Ky Dickens Explained

Ky Dickens
Birth Name:Kristine Dickens
Birth Date:April 25th
Birth Place:Park Ridge, Illinois
Spouse:Kaisa Dille
Children:Daughter (2014) & Son (2019)

Ky Dickens is a filmmaker, writer and director best known for her documentaries Show Her The Money,[1] Zero Weeks,[2] Sole Survivor,[3] The City That Sold America[4] and Fish out of Water.[5]

Early life and education

Dickens was born and raised in Hinsdale, Illinois. From an early age she always had a camera or camcorder around her neck and would edit footage together by using two VCR's, one to play the tapes and the other to record the edited version.[6] She decided to devote her life to documentary film making at the age of 16 after a good friend died in car crash and she compiled past footage taken of him.[7] At Hinsdale Central High School, Ky was student council president her senior year. She was class president her first three years. She was voted the recipient of the Senior Honor Medal, an award voted on by seniors for the senior most demonstrative of character, service and academics. She graduated magna cum laude with majors in Human and Organizational Development and Sociology from Vanderbilt University.[8]

Career

Dickens' first feature film, Fish Out of Water, explores the seven Bible passages that are most used to condemn homosexuality and same-sex marriage. Dickens talked with ministers on both sides of the debate surrounding homosexuality and the Bible for the film.[6] The film was heralded as a reconciling tool for LGBTQ people and their families and screened at over 200 churches nationwide.[9] Fish out of Water is distributed nationally by First Run Features, and has been translated into Spanish, Russian, Haitian Creole and Italian. It was acquired by First Run Features in 2009, before it premiered at Outfest. For her 2013 documentary film Sole Survivor, Dickens contacted 10 of the world's 14 sole survivors of large plane crashes and featured four in the movie.[10] The documentary follows George Lamson, one of fourteen sole survivors in a commuter plane crash. Her 2018 documentary, Zero Weeks is about paid family leave, and how the United States is the only developed country in the world that doesn't guarantee paid leave for workers.[11] [12] Zero Weeks premiered at the Camden International Film Festival and hosted its New York premiere at DOC NYC.[13] Zero Weeks was screened by a large network of action groups including MomsRising,[14] [15] Family Values at Work [16] [17] Mi Familia Vota and 9 to 5[18] [19] in order to create local activism on the issue. Zero Weeks was screened for members of the US Congress at the DC Naval Museum in April 2018.[20] [21] Ky's 2019 feature documentary, The City that Sold America, was produced by Emmy Award-winning executive producer Mary Warlick.[22] The film was the sequel to Emmy Award-winning Art & Copy.[23] The film premiere at the Chicago International Film Festival[23] and hosted its New York Premiere at DOC NYC.[24] The film is about Chicago's impact on American consumer tastes and culture, demonstrating that Chicago gave birth to advertising icons from Ronald McDonald, Jolly Green Giant, The Keebler Elves, Mr. Clean and Tony the Tiger and the Marlboro Man and advertising ideas such as coupons, fast food restaurants, product placement, mail order catalogs and soap operas.[4] Ky's fifth feature film, Show Her the Money, premiered in October 2023. Executive Produced by award-winning actress Sharon Gless (Cagney & Lacey, Queers as Folk), the film features women entrepreneurs who bootstrap their companies into success stories, and the fierce and financially savvy women who fund them.[25] Show Her The Money has won multiple awards including BEST DOCUMENTARY at the Los Angeles Film Festival,[26] BEST DOCUMENTARY at the Twin Cities Film Festival,[27] The AUDIENCE CHOICE AWARD at the Ft. Lauderdale Film Festival[28] and BEST DOCUMENTARY at the Women's Film Festival.[29] It premiered theatrically in Los Angeles and New York in December 2023.[30] It was on the "For Your Consideration" list for Best Documentary by the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences.[31] Ky won the FOCUS AWARD for "Achievement in Directing" from Women In Film.[32] [33] She was a keynote speaker at the Houston Texas Annual Conference for Methodist Ministers in 2010, speaking to her work bringing Fish out of Water throughout the south.[34] Dickens also directs TV commercials for a wide range of clients.[35] She has been repped by STORY, They Director's Network, MK Films and Conspiracy[35] [36] Her client lists includes Google, Facebook, TikTok, Intel, Wounded Warrior Project, Kellogg's, Hallmark,[36] McDonald's,[37] Tylenol,[36] Kraft, Wrangler, Revlon and Neutrogena, Wendy's, and Sears.[38]

Awards and recognition

Sole Survivor premiered at Michael Moore's Traverse City Film Festival in 2013, and its New York premier was at DOC NYC in 2013. It was Indiewire's project of the month in September 2012 and received the Best of the Midwest Award for “Best Feature Film” in November 2013. It was acquired by CNN Films for broadcast and theatrical worldwide distribution in August 2013, and premiered on the network in January 2014. In October 2013, Dickens received the Focus Award for “Achievement in Directing” from Women in Film.[38]

Private life

Ky has been a passionate advocate for people with special needs dating back to High School where she spearheaded the inclusion program and worked as an aide to classmates who had autism or other disabilities. Though she originally considered getting her bachelor's degree in either special education or religious studies, she ended up pursuing Sociology and Human and Organizational Development at Vanderbilt University.[52]

Ky's 2018 film, Zero Weeks, was based on her experience of having a lack of time after the birth of her daughter in 2014.[53] Ky married furniture designer, Kaisa Dille[54] in 2012.[55] Her son was born in Los Angeles in 2019. After starting her documentary and TV commercial directing career in Chicago, Ky and her family moved to Los Angeles. Her father-in-law, Republican Senator Steven Dille, passed away in March 2020. Ky revered her father-in-law for being fair-minded and listening to various perspectives and working across the isle. They had a close relationship where they talked about social and political ideas. He was a supporter of her documentary work, bringing copies of her film FISH OUT OF WATER to small conservative churches in Minnesota in hopes they'd soften their views on marriages between people of the same gender.[56]

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Show Her the Money Movie . 2023-12-22 . Show Her The Money Movie . en-US.
  2. Web site: 'Zero Weeks' film explores abysmal U.S. family leave laws. Stevens. Heidi. chicagotribune.com. en-US. 2019-01-01.
  3. Web site: CNN to Premiere 'Sole Survivor,' a Documentary About Lone Survivors of Plane Crashes. Willmore. Alison. 2013-12-26. IndieWire. en. 2019-01-01.
  4. Web site: "The City That Sold America" premieres at Chi Film Fest Reel Chicago - Midwest film, audio, production, TV, and advertising. 2018-10-09. Reel Chicago - Midwest film, audio, production, TV, and advertising. en-US. 2019-01-01.
  5. Web site: theLstop.org An interview with Ky Dickens . 2014-10-21 . 2018-10-12 . https://web.archive.org/web/20181012054122/http://thelstop.org/2012/05/an-interview-with-ky-dickens/ . dead .
  6. Web site: Chicago filmmaker focuses on gays and the Bible. 11 Oct 2014.
  7. Web site: Daily Candy: Woman behind the lens. 17 Oct 2014.
  8. Web site: Out & About Nashville: Dickens revisits Vanderbilt to screen debut film. 11 Oct 2014.
  9. Web site: B.) . Elizabeth (aka Elli . 2009-12-13 . "Fish Out of Water" Tackles Homosexuality & The Bible: The Autostraddle Interview . 2023-12-22 . Autostraddle . en-US.
  10. http://www.mprnews.org/story/2013/05/30/daily-circuit-sole-survivor MPR News: Air-crash survivor describes pressure to accomplish something big with his life
  11. Web site: Film 50 2014: Chicago's Screen Gems. 14 Oct 2014.
  12. Web site: Zero Weeks official site. 29 December 2015.
  13. Web site: DOC NYC 2017 Women Directors: Meet Ky Dickens — "Zero Weeks". womenandhollywood.com. en-US. 2019-01-01.
  14. Web site: Gratitude and Resistance. 2017-11-02. MomsRising. en. 2019-01-01.
  15. Web site: Women AdvaNCe Presents: ZERO WEEKS. Eventbrite. en-us. 2019-01-01.
  16. Web site: Dads Need More Than Zero Weeks. en-US. 2019-01-01.
  17. Web site: Family leave documentary screening, panel discussion set for Feb. 20 Penn State University. news.psu.edu. en. 2019-01-01.
  18. Web site: Women Against Hate, United by Love. 2018-09-21. Isthmus Madison, Wisconsin. en-us. 2019-01-01.
  19. Web site: 10/4/18 - Zero Weeks - Screening and Paid Family Leave discussion. Staff Report. 2018-10-03. The Colorado Independent. en-US. 2019-01-01.
  20. Web site: ZERO WEEKS. New America. en. 2019-01-01.
  21. Web site: ZERO WEEKS Premiere in Washington, DC. Street. ZERO TO THREE 1255 23rd. Washington. NW Suite 350. ZERO TO THREE. en. 2019-01-01. Dc 20037638-1144899-4301.
  22. Web site: THE CITY THAT SOLD AMERICA: New Documentary Reveals Chicago's True A LBBOnline. lbbonline.com. en. 2019-01-01.
  23. Web site: SCREEN Ky Dickens' Chicago Ad Doc Premieres Tonight January 2019 Stories. screenmag.com. 2019-01-01.
  24. Web site: 2018 DOC NYC in Focus: American Perspectives. 2018-10-24. what (not) to doc. en. 2019-01-01.
  25. https://www.thewrap.com/sharon-gless-women-entrepreneurs-show-her-the-money/
  26. Web site: STORY Director Ky Dickens' Documentary "Show Her the Money" Set For Theatrical Release . 2023-12-22 . SHOOTonline . en.
  27. Web site: Bednarek . Brooke . 2023-10-29 . TWIN CITIES FILM FEST ANNOUNCES 2023 AWARD WINNERS . 2023-12-22 . Twin Cities Film Fest . en-US.
  28. Web site: It's A Wrap – Fort Lauderdale Film Festival . 2023-12-22 . en-US.
  29. Web site: The Women's Film Festival (2023) . 2023-12-22 . IMDb . en.
  30. Web site: Roche . Barbara . 2023-11-16 . STORY's Ky Dicken's doc gets theatrical release in LA and NY . 2023-12-22 . Reel Chicago News . en-US.
  31. Web site: Davis . Clayton . 2023-12-07 . Academy Announces 288 Eligible Titles for Animated, Documentary and International Feature Oscar Races . 2023-12-22 . Variety . en-US.
  32. Web site: Interviews: Women in Film Chicago at the 2013 Focus Awards. hollywoodchicago.com. en. 2019-01-01.
  33. Web site: Focus Awards honor Wiegan, Dickens, Mindeman Oct. 16 Reel Chicago - Midwest film, audio, production, TV, and advertising. 2013-10-03. Reel Chicago - Midwest film, audio, production, TV, and advertising. en-US. 2019-01-01.
  34. Web site: Breaking the Silence: Ky DIckens. 21 Oct 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20140909133907/http://breakingthesilencetxc.org/index_files/Page436.htm. 9 September 2014. dead.
  35. Web site: STORY adds director Dickens and producer/rep McIntyre Reel Chicago - Midwest film, audio, production, TV, and advertising. 2016-10-20. Reel Chicago - Midwest film, audio, production, TV, and advertising. en-US. 2019-01-01.
  36. Web site: STORY Signs Real People/Documentary Director Ky Dickens Creative Content Wire. ArtisansPR. en-US. 2019-01-01.
  37. Web site: Real People/Documentary Director Ky Dickens Joins STORY. SHOOTonline. en. 2019-01-01.
  38. Web site: Sole Survivor: Ky DIckens. 11 Oct 2014.
  39. Web site: Game Changer Awards. en-US. 2019-01-01.
  40. Web site: Family Values @ Work Celebrates 2017 GameChanger Awards. en-US. 2019-01-01.
  41. Web site: Film News: 'Sole Survivor' is Top Film at 2013 Best of the Midwest Awards. 2020-12-18. imdb. en.
  42. Web site: zeroweeks. incap.org. 2019-01-01.
  43. Web site: Colorado International Film Festival & Screenplay Contest - 2017 Winners. coloradofilmfestival.com. 2019-01-01.
  44. Web site: Chicago Reader: The Wingnuts Had a Point. 17 Oct 2014.
  45. Web site: Windy City Media Group: REELING FILM FEST 2009 Reeling in the 'Fish'. 17 Oct 2014.
  46. Web site: Zero Weeks: A DOCUMENTARY ABOUT AMERICA'S MATERNITY LEAVE CRISIS. 17 Oct 2014.
  47. Web site: McHenry Count College: Online Press Room. 17 Oct 2014.
  48. Web site: Huffington Post: Ky Dickens' 'Sole Survivor': Fundraiser Supports Local Filmmaker's New Documentary. . 17 Oct 2014.
  49. Web site: Film Maker Magazine: 10 Picks for the DOC NYC Film Festival. 17 Oct 2014.
  50. Web site: Chicago3Media: Entertainment for the World. 17 Oct 2014.
  51. Web site: Indiwire: Ky Dickens. 17 Oct 2014.
  52. Web site: Ky Dickens: Chicago's Taxidermist of Truth . 2023-12-22 . shots . en.
  53. Web site: We Have to Fight Like the Dickens. Gregoire. Gabe. The Portland Phoenix. en. 2019-01-01.
  54. Web site: Kaisa Dille - Design with Integrity The L Stop. 2019-01-01.
  55. Web site: Ky Dickens & Kaisa Dille. 2013-01-14. SPLASH. en-US. 2019-01-01.
  56. Web site: Home. Johnson-Hagglund Funeral. Obituary for Stephen Everett Dille Johnson-Hagglund Funeral Home. 2020-12-18. Obituary for Stephen Everett Dille Johnson-Hagglund Funeral Home. en.

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Ky Dickens".

Except where otherwise indicated, Everything.Explained.Today is © Copyright 2009-2024, A B Cryer, All Rights Reserved. Cookie policy.