In the world of professional sports, no athlete ever came back from a mental health disorder....until Ron Artest.

Interview with Director/Producer Johnny Sweet

Congratulations! Why did you make your film?

Because Ron Artest is arguably the most important modern sports story of the last 25 years. When he thanked his psychiatrist immediately following his game-winning shot that sealed the 2010 NBA championship he helped kicked open the doors to mental health awareness and education.

Imagine I’m a member of the audience. Why should I watch this film?

Because either a family member or possibly a close friend might be battling a mental illness. If you're also interested in how the environment of New York (and Queens especially) impacted the youth during the 1980s and early 90s Ron's story provides that blueprint.

How have the script and film evolved over the course of their development?

The script was born out of the 22 interview subjects we had the honor of interviewing.

What type of feedback have you received so far?

We've received emotional and confessional feedback from audience Q & A's across the country which we did not expect.

Has the feedback surprised or challenged your point of view?

We were surprised at the number of personal confessions coming from audience members following the viewings of the film. We were also honored to win Best Documentary at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival.

Who do you need to come on board (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists) to amplify this film’s message?

Objective journalistic viewership would be tremendous.

Behind the scenes of Quiet Storm: The Ron Artest Story

What type of impact and/or reception would you like this film to have?

Most importantly we hope Ron telling his story helps save lives.

What’s a key question that will help spark a debate or begin a conversation about this film?

In your own words define mental illness.

What other projects are the key creatives developing or working on now?

We have a couple that we're working on that we can't discuss yet at this time. But hopefully in the near future.

Quiet Storm: The Ron Artest Story poster

Interview: March 2019

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Quiet Storm: The Ron Artest Story

In the world of professional sports, no athlete ever came back from a mental health disorder....until Ron Artest.

Length: 1:56:00

Director: Johnny Sweet

Producer: Colleen Dominguez, Omar Michaud, Johnny Sweet

Writer: Tom Friend

About the writer, director and producer:

Born and raised in NYC, JOHNNY SWEET graduated from Syracuse University in 2003. He was an Emmy Award-winning feature producer at ESPN for 10 years, primarily covering the NBA and the NFL. In 2016 Sweet directed his first film Vick: A Bleacher Report Documentary, which won the Associated Press Sports Editor Award for journalism.

TOM FRIEND is a distinguished sportswriter and reporter. His career spans the Washington Post, NY Times, LA Times and a 20 year run at ESPN as a features reporter.

COLLEEN DOMINGUEZ is arguably one of the best sports reporters of the past 25 years. Her career includes sideline and television feature work for ESPN and The Today Show on NBC.

OMAR MICHAUD was a talent producer for ESPN. He now runs his own talent production company (O-Zone Productions) based out of LA.

Key cast: Ron Artest, Lamar Odom, Kobe Bryant

Looking for: journalists

Hashtags used: #QuietStormRonArtest

Other: IMDb

Made in association with: CMD Productions and Bleacher Report

Funders: Bleacher Report

Where can I watch it next and in the coming month? Cleveland International Film Festival/Cleveland, OH - 3/28 and 3/29; Hot Docs/Toronto - 4/28, 4/29, 5/5