Kevin Willmott (born August 31, 1959) is an Academy Award Winning American film director and screenwriter, and professor of film at the

University of Kansas The University of Kansas (KU) is a public research university with its main campus in Lawrence, Kansas, United States, and several satellite campuses, research and educational centers, medical centers, and classes across the state of Kansas. Tw ...

. He is known for work focusing on black issues including writing and directing ''

Ninth Street ''Ninth Street'' is a 1999 black-and-white drama, written by Kevin Willmott. Filmed in the United States, the movie was primarily released in English. Plot Set in 1968 Junction City, Kansas sometimes called "Junk Town" reflect on the history o ...

,'' '' C.S.A.: The Confederate States of America,'' and '' Bunker Hill.'' His ''

The Only Good Indian ''The Only Good Indian'' is a 2009 American independent Western film directed by Kevin Willmott. The film was shot almost entirely in Kansas—the only exception being a scene at Missouri's Ha Ha Tonka State Park—featuring locations such as the ...

'' (2009) was a feature film about Native American children at an

Indian boarding school American Indian boarding schools, also known more recently as American Indian residential schools, were established in the United States from the mid 17th to the early 20th centuries with a primary objective of "civilizing" or assimilating Na ...

and the forced assimilation that took place. In ''

Jayhawkers Jayhawkers and red legs are terms that came to prominence in Kansas Territory during the Bleeding Kansas period of the 1850s; they were adopted by militant bands affiliated with the free-state cause during the American Civil War. These gangs we ...

'' (2014), he followed the life of

Wilt Chamberlain Wilton Norman Chamberlain (; August 21, 1936 – October 12, 1999) was an American professional basketball player who played as a Center (basketball), center. Standing at tall, he played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for 14 yea ...

Phog Allen Forrest Clare "Phog" Allen (November 18, 1885 – September 16, 1974) was an American basketball coach. Known as the "Father of Basketball Coaching,"Kansas Jayhawks basketball The Kansas Jayhawks men's basketball program is the intercollegiate men's basketball program of the University of Kansas. The program is classified in the NCAA's Division I and the team competes in the Big 12 Conference. Kansas is considered o ...

team. Willmott has collaborated with

Spike Lee Shelton Jackson "Spike" Lee (born March 20, 1957) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, and actor. His production company, 40 Acres and a Mule Filmworks, has produced more than 35 films since 1983. He made his directorial debut ...

, with whom he shared an

Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay The Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay is the Academy Award for the best screenplay adapted from previously established material. The most frequently adapted media are novels, but other adapted narrative formats include stage plays, musica ...

for ''

BlacKkKlansman ''BlacKkKlansman'' is a 2018 American biographical black comedy crime thriller film directed by Spike Lee and written by Charlie Wachtel, David Rabinowitz, Kevin Willmott and Lee, based on the 2014 memoir ''Black Klansman'' by Ron Stallworth. ...

''. The two again collaborated in writing ''

Da 5 Bloods ''Da 5 Bloods'' is a 2020 American war drama film directed, produced, and co-written by Spike Lee. It stars Delroy Lindo, Jonathan Majors, Clarke Peters, Johnny Trí Nguyễn, Norm Lewis, Isiah Whitlock Jr., Mélanie Thierry, Paul Walter Hause ...

'', released worldwide digitally on June 12, 2020.

Biography

Willmott grew up in

Junction City, Kansas Junction City is a city in and the county seat of Geary County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 22,932. Fort Riley, a major U.S. Army post, is nearby. History Junction City is so named from its ...

, and received a BA in Drama from Marymount College. He received a M.F.A. in Dramatic Writing from

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, the ...

. 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 The American Indian Film Festival is an annual non-profit film festival in San Francisco, California, United States. It is the world's oldest venue dedicated solely to Native American/First Nations films and prepared the way for the 1979 formati ...

for ''

''. Willmott's next film, ''

'', received funding through

Kickstarter Kickstarter is an American public benefit corporation based in Brooklyn, New York, that maintains a global crowdfunding platform focused on creativity. The company's stated mission is to "help bring creative projects to life". As of July 2021, ...

, a

crowdsourcing Crowdsourcing involves a large group of dispersed participants contributing or producing goods or services—including ideas, votes, micro-tasks, and finances—for payment or as volunteers. Contemporary crowdsourcing often involves digita ...

website. In 2019, Wilmott won an Oscar for his work on ''BlacKkKlansman''.

Filmography

Crew

Film

Television

Acting

References

External links

* * On Story – A Conversation with Kevin Willmot

{{DEFAULTSORT:Willmott, Kevin 1959 births African-American Catholics African-American film directors Best Adapted Screenplay Academy Award winners Best Adapted Screenplay BAFTA Award winners Film directors from Kansas Living people People from Junction City, Kansas Place of birth missing (living people) Tisch School of the Arts alumni University of Kansas faculty