VIRTUAL- Current Perspectives - Kevin Willmott: Race, History and the Urgency of Now

Kevin Willmott, director, screenwriter, and professor of Film and Media Studies at the University of Kansas, will show a montage of his films at his presentation Race, History and the Urgency of Now. He has made a career out of making movies that examine race in America including Ninth Street, C.S.A: Confederate States of America, The Only Good Indian, Destination Planet Negro, The 24th, and Jayhawkers. He also won an Academy Award for screenwriting for BlacKkKLansman, the story of an undercover black detective who infiltrated the Ku Klux Klan. Willmott also co-wrote with director Spike Lee, Da 5 Bloods about four African American veterans returning to Vietnam, which premiered on Netflix this past summer to rave reviews. He has a long history of working on social justice issues including fighting for the rights of the poor, creating two Catholic Worker shelters for the homeless, and forcing the integration of several long-standing segregated institutions. He attended graduate studies at New York University, Tisch School of the Arts where he earned an M.F.A. in Dramatic Writing.TUAL