As a child, David Kirkman lived in a small apartment in Bellefontaine, Mo. with his parents and four siblings.
“Early on, between one (year old) and like six (years old), we were pretty poor,” he said. “I remember sitting on the floor eating in the kitchen. We didn’t even have a kitchen table.”
When he was nine years old, his family ended up moving out of their apartment into a house in Ferguson, Mo., and when he was 14 years old, his father started a church. Right before his senior year of high school, they moved to Maryland Heights, Mo. Leaving a predominately African-American neighborhood to move to a diverse community exposed the briefcase toting, suit jacket and jean wearing teen to a life outside of what he calls a “sheltered” upbringing.
“I was brought up one specific way, and told to follow that one specific way. I was much more reserved,” Kirkman said. “I wasn’t open minded. I didn’t drink, I didn’t smoke, and I still don’t smoke. I didn’t go out. I didn’t do anything. I don’t know what it’s like to go to a prom. I don’t know what it’s like to go to a homecoming.”
And while his classmates were attending dances and doing “teen” things, Kirkman was editing his first short film, called Extraction. Although film is what he’s known for, he grew up wanting to make beats and create music scores. Film wasn’t on his mind until four years ago.
While staying a couple of nights at his grandparent’s house in Kansas City, the then-18-and-now-22-year-old discovered his calling.
“My granddad was like, ‘Have you seen that movie Inception?’. I was like, ‘No, what is it? Inception? What is an inception?’” Kirkman said, laughing. “I watched it on Blu-ray in his man cave, and ended up watching the behind the scenes. I watched the movie and the behind the scenes twice that night.”
Inception moved Kirkman so much that when he returned to St. Louis, he started creating skits for his YouTube channel. With a wide, bright smile and robust chuckle, Kirkman added that they are now videos “you’ll never find”.
“It just boiled down to even when I was composing music, I wanted to tell a story through music,” he said, passionately. “I realized [that] film was the next level up from that.”
After graduating from Parkway North High School in 2013, Kirkman directed his first feature length film, The Rising. It was a mosaic of his influences – Inception, The Dark Knight, Quentin Tarantino, and The Walking Dead.
In fall of the same year, he started studying film production at Webster University. A year later, in the summer of 2014, he started researching classic 90s movies such as Boyz n the Hood and Juice.
“I took a lot of that inspiration, and put it in a binder…photos and screenshots, and my experiences growing up as a Black male,” he said. “And then Ferguson happened. Me being down there at the protests, and all that just shaped, helped everything.”
Kirkman and his crew – which includes his high school friends Robert Richardson and Duncan Wheeler – filmed the short Retribution in November 2014, which explored the dynamics of brotherhood. The film premiered in 2015 with a crowd of over 350 fans. Soon after, he started writing his next and newest project, Gonzo, a series inspired by his college experiences.
“We’re exploring the complexities within a black student organization itself,” he described. “It’s a coming of age about a young man, [and] a couple of people who find out exactly what they believe [in] and what they’re willing to stand for, including their experiences on a college campus.”
By the time Gonzo was filmed, Kirkman’s heart for studying film in school had changed. In 2016, he withdrew from Webster University to pursue his passion project.
On September 20, 2017, the prelude to the first episode of Gonzo premiered at Wehrenberg Theatres Ronnies 20 Cine. The screening was sold out, so the theatre had to add another showing later that evening.
All the work Kirkman and his team have put in is paying off. Next year, they are going to film more of Gonzo, expect to open their own office, and hope to be able to pay crew and cast members. They aren’t waiting on Hollywood to give them permission to tell the stories they want to tell, and for now, St. Louis is the perfect place for them to take them from the script to the movie theater screen.
“Everything that we do is going to be for black empowerment. Whether it is faith or spiritual-based, social activism, or the LGBTQ community, it’s going to be all of that,” Kirkman said. “We’re more than just the hood, you know. I respect my hood movies. They got they place in cinema. But there is more to us than just that.”
Gonzo’s success is already opening doors for the talented cast and crew behind the series. An online streaming service focused on the global black community wants to pick the series up, including other large and small companies.
“A lot of people think that opportunities are going to come to you. That’s true in many cases, especially if you have a strong product,” he said. “Some opportunities are coming to us. But in many cases – and we will still have to – you have to go out and grab them.”
From the moment Kirkman was bit by the film bug, to increasing success; hard work, determination and boldness define his journey.
For updates on David Kirkman’s projects, follow him on Facebook and Instagram.
Sharee Silerio is a St. Louis-based freelance writer, Film and TV writer-producer and blogger. When she isn’t creating content for The Root or Curly Nikki, she enjoys watching drama/sci-fi/comedy movies and TV shows, writing faith and self-love posts for SincerelySharee.com, relaxing with a cup of chai tea, crafting chic DIY event décor, and traveling. Review her freelance portfolio at ShareeSilerio.com then connect with her on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
