RICO KING
Writer / Director
Rico King is a producer, writer, and director, and the founder of Black King Entertainment, an independent production company dedicated to socially impactful films and documentaries.
After earning an acting award early in his career but finding no traditional path forward, he built his own. With a Canon T3i, he wrote, produced, and starred in G Code: The Series, an independent film series shot in his own neighborhood. Distributed through trunk-of-the-car DVD sales, the series became a local phenomenon, selling over 100,000 copies establishing Rico as a grassroots filmmaker with a direct connection to his audience.
Angered by how the media portrayed the people of Baltimore, MD during the city’s 2015 unrest, Rico expanded into documentary filmmaking with Down in the Hole, a film exploring police brutality and life in Baltimore Winning the best documentary and diamond award at the Mount Vernon Film Festival. Rico’s next documentary Tears in the Bayou, a tear-jerking documentary on the impact gun violence has on Houston, TX became one of the most-viewed independent documentaries to emerge from state.
His broadcast-commissioned feature documentary, Nekai Walks, marks a new chapter in his career expanding from grassroots distribution to national broadcast while maintaining the intimacy and proximity that defines his storytelling. Long term, Rico’s vision is to build Black King Entertainment into a globally recognized production powerhouse.
Outside of filmmaking, his work extends into community leadership and humanitarian initiatives. He has been recognized multiple times, including being awarded “Rico King Day” by the City of Houston for years of extraordinary community service, hurricane relief and rescue efforts, and facilitating peace efforts in communities affected by gun violence.
KEY CREW
Director of Photography
Executive Produceer
Editor
Producer
Line Producer
Music Composer
Cast
nekai foster
Nakai Foster is at the heart of Nekai Walks—a teenager whose life changes in an instant after being shot in a random act of gun violence. One moment he is a typical young person—working, playing basketball, thinking about his future—and the next, he is fighting to survive in a hospital bed, with doctors unsure if he will live, let alone walk again. What follows is an extraordinary journey of recovery. Nakai must relearn the most basic functions—how to sit up, speak, and take his first steps. The process is slow, frustrating, and deeply physical, but also mental and emotional. Through it all, his resilience, humour, and determination begin to emerge, revealing a young man unwilling to be defined by what happened to him. As he regains strength, Nakai’s story evolves from survival to purpose. He sets his sights on walking in a citywide anti-violence march—transforming his recovery into something bigger than himself. Today, he speaks about his future with clarity and ambition, grounded in gratitude for the support around him and a desire to make a difference. His journey is not just about learning to walk again—it is about choosing the path forward.
taneeshia foster
Tanneeshia is the emotional anchor of *Nekai Walks*—a mother whose strength is tested in the most unimaginable way. When her son Nakai is shot and left fighting for his life, she is thrust into a world of uncertainty, fear, and waiting. From the moment she realizes something is wrong, to the long nights beside his hospital bed, Taneeshia’s experience reflects the quiet, relentless endurance of a parent refusing to give up. Guided by faith and an unshakable belief in her son’s survival, Taneeshia becomes his advocate, his voice, and his source of strength. Even as doctors prepare her for the worst, she holds onto the possibility that he will not only live—but walk out of the hospital. Her journey is one of both courage and vulnerability, navigating grief, anger, and hope all at once.
devon jones
Devon Jones is a veteran educator and community leader who has worked in Toronto’s Jane and Finch community for over 25 years. Having lost more than 30 former students to gun violence, he dedicated his life to ensuring their deaths were not in vain. In 2007, he founded YAAACE (Youth Association for Academics, Athletics, and Character Education), an organization designed to bridge divides within the community and provide youth with access to academics, athletics, character education, employment support, and violence prevention programs. Today, YAAACE serves over 300 young people annually.
annette bailey
Annette Bailey brings a critical, systems-level perspective to Nekai Walks. As a public health professional, her work is rooted in understanding the deeper forces behind youth gun violence—forces that extend far beyond individual choices. Through her lens, violence is not random, but the outcome of layered social conditions including poverty, systemic inequity, trauma, and lack of access to resources. What sets Annette apart is her ability to humanize the issue without simplifying it. She challenges the tendency to label young people as perpetrators alone, emphasizing that many are also victims of the environments they are navigating. Her insight reframes the conversation—shifting it from blame to responsibility, and from reaction to prevention.
lorene manners
Lorene Manners is the mother of Jordan Manners, a 15-year-old student whose life was taken by gun violence inside his Toronto high school. Since that day, she has lived with the unimaginable reality of losing a child in a place meant to be safe. She is not defined by public roles or titles, but by motherhood and by the enduring love for her son. In Nekai Walks, her presence reflects the quiet, lifelong grief carried by parents whose children never came home
imo lewis
Imo Lewis speaks from a place of lived experience—one shaped by choices, consequences, and reflection. As a young man, he became caught in a moment of violence that changed the course of his life forever. Convicted of taking another person’s life, he has spent years in prison carrying the weight of that decision—fully aware of the harm it caused, not only to the victim, but to families, communities, and his own. From inside, Imo offers a perspective rarely heard with such honesty. Today, Imo reflects on the life he might have lived and the father he strives to still be from a distance. His voice in Nekai Walks is a powerful counterpoint—reminding us that behind every act of violence is a human story, and that understanding those stories is essential if we are to break the cycle.
A Rico King Film
Produced by BLACK KING ENTERTAINMENT,
in association with TVO