After about 6 year in the US Military, Kim Brummell, felt that it was time to take her experiences and turn them into her passion…Film. Using her military background and political interest, Kim, decided to set a new standard for how minorities as a whole are portrayed in films by writes to breaking barriers. Growing up in the small town of Oxford, North Carolina (approximately 30 minutes from Durham) Kim was able to witness firsthand the obstacles that faced her community.
Therefore, she decided that she was ready to get away from home for a while as well as make money and take advantage of the military educational package. Starting her first real job also allowed her to have the opportunity to tour different places, meet different people, and learn different cultures, it hit home how much those obstacles held back the people that she know and love. Rightly so, too her passion of film and decided to write as many movies as she could and geared towards minorities that are overcoming those same obstacles that she did.
SUAVV: When you decided to be a director what steps did you have to take to bring your vision to reality?
Kim: There was actually a gap between when I came up with the idea to when I wrote my script. It was a struggle to really learn what Hollywood would want to accept as far as screen plays and what types of things they were actually looking for. I did some research on the Internet and ended up coming in contact with two screen writing consultants, and they taught me the ropes of how to put a screen play together. At first, I didn’t really know the power of networking over the Internet. It was a learning process. I really had to learn the whole phase of getting a screen play out there because I didn’t have an agent. I had to learn that the independent side was the way to go.
SUAVV: I think that’s the realization that all start-up businesses have to realize. Do you feel like you learned a lot more getting into the industry on your own?
Kim: Yes, because when you do things on your own you get to see what mistakes you made and what mistakes you don’t need to make the next go around. That helped me to see all the dos and don’ts the ins and outs of the screen writing process and getting a movie out there. That was helpful to me.
SUAVV: That’s very true. You learn by doing instead of having done. Being a Black female film director, especially starting up in the industry and doing this on your own, what kind of challenges do you run into?
Kim: There’s not too many Black female writers, period. So that in itself is a setback. As far as the screen writing phase, they say if you don’t know somebody it’s always hard to really get out there especially if you are not living in places like Los Angeles or New York. So to me the challenge of being a female in screen writing is the hardest part.
SUAVV: Yeah I can see how not having the right connections can make it difficult. What inspired you to write the first movie? Most people would think that the first movie is the one that has the most thought to it.
Kim: I was interested in politics and crime shows so I was inspired to come up with an idea based on law enforcement, racism and discrimination. I always had an interest to put something together based on those types of things happening all over the world.
SUAVV: We all know that the cast of a first time film is hard to develop. How difficult was it for you to find the right combination for your cast?
Kim: It wasn’t hard compared to getting the actual script out there. The power of networking helped me get my cast together. I went on two different websites finding actors who wanted to be a part of scripts. I made contact with the websites and let them know whom I was interested in and went about getting the actors contact information. The initial point of contact was through me. I acted as the casting director.
SUAVV: So you were very hands on with the process. Can you explain you’re film ‘Code of Death’?
Kim: It’s actually a crime drama thriller screen play. I had it based in a small town. I didn’t want to base it in a big city like New York or LA. There are enough films based in those major cities. My background kind of played itself out in the film. I keep up with a lot of news related events dealing with crime and racism and minorities or a lot of the time the victims in the cases. So that was really my main push to show minorities in a positive light. I thought it was very important, as an African American woman, to tell our side of the story and show us coming out on top.
SUAVV: Being able to do something that you feel will uplift your community is reward of its own. But, knowing how you worked to on the film to relay the message that you are, do you find it difficult getting support in your own community?
Kim: From the very beginning yes. If people don’t know anything about the whole movie industry it can be somewhat difficult until you actually get out there with your first project. But, once you do get out there you see more and more people supporting you and your progress. It is somewhat of a struggle depending on where you are. You have to overcome that and keep networking.
Originally posted. February 7, 2011
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Kim Brummell Feb 8 2011 - 3:40 PM
More info about the film and the potential cast and crew can be viewed at my blog site; http://www.realtalkandpeople.blogspot.com Tentative filming date is the Summer 2011 in North Carolina.