Rickey Bird Jr. works the rigs by day and calls "action" by night — and his new documentary is making Kern County's case to the world.
Bird Jr. is a third-generation oilfield worker, a grindhouse filmmaker, a Bakersfield lifer, and the kind of person who will tell you in the same breath that he loves A24 horror and The Golden Girls.
He turned 43 the day of this interview — two days after the fourth anniversary of losing his father — and he spoke about all of it with an openness that could only come from a man who turned personal tragedy into purpose. His new documentary, Kern Oil, just premiered in Bakersfield to nearly 1,000 people.
Born Here. Built Here.
The award-winning writer and director grew up in Bakersfield, attended West High, and has spent most of his adult life here. He became a father at 17, earned his GED, and went to work. The oil fields were the family trade.
"My dad had worked in the oil fields and had a lot of success there. I really didn't want to work in the oil fields because it was hard work. But I feel like it was kind of what made me become a man out there — being yelled at, being in really dangerous conditions. It's like boot camp."
His son, now 25 and serving in the Navy, was the reason he made it work. Bird Jr. started as a roughneck and eventually became a mud engineer on a drilling rig, working a schedule that turned out to be ideal for a filmmaker: seven days on, seven days off.
"I feel like every job should be like that — 7 days on, 7 days off."
When Filmmaking Started
The filmmaking started around 2002, when Bird Jr. auditioned for a local independent film and found himself watching two older guys with one camera and some lights. He borrowed their camera for nearly a year and started filming everything he could.
That borrowed camera led to commercials and eventually a clear vision of what he actually wanted: movies. His production company, Hectic Films, has been making grindhouse-influenced, independent genre films out of Bakersfield ever since. He loves to shoot local and has brought Los Angeles film crews to Kern County.
"Horror is so fun to shoot, and there's so much more you can say in a horror film because the audience is usually movie lovers, and they don't care what you say."
When the Fields Went Quiet
In 2022, the oil industry in California hit a severe downturn. Work dried up across Kern County because of regulatory pressure and permit restrictions that ended up driving locals out of state to support their families. Some of those forced to move were third-generation Kern County oil families who never intended to leave.
Tragedy hit many, including Bird Jr.'s family. His father lost his life to suicide.
"He was one of many that I know that have taken their life, or went to prison, or gotten into a lot of trouble, because they just don't have any work."
That loss ultimately led to the creation of the documentary. Bird Jr. had always kept his two worlds separate. This film was the first time he let those two lives touch.
"When my dad took his life, I just felt like I needed to combine the two that I've always kept separated for over 20 years. I needed to do something. Normally I don't like doing documentaries. But I just wanted to do something that helped people understand how important this is to our community."
He turned down outside funding — he didn't want anyone telling him what he could or couldn't do, and he didn't want the film to read as a PR piece for big oil. It was funded entirely out of pocket, built grassroots, over more than two years.
"I would have liked to have a $2,000,000 budget. I could have done a lot more, showed a lot more. But I think for what it is now, it tells a story and informs people. And I'm proud of it."
Why Local Oil Matters
Kern Oil moves through the subject in chapters — the history of oil in Kern County, how a well is drilled, the permitting process, and the human cost of overregulation. Bird Jr. interviews people from the highest levels of the industry down to the workers in the field.
"California uses 1,800,000 barrels a day — just in refining. That's not counting the computer monitors, our phones, our clothes, glasses, all these things. We did a visual — the Rose Bowl filled to the top with oil, then refilled every single day. That's how much oil just California uses."
His argument is that California is still using oil, yet instead of supporting local Kern industry, the state is importing it — from places like Ecuador, where pipelines cut through rainforest under far less regulation.
"We do it here, we do it clean. We have environmental regulations and we do it right. Right now we're importing oil from Ecuador, where they're cutting down the rainforest. They have no regulations. Oil is going into the rainforests, into communities there."
"I don't think anybody's going to be like, 'oh, I'm pro-oil' after they watch it. But hopefully they won't vote for legislation that puts us out of work when we're still using it."
What's Ahead
Kern Oil held its Bakersfield premiere on February 27th at the Historic Bakersfield Fox Theater to nearly 1,000 people. Additional screenings are in the works at Studio Movie Grill every Wednesday in June. Once the tour is over, the film will be available for streaming.
After the tour wraps, Bird Jr. plans to shoot a short horror vertical, then move into a larger feature. He also wrote Cheap Movie Tricks, available on Amazon and at Barnes & Noble, for anyone who wants to start making their own films.
"I always want people that want to act, people that are taking it seriously, crew members to help out on set. I'm always open. And I think that's how you get your feet wet."
Keep It Local, Keep It Human
Rickey Bird Jr. wants Kern County to thrive. He wants his friends and family to keep their jobs and their homes. He made a documentary because a borrowed camera taught him, 20-some years ago, that film is how you make people feel something they wouldn't have felt otherwise.
"I just want people to know this movie is not a political movement. I'm not a Democrat or Republican. I'm just a guy that works in the oil fields and makes movies and wants to entertain. I'm not trying to be an apologist for big oil. I just want people to know we use it. It affects our community greatly. And I want Kern County to thrive."
Originally published in Kern Magazine. Featured photo courtesy of Hectic Films.