Kevin Willmott: An activist of small towns and silver screens
There are two sides to Kevin Willmott. One writes films, wins Oscars, and works with Hollywood superstars like Spike Lee and John David Washington. The other teaches in a small Kansas town, laughs at his own jokes, and enjoys nothing more than kicking up his feet to the TV.
The two worlds collide on the walls of his small office at the University of Kansas. Framed movie posters meet shelves packed with books on film and race, alongside various knick-knacks like cameras and Academy Awards. His desk is as messy as they come.
“I’m real good at zoning out in front of the television; that’s probably what I do best,” Willmott laughed, leaning back in his chair. But finding time to relax doesn’t come easy. “It’s been a really busy year,” he said.
“The kind of work you do in film, you’re working for others and there’s always challenges and things you have to overcome and contend with. It keeps you real busy.” This comes on top of his full-time teaching job, but Willmott admits this is the easier side of his workload.