This article is part of our month-long series “Building Tables,” highlighting stories of creative entrepreneurs of color who are breaking barriers and creating opportunity for the culture.
Everyone that goes off to college with dreams of becoming more than what they are. It could be a doctor or lawyer. Maybe it’s becoming the next LeBron James or Simone Biles. Even if that’s not the case, when you get that degree, you have already achieved more than what you started with. The one thing they don’t tell you when you get to college is how much those dreams grow. While meeting lifelong friends and studying hard, you truly begin to recognize a fire within you, leading you to unthinkable paths.
Kevin Wilson, Jr. always knew he wanted to create. His vice? Film. However, making films while living in a dorm at North Carolina A&T State University isn’t easy or cost effective. So, Wilson started creating with plays. Writing a play about the life of Emmett Till from his perspective, his need to tell Till’s story continued to grow post undergrad. Going back to his love of film, Wilson landed at the prestigious New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts. He was selected for the Spike Lee Production Fellowship and the rest is history.
Or starting to make history.
“When you’re working with other creatives who aren’t as sensitive to the culture, you have to fight for what you know your people need.”
Kevin Wilson, Jr.
“It’s been a journey. One thing I said when I was starting out was that I want to make things in medium in the industry,” Wilson said. “Whether that be a film, documentary or commercial or play on the stage, I want to be involved in storytelling.” And he is well on his way. After receiving the fellowship from Mr. “Do The Right Thing” himself, the Durham, N.C., native’s career took off to new heights. In 2018, Wilson’s 20-minute short film, “My Nephew Emmett,” made its mark on the world after being nominated for Best Live Action Short Film at the 90th Academy Awards, making him a nominee with heavy hitters like Jordan Peele and the late Kobe Bryant.
“After 2018, I had a lot of opportunities to do things—feature films, scripts coming at me—but one thing I was really adamant about was making sure to align myself with work that I won’t have to apologize for years down the line,” Wilson recalled, noting that he’s turned down many movies that went on to make a lot of money.
“I feel good about where I am because I’m saying things that are important and resonating with people.”
Fast forward to 2020. When the global pandemic hit, everything stopped in Hollywood making it hard for a creative like Wilson to do what he does best. But as the world slowly but surely figured out ways to stay safe, opportunity started to knock once again. Wanting to continue working in all things needing a camera, the husband and father of three would soon be able to check something else off his list. Last year, Wilson joined the roster at Chelsea Pictures to start directing commercials. With a dream becoming a reality, he soon felt the major differences between directing feature films versus commercials.
“When you’re making films, it’s the independent route, raising the money yourself. You go out and say what you want to say and there is no interference,” Wilson explained. “With commercials, it’s completely different because there’s a brand attached to it, so there are a lot of cooks in the kitchen.”
Regardless of how many cooks, Wilson became the sous chef when he received the chance to work with consumer goods giant Proctor & Gamble to direct a commercial entitled “Widen The Screen.” The commercial was created to address the stereotypical images of Black people in film and television, calling on Hollywood to make a change.
“Working on something like this was refreshing. It’s one of the highlights of my commercial career so far,” Wilson said smiling. “The other stuff that I’ve done is equally great, but this one particularly was fun; one reason being the crew was 92 percent Black and 40 percent women. I’ve never been on a set like that.”
Only 6 percent of films are created by Black creators. Wilson is proud to be in that number.
The groundbreaking commercial first premiered during the 2021 NAACP Image Awards and then again at the 93rd Academy Awards, making it Wilson’s second appearance. Using depictions from three stereotypical scenes normally portrayed by Black actors, watching the commercial makes you think that you know what is going to happen next from each story, which is why this commercial is so important.
“When I got the script for it, I was ecstatic. It’s been something that I’ve been talking about for a long time since film school,” he said. “There were moments in film school where myself and other Black students were trying to get them to implement more Black films into the curriculum and to stress the importance of casting Black actors in roles that weren’t stereotypical.”
Wilson remembers two filmmakers casting two Black actors: one as a drug dealer who was terrorizing a white family and another as a prostitute who was servicing a white man. Black trauma and stereotypical Black images in movies is rising more and more. With the names of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and more being added to the list, the hashtag #BlackLivesMatter seemed to be lifted more in Hollywood. During this year’s Oscars, the award for Best Live Action Short Film went to Two Distant Strangers, starring rapper and actor Joey Badass. The short film told a story about a young Black man having dreams of being killed by the police. With movies like this, it’s become more apparent as to why filmmakers like Wilson are needed.
“We have to pay more attention to how Black people are presented on the screen.”
The competition to direct the commercial was hot, but Wilson developed a treatment based on how personal this project was to him.
“Working with crew members that graduated from HBCUs was a treat, and I really cherished the moment because it’s not always like that,” he said. “Coming off another project where we were highlighting Black art but there wasn’t the same level of joy when making it. When you’re working with other creatives who aren’t as sensitive to the culture, you have to fight for what you know your people need. “
His fight is constantly being recognized by other big names in Black Hollywood. Now living in the Big Apple, Wilson was recently hired by Angela Bassett to direct “For Armetta,” a PSA honoring essential workers of color, something needed to highlight the diversity of the world we live in.
“I think that we are sometimes so focused on putting a Band-Aid over the issue,” he claimed. “The real thing we have to focus on is getting people in those studio executive position to green light and finance projects who are Black. Then, they will be able to say, ‘These are the stories that need to be told.'”
And it looks like we are heading in that direction. Several African-American women are in charge now at some of our favorite studios like Channing Dungey, Chairman of Warner Bros. Television Group and Pearlena Igbokwe, Chairman at Universal Studio Group. Let’s not forget about Tara Duncan, who is president of Freeform and Michelle Sneed, president of Tyler Perry Studios. Wilson thinks this is a great start but would love to see historically Black colleges and universities have film schools, like Howard University, which is the first and only. That could be the start of producing more creatives like Wilson.
“We have to inform our Black counterparts that there are opportunities out there and actually train them so they can be better prepared, creating a pipeline.”
It looks like Spike Lee knew exactly what he was doing when he selected this future icon. Passing the baton to someone who knows change is needed and taking action on it.
Follow Wilson’s work on Instagram and his website, DirectedbyKevin.com.
