Interview with award winning

film producer and director
Kimma Drake

Good morning Kimma and thank you for taking the time out to answer our questions.

NSAEN: Kimma, please give our readers some background about yourself?

Kimma: Well, I have always lived in a dream world and wondered what would happen if I really took some risks to see my dreams come true. I grew up in a very small-minded town with small-minded values. It’s hard for those people back there to even understand what I’m doing now. I broke the mold with that life, it wasn’t for me, I wanted more. I used to fear many things, but one day I took off and moved to a city far from everything I knew. That is when things began to get interesting. I started getting into the art scene in Atlanta and the path was paved for me, it was pretty much a strike of lightning showing what needed to be done next. Here’s the kicker- I have to balance a corporate job by day and run a film company by night. It’s really difficult being me, but I wouldn’t trade it for anything.

NSAEN: When did you discover your passion for film and movies?

Kimma: I was about 15 years old when I thought of wanting to become a film producer, especially for the horror film genre. What’s really funny is that I even said it in my high school newspaper when being interviewed my senior year. Ironic isn’t it?

NSAEN: At what point did you decide to study Film?

Kimma: I’ve always been a writer, musician and artist. Playwriting was my forte. After college, I went to modeling/acting school, had 2 agents that did nothing for me and realized that I’d serve better being behind the camera. Then it started. I took a film seminar with the same instructor who taught Quentin Tarantino and Guy Ritchie and it was so clear that this was my path. I then decided to write a story and dreamed that one day it would appear on the big screen, more irony.

NSAEN: You worked your way through the media wire from as most of the producers and directors have. What are some of the challenges you have encountered?

Kimma: I used to write commercials for radio and it was really fun and I was good at it. My grandmother taught me the literary arts so that always gave me an upper hand at storytelling. Though I didn’t have the schooling and wanted to do film, the most challenging situation was convincing people I was serious and that I could do it. Today it seems you have to know someone in the “biz”, I didn’t. The more people around me that say I can’t, the more I believe I can!

NSAEN: Do you feel you have to work and prove your talent twice as hard as your male encounters?

Kimma: In all aspects of my life, yes! I find myself competing with men a great deal. In the film industry, you’re either taken seriously as a filmmaker, or just another prop on the casting couch. I love the competition, it keeps me going and I do feel that I’m taken seriously. It can be challenging and frustrating at times since I look a lot younger than I am, which may cloud judgments. I usually like to fight and compete with intelligence and wit. It seems to work to my advantage. But realistically, you can’t always be the winner, no one can!

NSAEN: You are currently living in the Atlanta area, would you increase your potential to work on high profile movies if you would live in Hollywood?

Kimma: Being in the spotlight on occasion would be a great experience, but I like being “behind the scenes”. I like the laid back lifestyle in Atlanta and I have enough frequent flyer miles to fly to LA whenever I need to. I’m sure in time I’ll have a little place in Malibu for my frequent visits.

NSAEN: Skeletal Dreams is an award winning short film, where do you draw your inspiration from?

Kimma: You would be amazed. I get inspiration from a song lyric, a phrase, an experience or even a random thought. I can turn those into an entire story in the matter of minutes. Skeletal Dreams started out as a poem I wrote about 20 years ago. When I moved to Atlanta I decided to turn it into a stage play. Then years later it became a screenplay. I like to take one idea and turn it into an entire being.

NSAEN: Your focus is more on the occult and dark thrillers, but yet just recently you joined forces with another film production company to produce a documentary “Hook Up” about culture on college campuses. Why the change and why this particular subject?

Kimma: I was first approached by my colleague who worked for a major university to film an educational documentary on the subject. I joined forces with another film producer to help produce this film. The university contract fell though so we did it on our own, our way. I was the business behind the film while my associate was the writer and director. This is usually not my genre, but it was interesting to branch out to something different. I must say, I like the fiction storytelling much more than reality.

NSAEN: What do you hope will viewers take away from this documentary “Hook Up”?

Kimma: While watching the rough cut, it occurred to me how much awareness we brought out of the darkness about what happens on college campuses in regards to sex, alcohol, drugs and assault. It is amazing how students will actually talk about their experiences and what they currently do in the party scene. I hope all students, college and high school alike, parents and faculty get a better understanding of why being aware of what is going on may prevent a damaging incident than pretending nothing goes on behind those college gates. It’s being proactive. I’m sure the colleges won’t like us exposing the real life at college, but any press is good press!

NSAEN: Please explain the difference of your work as a documentary producer and film producer?

Kimma: Producing a documentary was far easier than producing a film. A documentary is more about real life, so you don’t have to coordinate makeup artists, lots of gaffers/grips, etc. It’s usually just a cameraman and you. The one difficult chore is that you almost have to “cold call” to find your subjects. I had less control over the documentary since I did not write or direct it. You have to limit your creativity when providing material that is supposed to be more content and awareness based. It doesn’t matter if the moon is just right in the sky or if the lighting may be too dark. When producing a film, it took far more planning, especially with revising scripts a thousand times and a lot more crew is involved, which means more management. In this case talent comes to you, it’s more like you have leads then you call on them.

NSAEN: Your most current project is a short, silent psychological thriller called “The Other”. You wrote, directed and produced this movie. What was the inspiration what lead you to write this script and please tell us a little about the movie!

Kimma: This may sound a little strange, but I was on the treadmill at the gym one day and this story just popped into my head. I had the beginning, a middle and end. I was thinking about doing something with a love triangle, revenge and murder, so it just came to me. “The Other” is about a love square – a married woman is having an affair with a married man., He has promised to leave his wife, but that day never came. This jealous woman decided that she will confront him and his wife for the first or last time, hence The Other. The film will premiere in November.

NSAEN: Kimma you have a motto you live by “Life is one big story” to fully appreciate life and your work. What is going to be your next story? What will be your next project?

Kimma: Usually after I complete a project I just come up with a new one. I always have to have those creative juices flowing or I don’t feel complete. The latest, ANATHEMA was done as a trailer and we are going to be shopping it to some investors to fund the feature.

As for future endeavors, I have one story down on paper, which is a twist on a mafia story and have 2 more floating around in my head. One of those stories is about an assassination job gone wrong. The other, well, I guess we’ll just see! I can’t divulge too many secrets.

NSAEN: Kimma we wish you success and we hope to see more of your work in the future. Thank you for granting us this interview.

Interviewed by Beatrice Davis