KC is in the house. The Art House that is.
“Art House,” a digital series about Kansas City’s growing film community, will feature Oscar-winning filmmaker Kevin Willmott on its season five premiere.
The Kansas City PBS produced series, created and hosted by John McGrath, will host a live conversation with Willmott will focus on the current state of KC filmmaking as well as Willmott’s previous films and future projects.
“We are thrilled to kick off the next season of ‘Art House’ with Kevin Willmott in our building,” said Kliff Kuehl, Kansas City PBS president and CEO. “It is a point of pride for us to create a unique series like ‘Art House’ where we can highlight the contributions of local filmmakers and the art of cinema while inviting viewers to support their work.”
Willmott, who won an Oscar for co-writing “BlaKKKlansman”” with Spike Lee in 2019 has established himself as a filmmaker with a unique voice. The Junction City, Kansas, native and current professor at the University of Kansas often uses cinema to examine and tackle social and political issues.
Willmott is arguably one of the most important filmmakers working today. No one has captured the Black experience through cinema better. From his first film “Ninth Street” to the brilliant satire “C.S.A. Confederate States of America,” to the quietly powerful “Jayhawker” to the moving and insightful “The 24th” Willmott has delivered keenly meaningful observations on race and culture.
His current project is no different. Willmott is directing and producing a documentary on the life of long-time local civil rights activist Alvin Brooks. The film was produced in conjunction with the Black Archives of Mid-America who will also archive the film as official documentation on race relations in Kansas City. Getting the project financed was a total community endeavor with donations and support coming from area business leaders, politicians and supporters.
The film is based on Brook’s 2021 memoir “Binding Us Together: A Civil Rights Activist Reflects on a Lifetime of Community and Public Service.” The 92-year old has long been a stalwart of the community. The film explores his time as a police officer, detective, Mayor Pro-Tem of Kansas City, Missouri and founder of the AdHoc Group Against Crime.
The documentary will premiere on Wednesday, June 19 at the 2nd annual Juneteenth Film Festival at the Screenland Armour. The festival is a platform for independent Black filmmakers to showcase their work.
Kansas City PBS Living Room for Art House Live! on May 16 at 5 p.m. The event is free, but RSVP is required at kansascitypbs.org/events. Kansas City PBS posts new episodes of “Art House” every other Thursday on the PBS App and online at kansascitypbs.org/arthouse starting Thursday, May 16.
