![\"Richard](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/J6GED3NSRZGIDJSUYS447QWUQY.jpg\")
Actor and director Eric Roberts, left, is pictured with Richard Ravosa on the set of “Richie’s Hollywood Pitch.” (Photo courtesy of Richard Ravosa)Richard Ravosa<\/p>\nSPRINGFIELD \u2014 John F. Kennedy. Ronald Reagan. Barack Obama. Three standout American men who won over Berliners, bigtime.<\/p>\n
Now, you can add one more name to the list: Richard S. Ravosa, of Springfield. <\/p>\n
Last month, Ravosa earned big at the Berlin Indie Film Festival when his film \u201cRichie\u2019s Hollywood Pitch\u201d received an award for Best Documentary.<\/p>\n
Ravosa, a city native who has worked as a lawyer in the city and across the state for 30 years, said that setting foot into the film industry has been like \u201cflying blind.\u201d<\/p>\n
The documentary details Ravosa\u2019s journey \u2014 from knocking on doors to seeking advice from Hollywood directors and producers \u2014 in an effort to get his play, \u201cMommy, Are We Poor?\u201d to the big screen.<\/p>\n
\u201c\u2018Mommy, Are We Poor?\u2019 was my passion project. I wrote it, produced it, got a great cast, and it ran for three weeks in the Greater Boston area,\u201d Ravosa said. \u201cAnd then on New Year\u2019s Eve in December of 2022, I got what I thought was a prank phone call from someone who said they were a producer in Hollywood.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ravosa said that phone call connected him with Hollywood producers Danny Wolf and David Bertolino, who wanted to work with him to bring \u201cMommy, Are We Poor?\u201d to the big screen.<\/p>\n
The play follows a single mother of two, Chelsea. In her struggle to make ends meet for her children, Chelsea winds up being sexually harassed by her boss at work.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s like so many of the clients I represent,\u201d Ravosa said. \u201cIf you pass them on the sidewalk, you think everything\u2019s fine because they\u2019re going to work, but when they get home, the utilities are shut off, there\u2019s no electricity, because the choice was either you\u2019re going to buy food, pay the co-pay for the prescription, or you\u2019re going to pay the electric bill.\u201d<\/p>\n
Actor and director Eric Roberts, left, is pictured with Richard Ravosa on the set of “Richie’s Hollywood Pitch.” (Photo courtesy of Richard Ravosa)Richard Ravosa<\/p>\n
For Ravosa, what matters to him is not the notoriety that comes with winning at the festival, but the hope that getting the film out there will help other people see how important the message is, too.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople are now interested in funding this project. I don\u2019t know how much yet, but having won that award in Berlin, it\u2019s given credibility to the cause of people like Chelsea,\u201d he said. \u201cMy goal is to make it a national conversation that people should have a place to turn to when they\u2019re struggling financially. It\u2019s nothing to be ashamed about.\u201d<\/p>\n