Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Khalid Abdulqaadir. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Khalid, appreciate you joining us today. Any thoughts around creating more inclusive workplaces?

Recently we have engaged with Visit KC and the KC Film Office to discuss inequalities and disparities within the local film community. Our goal is to design and implement a process to track the race, ethnicity, and gender data of those participating in substantial film production (narrative or commercial) so that we can analyze and address underrepresentation. We also want to develop a reporting mechanism where cast and crew members may report payment issues and irregular working conditions internally and externally perpetrated by production entities to Kansas City. This isn’t a union, as we do not have a membership, collect dues, and have no legal proceedings. What it will be, however, is a transparency and reporting system for the benefit of the public and in support of the professional growth of the film industry.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I am a Veteran of the U.S. Navy and a lifelong public servant. In 2020, I decided to make filmmaking the full-time hustle and haven’t looked back since. My business partner, Corey McCartney, and I operate AGA Productions and FACEKC. FACEKC is a nonprofit organization for Filmmakers, Artists, and Creatives for Empowerment KC. Our mission at FACEKC is to use film, art, and media as an apparatus to address violence, disunity, and non-inclusivity in the workforce.

When FACEKC produces films, we do so from a community impact perspective. We focus on maximizing the diversity and opportunity for cast and crew and try to bring conflicting communities together through the artistic process. We elevate the project’s status to bring awareness to the talent in front of and behind the camera. Our most recent project, titled “The Unexpected,” helped bring attention to global human trafficking. That project has since gone on to be optioned by Gerard Butler’s production company G-Base, to be converted into a Hollywood feature film. FACEKC is still pushing to see our Kansas City Community Film Project, “Sapiens,” come to life, making artists all over the city superheroes. FACEKC’s most significant accomplishment is diffusing a potentially violent gun crime, saving two community members’ lives through our Community Film Project.

AGA Productions is our for-profit company that uses data from FACEKC to ensure we produce films with a foundation in diversity, equity, and inclusion. Though AGA makes entertaining films, they will always have a strong community and social undertone. AGA has recently signed its first major contract, which I can’t disclose now. Still, we are also in the works on several other projects, such as a film about the first female Harlem Globetrotter, a KU graduate. Corey and I are also primed to have AGA make its Hollywood debut as producers on the Gerard Butler film based on our short film shot last year.

When I’m not producing or directing, I am always writing. I have written articles for the New York Times and Boston Globe. I’ve completed a professional screenwriting certificate program at UCLA and am currently in a year-long fellowship at the Writers Guild Foundation. I am completing a memoir to release in 2024 and a fiction novel to follow shortly after.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

I spent the better part of 20 years pursuing a career in the federal government, including my military career. While living in Kazakhstan as part of a National Security Education Program, I had the epiphany to start telling narrative stories. I had written all my life through academia and work, but I had not written anything extensive that was nonfiction.

While traveling from Kazakhstan to Uzbekistan, I crossed the border between those two countries on foot. It was one of the most terrifying and exhilarating experiences of my life. Once in Uzbekistan, I learned pieces of history and information about historical figures I had never been exposed to. It made me realize that growing up in one part of the world can only tell you so much, and if you never travel, inquire, or think outside your bubble, your worldview will be limited to the extent of the sphere of influence you live under.

The best way to be exposed is through stories. In stories, you can empathize with someone with an entirely different reality than you. Storytelling requires all human beings to face their most common features and confess to themselves that we are all more alike than not. In that regard, stories do a service to humanity, and that service has a more significant impact on peace and the well-being of others than where I previously worked. So after 20 years, I pivoted.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

Most anyone I know already knows my story because I wear it like a badge of honor. After all, it is a badge of honor. After the terrorist attacks of 9/11, my father was charged with sedition to levy war against the United States. He could have faced the death penalty, but he beat the case. Though he was found not guilty of any terror-related charges, the fallout of that alleged association destroyed our lives.

My father would never recover mentally from the ordeal, and my brother’s opportunity to play in the NFL was derailed. He had been brought to the New York Giants training camp, and they released him once they found out about our father. He’d been blacklisted from the sport at the professional level ever since.

In response to the situation, I joined the military to demonstrate the loyalty and patriotism my family, and I have for our country. I would go on to serve honorably and pursue a career as a public servant. In the end, I cleared the books on any doubts about where my family and I stand regarding the red, white, and blue. Furthermore, my patriotism has been tried, tested, and proven, which makes me very proud.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.agakc.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/khalid_abdulqaadir/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/khalid-a-45a0a878/

Image Credits
AGA Productions/FACEKC