Richard Montes (Chichimeca), born and raised in Los Angeles, CA is a writer and director. He is a FOX Writers Incubator 2023 fellow and NAMA Feature Film Writers Lab fellow. Richard’s films include: Pass The Mic, a documentary on the contributions of Latinos to hip-hop which screened at the American Film Institute’s Music Documentary Series; and Aguruphobia, a comedy feature satire, which had a limited theatrical release. He formed Safada Y Sano Productions with writing and filmmaking partner Jade Puga. The two have developed with major studios and production companies for film, scripted and unscripted television. Their historical drama was in the top 10% of the 2022 Nicholl Fellowship.