Kevin Willmott hails as one of the most prolific independent filmmakers working today. Willmott will give a lecture titled “The Origins of Chi-Raq,” which will include film clips, in the WSU CUB Auditorium on Wednesday, March 23, at 5 p.m. The lecture is free and open to the public.
Chi-Raq, which Willmott wrote with director and producer Spike Lee, combines Chicago and Iraq, comparing Chicago’s gun violence to a war-torn Middle East. The screenplay is based on the ancient Greek play “Lysistrata” by Aristophanes, a comic account of a woman who tries to end the Peloponnesian War by convincing the women of Greece to withhold sex from their husbands and lovers until they establish peace. Chi-Raq stars Nick Cannon, Wesley Snipes, Jennifer Hudson, Angela Bassett, John Cusack, and Samuel L. Jackson.
Willmott has also written for television and the stage. He is an Associate Professor in the Film Studies Department of the University of Kansas.
Besides the lecture, Willmott will hold a week-long student screenwriting workshop.
