Rumination had its Hollywood premiere at the Grauman's Chinese Theatre as part of the Indie Night Film Festival.
The depiction of black men grieving is cinematically rare. Historically, communities of color experience unique and considerable challenges in accessing mental health services and many black men, in particular, do not seek help due to their concern about stigma. Rumination is meant, in part, to spark the conversation.
The film's title "Rumination" was discovered while writer/director Chad Eric Smith was looking at a pamphlet about depression and anxiety while meeting with a licensed psychotherapists. Psychologically speaking, rumination is the focused attention on the symptoms of one's distress, and on its possible causes and consequences, as opposed to its solutions, according to the Response Styles Theory proposed by Nolen-Hoeksema.
The character Elliott ( Kelvin Drama ) was a visual representation of Chad's mental state circa 2015.
The idea of mental time travel being potentially triggered by a top secret drug was inspired by conversations writer/director Chad Eric Smith had with his father, Jonathan Bey, an EMMY award-winning music producer who composed the film's score. Much of the dialogue said by the quirky drug peddling neuroscientist Renard ( Danny Gavigan ) were direct quotes from Jonathan Bey. In fact, "Renard" is Jonathan Bey's middle name.