OT: Our Town Kennedy's first feature documentary is
OT: Our Town, which follows
Dominguez High School in
Compton, California and their journey to attempt to put on
Thornton Wilder’s play,
Our Town.
OT: Our Town screened at many film festivals, including:
Toronto,
Tribeca, and
SXSW. It won awards at several festivals, like:
Los Angeles for Best Documentary,
Palm Springs International for the Audience Award, and Aspen FilmFest for the Audience Award.
OT was nominated for an
Independent Spirit Award and awarded a Human and Civil Rights award for the
National Education Association (NEA). The film was a critical success, being praised by the
L.A. Times and
Seattle Times.
The Garden The Garden tells the story of the
South Central Community Garden, which is the largest of its kind in the United States, and the complicated struggle it endured in order to survive. The film premiered at the
AFI Silverdocs Film Festival, where it won Best Documentary, and eventually went on to win other awards at
The Florida Film Festival,
The Camden International Film Festival, and the MMPA Diversity Award. The Garden also earned a nomination for the
81st Academy Awards for
Best Documentary.
Fame High Kennedy's third feature documentary is
Fame High, which centers around the
Los Angeles County High School for the Arts, and follows a group of freshmen and seniors through a school year as they strive to become successful actors, singers, dancers, and musicians. The film received exceptional reviews from the
L.A. Times and
N.Y. Times, and went on with a successful theatrical and digital release in 2013 before premiering on
Showtime and
Netflix in September 2013.
Food Evolution Food Evolution is Kennedy's fourth documentary. Narrated by the well-respected astrophysicist and science communicator
Neil deGrasse Tyson,
Food Evolution highlights the importance of using the scientific method regarding the outlook on
Genetically Modified Organisms, or
GMO, foods. The film was well-received, but also controversial, in 2017. It earned a rare 100% on
Rotten Tomatoes, and critics attested to it, with the
L.A. Times writing: "Calm, careful, potentially revolutionary,
Food Evolution is an iconoclastic documentary on a hot-button topic,” and the
N.Y. Times saying: "
Food Evolution posits an inconvenient truth for organic boosters to swallow: In a world desperate for safe,
sustainable food, GMOs may well be a force for good." The film has been screened at the
DC Environmental Film Festival,
EU Parliament,
UN Food and Agriculture Organization, and more.
SHOT IN THE ARM SHOT IN THE ARM is Kennedy's latest documentary. It began as an investigation into the 2019 global measles epidemic, documenting public health officials as well as the anti-vaxxers who helped cause the breakout... And then Covid-19 happened and the world was forever changed. When COVID struck, many hoped that the global challenge would unite us. Instead, it put an underlying threat into focus – the contagion of disinformation and conspiracy at the expense of unbiased science and rational thought. Both skeptical and hopeful, SHOT IN THE ARM reaches hearts and minds in a way that mere data cannot. == Teaching ==