Kevin Willmott
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Kevin Willmott (born August 31, 1959) is an 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.
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. 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.
He won the Best Director award at the American Indian Film Festival for The Only Good Indian. Willmott's next film, Jayhawkers, received funding through Kickstarter, a crowdsourcing website.
In 2019, Willmott won an Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay for the film BlacKkKlansman. He and Spike Lee 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.
Personal life
Willmott is Catholic, and has cited Jesuit priest Daniel Berrigan as an influence in his life and work.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| 1999 | Ninth Street | Huddie |
| 2003 | The Fascist of X-Mart | Narrator |
| The Search for Inflata-boy | Expert | |
| 2004 | C.S.A.: The Confederate States of America | Extra |
| 2009 | Next Caller | God (voice) |
| 2010 | AIR: The Musical | The Detective |
| 2013 | Destination Planet Negro | Dr. Warrington Avery |
| Unit 12 | Bill Swaan | |
| 2014 | Jayhawkers | Dowdall Davis |
| 2015 | Lena Laine | Ryan |
| 2016 | From Ashes to Immortality | Dr. Frank Ryan |
| 2017 | The Profit | Doctor |
| 2019 | The Computer Lab | The Futurist (1 episode) |
| 2021 | Rainbow Boulevard | The Narrator (voice) |
| The Funny Guy | Kevin Weston |
External links
- at IMDb
- On Story – A Conversation with Kevin Willmott