Fred has been in the film business for over twenty-five years, writing and producing motion pictures. He produced and directed (with David Leivick) the critically acclaimed feature film, GOSPEL, which Variety, the industry magazine, called "technically and artistically, the best concert film since Martin Scorsese's THE LAST WALTZ." Siskel & Ebert gave GOSPEL "Two Thumbs Up," and the New York Times' Janet Maslin hailed it, "Wildly Exhilarating."
Fred has written screenplays for some of Hollywood's top name producers and companies, including: Joe Roth (Revolution Studios), Ted Field, (Radar Pictures), Scott Kroopf (Interscope Pictures), Daniel Melnick (Indiprod Company at Columbia Pictures), Dick Clark Entertainment, and Nash Entertainment.
He is an Adjunct Lecturer at Santa Clara University and Head of the Writing Program at San Francisco Film School.
Films from Fred's students were accepted into over 50 film festivals including: The San Francisco International Film Festival, The Palm Springs Short Film Festival, The New York Television Festival, The Los Angeles Short Film Festival, The Heart of England Film Festival, The Sonoma Film Festival, The Austin Gay and Lesbian International Film Festival, The Clonmel Irish International Film Festival (Won, Student Category)
And, in the arena of national television awards, Jodi Martinson and her colleagues won a National Emmy award for their Frontline documentary on Ghana.
Currently, he is producing UP POHNPEI, an adaptation of the nonfiction book by Paul Watson.
In 2013, Fred completed ZAYTOUN, a film about a 10-year-old Palestinian refugee, and an Israeli fighter pilot shot down over Beirut, Lebanon in 1982, and their unlikely journey to Israel, a place they both call home. ZAYTOUN was directed by Eran Riklis and produced by Gareth Unwin (THE KING'S SPEECH) and Fred Ritzenberg. Zaytoun premiered at TIFF and won runner up in the audience choice award.
Fred is a member of the WGA (Writers Guild of America).