you are willing to get on stage to play your songs - even if no one shows up - then you aren’t ready for if they DO show up. a grand moment of cosmic humor being that STAGES won Best of Texas at SXSW - an award I had no idea we were eligible for, and I was only even at the award ceremony because @ryanbkoo had just had me on his podcast and I loved the conversation so much that I said I’d roll over to the awards just to keep hanging out. In my mind - we’d already won. In the time our STAGES family had spent together, in the laughter and tears of the audience, in the fact that this movie existed at all. What a wild ride. Thank you @sxsw for seeing us. Many many more thanks to come.

A few stills from @stagesfilm I’ll share a few more especially the ones with crew very soon!

Tomorrow is the day. The first day of the next phase of this film’s lifecycle and my own directing evolution. Proud of the hundreds of people who have made this moment possible. Headed to the airport feeling nervous like I’ve not felt in quite some time. But more than the nerves, I’m just feeling grateful. What a gift to chase down the hints and guesses, the ephemeral moments we put on screen, the quiet faith that it might all add up to something someone might resonate with. Cheers to team STAGES. Cheers to what’s next 💙😭💙😭💙😭💙 (thank you @clausstudios for the collages).

EP. 83 W/ Director @ryanbooth // Full episode available on all podcast platforms and YouTube! • Director Ryan Booth shares an honest and deeply thoughtful look at what it actually means to grow as a filmmaker. From breaking out of the commercial “box” that once defined him to directing his first feature “Stages” after an eight-year journey, Ryan unpacks the tension between comfort and conviction — and what each stage of his career demanded of him. He reflects on moving from DP to commercial director to narrative filmmaker, learning to take full ownership of a vision, and collaborating without losing authority. This conversation explores leadership, vulnerability, agency politics, intuition, and the endurance required to bring a feature to life. At its core, it’s about standing firmly behind your voice — embracing the reality that the chaos and uncertainty never disappear, they simply evolve as you do.

Only a few days until STAGES premieres at @sxsw . I’ve spent most of the past few days calling people to express my gratitude for joining me on this journey. So many people to thank, so many experiences woven into the fabric of this film. Want to take a second to say a public thanks to David, Leslie, Jolene, and Jake for forming the core troupe of this film. They each brought their characters to life with such skill and grace. Riding in the van, loading in gear, metabolizing the dialogue, embodying the spirit of these musicians. Making a film is taking a leap and these four jumped into the deep end with me. Can’t wait to share their work. Also - definitely find a cast who, like the last two grabs, will fire over some ADR at the last second before mix wraps, and will also remind you to take a second to breathe. Truly the best.

In December of 2022, I hit a wall. Personally, professionally, practically. What used to work wasn’t working. STAGES had fallen apart again after a very exiting year chasing financing opportunities that I thought were a done deal. I ended up in therapy, but more importantly, I put STAGES on the shelf for good. Thought it was just not meant to be……………and then, out of the blue, a phone call from @cooperfilms . “Do you have any narrative work?” I sent him The Heights. 30 minutes later, do you have a feature script? 2 hours later, “Bro, I love this, can I send this to a producer friend of mine, Val Hill?” Very quickly I ended up on a zoom with Val and I’ll never forget that first conversation. Val asked me if I actually wanted to make the movie. “Most people want to talk about making a movie. Very few people actually want to make the movie. Much easier to talk than do.” He said I needed to take a few days to think about it because saying yes would necessarily mean that this film will NOT be the version that I had been holding in my head, but would become a living and breathing thing that would never live up to the imaginary possibilities. Saying yes would mean letting go. Well, I said yes and it’s been an incredibly expansive experience. Morgan has been my creative partner, guide, mentor, friend, and support. He’s fought for me, the film, and the experience. Val has been a coach, pushing me to dream bigger. And the two of them were on set with me every day. At monitor, as a scene was winding down, Morgan would often ask a simple set of questions - arc, character, pov - that would result in a final take or two that are very frequently in the film. STAGES becoming real was hugely influenced by these two men. Eternally grateful to Morgan for catching the vision when I’d lost my way. And to Val for trusting a first time filmmaker as hard headed as I am.

It’s easy for STAGES to get flattened down to this first image. The Director “directing” but nothing could be further from the truth. The reality is that STAGES is more the second picture than anything else. Even on a small movie like ours, it is the emergent result of so many people’s time, talent, and commitment. A full range of emotions and experience is captured in each of our scenes and sequences because of these incredible people. And it’s not even everyone. So many cast that joined for just a day. So many extras who came to our “shows”, so many of our ATX crew who didn’t join us in Nashville. I’m eternally grateful to this rag tag bunch of filmmakers and musicians who braved the summer heat to bring this story to life. 💙💙💙 [side note - we’re standing in front of the old Mercy Lounge in Nashville, where I used to snap photos of the bands playing 8th off of 8th as a 22 year old. So many full circle moments]

this still from STAGES has rapidly become one of my favorites. Not because it is the most stunning image, but because it encapsulates the spirit of what we set out to make together. @packdrawn was a fierce champion of making sure that every frame was in service of pushing the story forward. even, in this case, as we shot the venue load in in harsh midday light. not because it was prettiest but because that’s what you do on tour. you don’t load in at beautiful blue hour. You haul your shit inside in the middle of the day after having just driven multiple hours in the van. no crew to carry anything, you carry that shit yourself. @trois_ had the confidence and taste to build off of that reality. that’s actually David’s gear. his actual van. but she supplemented with merch and custom straps and little flourishes to make it all feel intentional. And @_louisprince is there in the back *actually carrying his gear inside*. In this moment on camera, in the next, he actually set it all up because for each of our concert scenes, we actually just…played a concert. Sound check was real. Line check was real. Every sound coming from the PA was played by David, Jake, and Leslie. STAGES is scripted, but it’s built on top of a very real world, a very real process. And so - this kinda blurry handheld image shot on a sidewalk in Nashville as my cast loaded their real gear into the Exit/In a few hours before playing a show in front of a real crowd…this is the movie, in all of its glorious willingness to embrace the imperfections in service of heart transmission 💙💙💙

I don’t know what to say. How do you sum up a nine year journey? How do you make sense of all the hundreds of people who have helped bring a thing to life over those years? How do you hold space for the flicker of dream that you have been keeping burning even in the long stretches of silence? How do I say thank you to my cast, my crew, my collaborators? How do I quantify all the ways the story has mirrored my (our) own journey? It’s been messy and imperfect and yet, here we are. [getting] ready to share this first look at what STAGES has become at SXSW in just a few weeks. A festival that I’ve grown up alongside as a filmmaker. Running cameras at The Spotify House for years. Running around with musicians and sneaking into screenings of friends movies. I shot a doc about a recording studio being built in a middle school in east Austin during SXSW one year and it inspired a scene in the film. We even shot at that school, in that studio. A perfect place for my debut feature to begin the next STAGE of the journey. You’re going to have to forgive the posting. I’ve been largely quiet on here, but I’m about to get loud for all the (hundreds) of people who helped bring this film to life. Many to tag shortly, but for now, @davidramirez - thanks for sticking with me over this past nearly decade :)