We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Kevin Coleman-Cohen a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Kevin , thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Has your work ever been misunderstood or mischaracterized?
I have lost some friends around this question. One of the things that I pride myself on is being a hard worker and sometimes with that comes being an overachiever. I have had friends for many years who recently have called me selfish and egotistical, thus the friendship ended. My first reaction was to be sad because when you think you have a close bond with someone, you hope it cannot be broken. Then I immediately went into self-examination. Maybe I did something wrong or hurtful. But when the door is slammed in your face, it’s simply time to move on. What I have ultimately learned is you simply can outgrow a friendship. The drive I have to be significant in the lives of others via storytelling and youth advocacy is often misunderstood. I have the belief that I can do whatever I put my mind to and I no longer apologize for it. I like to get things done and I don’t like people who stand in my way because they chose a different path.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
During my undergraduate years at Howard University I studied under actor and director Bill Duke and filmmaker Haile Gerima. They have two completely different bodies of work and styles but I learned so much from them both. I briefly interned for Mr. Gerima in his HU office. This man is a brilliant artist and educator who will fight for his right to exist as an artist. That’s probably the most important thing I learned from him i.e. I am more than a seat at the table and will do more than just be tolerated.
After HU, I graduated from the American Film Institute in Los Angeles and earned an MFA in Directing. I always knew I wanted to make movies but I had no clue how. Even after HU, I knew I wasn’t ready although I had some success with winning some awards and grants during my undergraduate years. But the AFI taught me story and storytelling, that’s what I needed to know. I am currently traveling to various film festivals with my latest short film, PRETTY BOY. I am very proud of this film. It was inspired by my time working with Youth In Need, Inc., a non-profit in St. Louis, MO. I love this agency and the work they do in the community. I recently returned to the agency as the Director of their Transitional Living Program. I have always wanted to be of service to the unheard and undervalued. I am an educator, a filmmaker, and a youth advocate. But years ago as their street outreach program manager, I discovered a world of teenage African American boys engaged in survival sex. My heart dropped after hearing from one of the youth that his “clients” paid him more money to have unprotected sex. I got to know him over a couple of days even though he declined to enter our program. He ultimately disappeared so I wrote a screenplay about his life and the world of African American street kids engaged in survival sex. This should not be happening in our country. In fact, around 2002 I worked for a different agency that no longer exists. The second in command was having inappropriate encounters with some of our program participants. That agency even hired a porn star to visit, the adult performer got naked to perform and dance. It was horrible and some of our program participants were minors and all African American. When I arrived on scene during that incident I tried to shut it down and was asked to leave by my boss and the Executive Director. I was terminated soon after. I won’t mention the former agency here but I am glad it’s shut down; however, sadly those folks have a guise in the community and many see them as a positive resource. There were never any criminal charges brought even after the local press covered the story. It goes back to me saying, Black boys are unheard and undervalued. If white kids or youth were victimized and or exploited in that way, something would have been done. I am working on an outline about that incident and young people who travel door to door to sell magazines who are often victims of human trafficking. It’s currently called, GOLDEN YOUTH.
I am also teaching at two colleges and a university in addition to my work with Youth In Need, Inc. I am also rewriting my feature film based on the current short film, PRETTY BOY. I hope to shoot the film during the later part of Summer 2024. I am also co-producing a documentary with a film colleague and fellow educator about Black on Black gun violence in St. Louis. The film will be out soon. It’s called CATCHING BULLETS. I am extremely busy and there isn’t much time to do anything else aside from hanging out with my nephews whenever I can. But I love what I am doing, it’s important work.
We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.
Being the CEO of your own small film and media company is hard with all the other roles I have outside of it. But I believe in what I am doing and a lot of people believe in me so under no circumstances will I stop. But it’s not easy and lots of people think I always have it together but I do not. I remember a time during graduate school when I was homeless and no one knew in the beginning. In Hollywood there is a hostel near the intersection of Sunset Blvd and Western Ave. I lived there. I would walk to campus because I didn’t have a car which is needed in Los Angeles particularly if you work in film production. I was too embarrassed to share my story with anyone until one day I did and me and the late great Dwayne Alexander walked the neighborhood near school and found a one bedroom apartment to share. Dwayne was a screenwriting fellow at the AFI who was also looking for an apartment. Sadly, he was killed by a homeless youth shortly after graduating. It’s all so very sad. He was a great man!
But the point of this story is I knew I had to finish the AFI program. I wasn’t going to let a little thing like housing stop me. I wanted to prove to the school that they made the correct choice by accepting me into the program. And I wanted to prove to myself that I belong there. There were some really great people there during my time who I still connect with today. But it was also a very cut throat environment in many ways and the “fake friend” thing is a good representation of the film industry. One of the many things I learned at the AFI is to not evaluate my success in terms of how much money I have. I evaluate my success in terms of the good people in my life, and everything else works itself out if you’re a hardworking person in the film business. I don’t know another way except to stay prayed up, Jesus is my lord and savior. I don’t know another way to do what I do.
What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?
This is easy, watching an audience respond to my films. I really love it. All the hard work is for this moment, sitting in a theatre and watching people view your work. There isn’t anything else like it.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.colemanentertainment.com
- Instagram: kevin_coleman_cohen
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kevin.coleman.cohen
- Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/kevin-coleman-cohen
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@colemanentertainmentllc7224
Image Credits
From left to right: 1. Terrance Clark, cousin and assistant to Kevin Coleman-Cohen attend the 2023 Black Film Festival of New Orleans. 2. Huey Scott, Co-Producer of Pretty Boy and the cousin of Kevin Coleman-Cohen, attend opening ceremony at the 2023 Pan African Film Festival at the Director’s Guild of America. 3. Kevin Coleman-Cohen speaks at the Director’s Guild of America during the 2023 Pan African Film Festival. 4. Kevin Coleman-Cohen accepts the Best Heartland Narrative Short Film Award at the 2023 Kanas City Filmfest International. 5. Kevin Coleman-Cohen and his assistant, Terrance Clark accept the 2023 Audience Choice Award at the Riverside Short Film Festival.