Filmmaker, Kerry David, began her career at Paramount Pictures in Business Affairs in 2000, where she learned the business of filmmaking. She followed this with three years working exclusively for Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman learning film production. Films with Cruise and Kidman include Mission Impossible 2, Without Limits, Portrait of a Lady, Peacemaker, Practical Magic, The Blue Room, and Eyes Wide Shut with legendary director Stanley Kubrick.
Armed with this experience, Kerry started her own production company and produced films that included; the award-winning; Deposing the Usual Suspects (MGM), Agent Cody Banks and Agent Cody Banks 2: Destination London (MGM), Perfect Romance (Lifetime), and the critically acclaimed audience pleaser; My Date with Drew, which won multiple awards, including Best Feature at the HBO Comedy Arts Festival, Aspen, Sonoma, NY Gen Art Film Festival and the Audience Award at the prestigious Locarno International Film Festival, Switzerland, among others.
She followed "Drew" by producing, Expert Insight: Short Game Golf with Jim Furyk & Fred Funk, an educational DVD; which won a Telly-Award for Outstanding Instructional Content and Cinematic Excellence.
Kerry's next feature film was adapted from the NY Times bestseller Like Dandelion Dust by Karen Kingsbury (20th Century Fox), screenplay by friend, and Oscar nominee, Stephen J. Rivele, (Ali, Nixon). It starred Cole Hauser, Mira Sorvino and Barry Pepper and won over 35 film festival awards globally, including Best Feature at the Heartland Film Festival and the Palm Springs International Film Festival. It premiered at the prestigious Deauville Film Festival in France where it won the Premiere Audience Award for Best Feature and received a 10-minute standing ovation!
Her fourth documentary was Making Miles - The Miles Davis Story, for HBO. We invited all the living jazz legends who had played on stage with Miles and recorded their anecdotes and histories. Kerry followed "Miles" with her first directing credit on; Seeking Happily Ever After (Lionsgate Films), one of only 25 films accepted into the Sundance Film Lab and chosen by Stanford University's law department as a case study.
In 2001, concurrent with her film work, Kerry Founded Indieproducer.net (iP), an online community to nurture new and emerging filmmakers. (iP) provided access and an insider's perspective to a career in Hollywood. Leaning on her impressive industry contacts, Kerry invited notable guests to attend quarterly events, which often evolved into mentorship opportunities. She later added an annual screenwriting contest and bi-annual short film contes, culminating in a sponsored, 'Annual Awards Gala' at the prestigious Writers Guild Theatre in Beverly Hills. (Ip) reached 130 countries with over 86,000 members when she sold it in 2010.
From 2010-2013 Kerry took a leave of absence from Hollywood to build a musical village for orphans in Ghana, West Africa. After successfully negotiating for the land with 3 tribal chiefs, she went on to lead a team of architects and contractors to design and build the orphanage, hiring key staff to launch and ultimately manage its growth. Never far from her filmmaking roots, Kerry produced several mini docs about the school's value proposition and to introduce the children for fundraising and awareness needs back in the United States. After completing the orphanage, Kerry returned to her passion of filmmaking.
Fascinated by the recent advent of crowdsourcing, began producing crowdfunding campaigns for passion projects, raising over $500,000 for various non-profits, productions, and artists.
In 2017, Kerry added directing to her producing and writing roles and took on her now award-winning feature documentary; Bill Coors: The Will to Live. "WTL" was about the troubled, but impressive private life of the brewing titan's long battle with depression and anxiety and his obsession to find a holistic cure. She cut a shorter version of her film at the request of two universities in Colorado to include in their curriculums to address mental health and suicide prevention needs for students on campus.
In 2017, Kerry learned of the devastating effects commercial poaching and the illegal wildlife trade in Africa. She was moved to action for the endangered animals and founded her now global non-profit, Over and Above Africa.
During a research trip, she noticed how few women were visible in the anti-poaching field but after a few local enquiries, there proved to be many, but out of the public eye. She connected with several and listened to their impressive stories - these stories inspired her to write, produce and direct, her multiples award-winning, Breaking Their Silence: Women on the Frontline of the Poaching War.
Breaking Their Silence Premiered at the Newport Beach Film Festival to a standing ovation! After accruing 17 festival wins, (including winning the Jury Awards and the Audience Awards at both the San Diego Intl. Film Festival and the Durango Film Festival), COVID shut down their successful run and Kerry turned down the offer of a theatrical release to share BTS through the newly rebranded, Wondrium, a learning platform. Shortly afterwards, Kerry was asked to give a TEDx Talk about her experience filming, Breaking Their Silence, and was featured in segments on many high-profile shows including, The Today Show, CNN, BBC, People Magazine, Huffington Post, E Entertainment, Parade Magazine, and many others.
In 2019 Kerry relocated to North Carolina where she was soon approached to write, produce, and direct, "Open Secret," a documentary revealing systemic racism, child sexual abuse and how a corrupt and collusive culture allowed for it. The abuse dates back decades. It is alleged that approximately 340 administrators/faculty/board members knew of the abuse - yet nobody reported it to law enforcement. While there have been sudden resignations and retirements, nobody has been fired and none have been held accountable. She is prepping to launch a fundraising campaign to complete the film this year and release early 2024.
Midway through 2022, Hallmark green lit Kerry's feature film, "The Journey Ahead" by Erin Engman. A 17- year journey to produce! "TJA" is a fictional drama about two women from different generations, race, and social realms (Holly Robinson Peete and Kaylee Bryant), who heal each other's broken lives during a road trip across the US.
To date, Kerry's box office cume is north of $100 million. She has been a guest speaker, consultant, and mentor to students at several schools, The Rotary Club, including University of Southern California, University of California at Los Angeles, Pepperdine University, UNCSA NC, NGOIFF Kenya, and the New York Film Academy.
She has written numerous articles for various industry magazines and continues to be a student of life to appreciate all its exciting possibilities!
KDC Films: Education through entertainment - creating impactful films that inspire.
Armed with this experience, Kerry started her own production company and produced films that included; the award-winning; Deposing the Usual Suspects (MGM), Agent Cody Banks and Agent Cody Banks 2: Destination London (MGM), Perfect Romance (Lifetime), and the critically acclaimed audience pleaser; My Date with Drew, which won multiple awards, including Best Feature at the HBO Comedy Arts Festival, Aspen, Sonoma, NY Gen Art Film Festival and the Audience Award at the prestigious Locarno International Film Festival, Switzerland, among others.
She followed "Drew" by producing, Expert Insight: Short Game Golf with Jim Furyk & Fred Funk, an educational DVD; which won a Telly-Award for Outstanding Instructional Content and Cinematic Excellence.
Kerry's next feature film was adapted from the NY Times bestseller Like Dandelion Dust by Karen Kingsbury (20th Century Fox), screenplay by friend, and Oscar nominee, Stephen J. Rivele, (Ali, Nixon). It starred Cole Hauser, Mira Sorvino and Barry Pepper and won over 35 film festival awards globally, including Best Feature at the Heartland Film Festival and the Palm Springs International Film Festival. It premiered at the prestigious Deauville Film Festival in France where it won the Premiere Audience Award for Best Feature and received a 10-minute standing ovation!
Her fourth documentary was Making Miles - The Miles Davis Story, for HBO. We invited all the living jazz legends who had played on stage with Miles and recorded their anecdotes and histories. Kerry followed "Miles" with her first directing credit on; Seeking Happily Ever After (Lionsgate Films), one of only 25 films accepted into the Sundance Film Lab and chosen by Stanford University's law department as a case study.
In 2001, concurrent with her film work, Kerry Founded Indieproducer.net (iP), an online community to nurture new and emerging filmmakers. (iP) provided access and an insider's perspective to a career in Hollywood. Leaning on her impressive industry contacts, Kerry invited notable guests to attend quarterly events, which often evolved into mentorship opportunities. She later added an annual screenwriting contest and bi-annual short film contes, culminating in a sponsored, 'Annual Awards Gala' at the prestigious Writers Guild Theatre in Beverly Hills. (Ip) reached 130 countries with over 86,000 members when she sold it in 2010.
From 2010-2013 Kerry took a leave of absence from Hollywood to build a musical village for orphans in Ghana, West Africa. After successfully negotiating for the land with 3 tribal chiefs, she went on to lead a team of architects and contractors to design and build the orphanage, hiring key staff to launch and ultimately manage its growth. Never far from her filmmaking roots, Kerry produced several mini docs about the school's value proposition and to introduce the children for fundraising and awareness needs back in the United States. After completing the orphanage, Kerry returned to her passion of filmmaking.
Fascinated by the recent advent of crowdsourcing, began producing crowdfunding campaigns for passion projects, raising over $500,000 for various non-profits, productions, and artists.
In 2017, Kerry added directing to her producing and writing roles and took on her now award-winning feature documentary; Bill Coors: The Will to Live. "WTL" was about the troubled, but impressive private life of the brewing titan's long battle with depression and anxiety and his obsession to find a holistic cure. She cut a shorter version of her film at the request of two universities in Colorado to include in their curriculums to address mental health and suicide prevention needs for students on campus.
In 2017, Kerry learned of the devastating effects commercial poaching and the illegal wildlife trade in Africa. She was moved to action for the endangered animals and founded her now global non-profit, Over and Above Africa.
During a research trip, she noticed how few women were visible in the anti-poaching field but after a few local enquiries, there proved to be many, but out of the public eye. She connected with several and listened to their impressive stories - these stories inspired her to write, produce and direct, her multiples award-winning, Breaking Their Silence: Women on the Frontline of the Poaching War.
Breaking Their Silence Premiered at the Newport Beach Film Festival to a standing ovation! After accruing 17 festival wins, (including winning the Jury Awards and the Audience Awards at both the San Diego Intl. Film Festival and the Durango Film Festival), COVID shut down their successful run and Kerry turned down the offer of a theatrical release to share BTS through the newly rebranded, Wondrium, a learning platform. Shortly afterwards, Kerry was asked to give a TEDx Talk about her experience filming, Breaking Their Silence, and was featured in segments on many high-profile shows including, The Today Show, CNN, BBC, People Magazine, Huffington Post, E Entertainment, Parade Magazine, and many others.
In 2019 Kerry relocated to North Carolina where she was soon approached to write, produce, and direct, "Open Secret," a documentary revealing systemic racism, child sexual abuse and how a corrupt and collusive culture allowed for it. The abuse dates back decades. It is alleged that approximately 340 administrators/faculty/board members knew of the abuse - yet nobody reported it to law enforcement. While there have been sudden resignations and retirements, nobody has been fired and none have been held accountable. She is prepping to launch a fundraising campaign to complete the film this year and release early 2024.
Midway through 2022, Hallmark green lit Kerry's feature film, "The Journey Ahead" by Erin Engman. A 17- year journey to produce! "TJA" is a fictional drama about two women from different generations, race, and social realms (Holly Robinson Peete and Kaylee Bryant), who heal each other's broken lives during a road trip across the US.
To date, Kerry's box office cume is north of $100 million. She has been a guest speaker, consultant, and mentor to students at several schools, The Rotary Club, including University of Southern California, University of California at Los Angeles, Pepperdine University, UNCSA NC, NGOIFF Kenya, and the New York Film Academy.
She has written numerous articles for various industry magazines and continues to be a student of life to appreciate all its exciting possibilities!
KDC Films: Education through entertainment - creating impactful films that inspire.
