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

Hi Kyle, thanks for joining us today. What’s been the most meaningful project you’ve worked on?

That is a great question, and not an easy one to answer. I’ll start here. We are just finishing up a short film called Gush. I love everyone who’s worked on it and the passion that has gone into it. But, the film that Gush is leading up to holds the real meaning for me.

I wrote Gush as a proof of concept to get funding to make a movie called Intrusive. Intrusive shines a light on a couple things that are more common than we realize, intrusive thoughts and abusive relationships. I also happen to have deep personal experiences with both of these.

A majority of the population has intrusive thoughts. I remember when I learned this, it made me feel so much less alone. I’d have these thoughts every once in a while and they made me feel crazy. I can’t stand near a ledge because I’m afraid I’ll step off, weird things like that. When I found out that many people think this way and that it didn’t mean they were suicidal or violent, it gave me a sense of comfort. More importantly, when I tell other people, they seem comforted as well. So, I wrote a movie about it.

The second thing is a little harder to talk about, and that is abuse. I didn’t realize until writing this movie and sharing it with people, how common it is for men to be abused in relationships. I just don’t want people to feel alone in it.

I use the vehicle of a horror comedy, because really, that’s what it kind of seems like at the time. I’m not trying to make light of such difficult issues but sometimes that’s the only way to get through these things.

Kyle, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I don’t like talking about myself much, it’s a little easier talking about the people that helped me get where I am today. When I was a teenager, we used to go on mission trips to Mexico. We would build orphanages and take care of kids whose parents scavenged sellable items from the dump, amongst other forms of outreach.

I mention this for two reasons. The first is, that this is where I discovered my love for helping others. There’s only so much reward you can feel for doing something for yourself. But, when I got the opportunity to help people that are less fortunite, if gave me a much deeper sense of purpose.

The other reason I mention this is because, when I was working on the dump I met a young girl named Manuela. She was raised in the hardest of circumstances and had the most amazing energy for life. I knew so many people in The States that were given everything, and none of them had the type of joy this young kid had. She was my inspiration for writing my first ever screenplay, Two for Juan.

After Mexico, my desires to experience other cultures and to help people were insatiable. I taught English in Brazil and spent seven years in the Caribbean doing various things for the community. I traveled and lived all over the world, doing the little good I was capable of. These experiences, coupled with the joy I get from helping people and watching amazing communities come together to help eachvother eventually led me to Los Angeles,

I thought, what a better way to tell all the stories of all the amazing people I’d had the fortune of encountering, and make a difference on a bigger level, then writing movies about them. But, as you all may know, the film industry is not an easy one to break into. So, I started making my own movies. I began acting and producing, on top of writing.

This led to a whole new level of rewarding work. Movie making is one of the most collaborative tasks you will ever take on. All of a sudden, all these people that didn’t feel like they had control of their careers, had the opportunity to play a part on making movies without any gatekeepers. We built an amazing team of talented people. Since then, we have produced three films and are working on many many more.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

I think living in the Caribbean, despite its beauty, took the most resilience. While I was there, I rolled my Jeep, was in a coma, then survived two category 5 hurricanes in 12 days.

I don’t think it’s possible to speak of resilience without speaking of the people that help you get through the tough times. After the hurricanes, we didn’t have power for nearly six months. For me, the most amazing part of this was watching the entire community come together to help each other. We don’t typically think about things like diabetics needing refrigeration for their insulin or elderly people not having access to food, or even having access to a pathway out of their house.

I can’t begin to describe the feeling of watching teenagers clear roads so that their elders can get to their families. Or watching people sacrifice the small amount of ice their generator could produce so that someone can have enough insulin to survive another day.

I’ve been through a lot, but I have never been through it alone. These are the stories I like to tell, because these are the people that inspire us, the people that make the world better.

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

I think my mission and the mission of the people I surround myself with is simple, we don’t do it for the money. We make art to express ourselves. We lift other’s up, because that is the only way to lift ourselves up. If we start making art for the wrong reasons, there is no way we will make good art. We can never sacrifice our craft or talent for material reasons. Movies may be magical to watch but the real magic is the bonds that are formed in creating them.

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