Kevin Willmott
Born (1959-08-31) August 31, 1959
Junction City, Kansas, U.S.
Alma materMarymount College (B.A.)
New York University (MFA)
Occupation(s)Film director and writer
college film professor
EmployerUniversity of Kansas
AwardsAcademy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay

Kevin Willmott (born August 31, 1959)[1] is an Academy Award Winning American film director and screenwriter He is known for work focusing on black issues including writing and directing Ninth Street, C.S.A.: The Confederate States of America, and Bunker Hill. His The Only Good Indian (2009) was a feature film about Native American children at an Indian boarding school and the forced assimilation that took place. In Jayhawkers (2014), he followed the life of Wilt Chamberlain, Phog Allen and the 1956 Kansas Jayhawks basketball team. Willmott has collaborated with Spike Lee, with whom he shared an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay for BlacKkKlansman. The two again collaborated in writing Da 5 Bloods, released worldwide digitally on June 12, 2020.

Wilmott is a professor of film at the University of Kansas.[2]

Biography

Willmott grew up in Junction City, Kansas, and received a BA in Drama from Marymount College. He received a M.F.A. in Dramatic Writing from New York University.[3] He has worked as a screenwriter and film director, known for work related to African-American history and contemporary issues. In 2017, Willmott taught classes in a bulletproof vest in protest of the ability of students and staff to carry concealed weapons on the campus.[2]

He won the Best Director award at the American Indian Film Festival for The Only Good Indian.[4] Willmott's next film, Jayhawkers, received funding through Kickstarter, a crowdsourcing website.[5]

In 2019, Willmott won an Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay for the film BlacKkKlansman.[6][7]

Personal life

Willmott is Catholic, and has cited Fr Dan Berrigan, SJ as an influence in his life and work.[8]

Filmography

Crew

Film

Year Title Crew position
1999 Ninth Street Director, writer, producer
2004 C.S.A.: The Confederate States of America Director and writer
2008 Bunker Hill Director, writer, and producer
The Only Good Indian Director and producer
2013 Destination: Planet Negro Director and writer
Jayhawkers Director, writer, and producer
2015 Chi-Raq Writer
2018 BlacKkKlansman Writer
2020 Da 5 Bloods Writer
The 24th Director and co-writer
2020 William Allen White: What's the Matter with Kansas? Director and writer

Television

Year Title Crew position
2000 The '70s Writer
2005 High Tech Lincoln Producer

Acting

Year Title Role
1999Ninth StreetHuddie
2003The Fascist of X-MartNarrator
The Search for Inflata-boyExpert
2004C.S.A.: The Confederate States of AmericaExtra
2009Next CallerGod (voice)
2010AIR: The MusicalThe Detective
2013Destination Planet NegroDr. Warrington Avery
Unit 12Bill Swaan
2014JayhawkersDowdall Davis
2015Lena LaineRyan
2016From Ashes to ImmortalityDr. Frank Ryan
2017The ProfitDoctor
2019The Computer LabThe Futurist (1 episode)
2021Rainbow BoulevardThe Narrator (voice)
The Funny GuyKevin Weston

References

  1. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on December 25, 2019. Retrieved March 6, 2009.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  2. 1 2 Dinsdale, Ryan (June 9, 2020). "Oscar winner, KU professor Kevin Willmott shares his love of activism, Kansas and teaching". The University Daily Kansan. Retrieved September 26, 2021.
  3. ↑ Archived September 6, 2006, at the Wayback Machine
  4. ↑ Archived July 28, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
  5. ↑ ""Jayhawkers" – Feature Film by Kevin Willmott". Kickstarter.com. Retrieved December 26, 2015.
  6. ↑ Bierman, Courtney & Josh McQuade (February 24, 2019). "KU's Kevin Willmott takes home Oscar for work on 'BlacKkKlansman'". The University Daily Kansan. Retrieved September 26, 2021.
  7. ↑ "After Oscar win, KU's Kevin Willmott talks Trump tweet, his next film with Spike Lee". The Kansas City Star.
  8. ↑ Loeb, Jeff; Willmott, Kevin (2001). "A Conversation with Kevin Willmott". African American Review. 35 (2): 249–262. doi:10.2307/2903256. ISSN 1062-4783.
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