Director Rio Contrada dishes on ‘Splinter’

Los Angeles, CA (News4usOnline) –Director and screenwriter Rio Contrada premiered his debut feature film Splinter at this year’s Dances with Films festival on June 23, 2025, in Los Angeles.

Shot in just 16 days on a tight budget, the film tells the story of a troubled school psychologist forced to confront her own buried trauma in order to help a student in crisis.

Contrada is an award-winning filmmaker from Northampton, Massachusetts. His work has screened at over 40 festivals globally, and his writing has placed in top competitions including the Austin Film Festival, Screencraft, and The Blacklist’s Top Pilots List.

Splinter marks Contrada’s first feature as both writer and director. He previously produced the Boston crime drama How to Rob, starring Chinaza Uche (Dickinson), which won audience awards at IFFBoston and the New Hampshire Film Festival before being acquired by Good Deed Entertainment.

While working as Debbie Allen’s assistant on Grey’s Anatomy, Contrada began writing Splinter as a form of emotional processing. The story was inspired by a deeply personal experience involving betrayal and self-reflection—an experience that ultimately shaped the emotional landscape of the film.

Following a painful breakup with a psychology graduate student, Contrada was left not only with heartbreak but a haunting label—his emotional reaction was dismissed as “catastrophic thinking.” What might have ended as just another failed relationship instead became the creative spark for Splinter, a psychological drama that confronts the complexities of trauma, healing, and survival.

The script’s development was deeply informed by clinical research. Contrada interviewed trauma experts, psychologists, and educators, eventually discovering “The Splinter Analogy,” a teaching tool used to explain trauma to children. That metaphor became the thematic backbone of the film.

“I did all of my research and interviews before I wrote the script,” Contrada said. “Obviously, the title and the real main messaging of the story comes from a psychology worksheet. At one point in the movie, there’s a scene where Rosy is trying to break through to Ella, the second grader who is refusing to speak. I consulted a school psychologist about how to handle that situation. The way Rosy handles it in the movie is the way some school psychologists are taught to approach it. I really poured myself into the research.”

The film also features a special appearance by actress and director Debbie Allen, who not only inspired one of the characters but also supported the production behind the scenes. Contrada wrote the role specifically with Allen in mind but kept that intention private for years.

“I got to know Debbie very well while I was working on the project,” he said. “I developed a lot of respect for her because she’s a person who has broken barriers in terms of race and gender. She’s often been the only woman, the only Black person in the room—and that has really toughened her up.”

He added, “She has a different approach to dealing with life’s hardships, and I wanted her character to reflect that. At first, I wrote it as an autobiographical parallel to Debbie. When we table-read it, I wanted to make sure it didn’t feel too on-the-nose. She didn’t know I had written the part for her for about two years—I was just watching her move through the world, trying to learn and pick up that work ethic. She’s the hardest worker I’ve ever been around. After a couple of years, I gained a little bit of her trust.”

At its core, Splinter is a film about resilience and emotional survival. Its main character, Rosy, is a complex and deeply flawed school psychologist—a woman with a sharp exterior who’s forced to peel back layers of personal pain in order to help others.

Through her, Contrada explores what it truly means to live with trauma—and how confronting it head-on is often the only path to healing.

“Future films require so many people coming together and marching in the same direction,” Contrada said. “You really cannot do it by yourself. As soon as Debbie signed on, I just got this groundswell of support from Grey’s Anatomy.”

Audiences can catch Splinter next at the Burbank International Film Festival, taking place September 23–28, 2025. Be sure to grab your tickets and experience the film in person. 

This marks a significant next step for Contrada and the film, as it continues to gain momentum and recognition on the festival circuit. The Burbank International Film Festival, known for spotlighting thought-provoking and emotionally resonant stories, provides an ideal platform for Splinter to connect with a broader audience.