Kansas City PBS and Art House creator John McGrath welcome Academy Award-winning filmmaker Kevin Willmott to the Kansas City PBS Living Room for Art House Live! on May 16 at 5 p.m. The event is free, but RSVP is required at kansascitypbs.org/events. The live conversation and happy hour event celebrate the season five premiere of Art House, a digital series about Kansas City’s growing film community.Willmott, the filmmaker behind BlacKkKlansman, Da 5 Bloods, Chi-Raq and C.S.A.: The Confederate States of America, will share his experiences and talk about his latest project, featuring an in-depth look at the contributions of local civic leader Alvin Brooks.
“We are thrilled to kick off the next season of ‘Art House’ with Kevin Willmott in our building,” said Kliff Kuehl, Kansas City PBS president and CEO. "It is a point of pride for us to create a unique series like 'Art House' where we can highlight the contributions of local filmmakers and the art of cinema while inviting viewers to support their work."
Kansas City PBS posts new episodes of Art House every other Thursday on the PBS App and online at kansascitypbs.org/arthouse starting Thursday, May 16.
Season five of Art House features conversations with local filmmakers, dissecting the aesthetics, theory and symbolism behind their latest work. McGrath will sit down with Jacob and Ben Burghart to learn about their debut feature, Headcount. Later in the season, McGrath chats with Ryan Lovell about his documentary Rare Enough, a short film about his friend's battle with brain cancer.
"I am super excited to begin the fifth season of ‘Art House.’ One of the guiding themes of ‘Art House’ is to show what an amazing film scene we have here in Kansas City and to give a voice to each filmmaker's unique story,” said McGrath, Art House creator and Kansas City PBS multimedia producer.
Learn more about Kansas City’s vibrant film community and watch past Art House seasons by visiting kansascitypbs.org/arthouse.