KERRY DAVID
FOUNDER & CEO
Professionally, Kerry David is an award-winning filmmaker. Personally, she is a lifelong advocate for wildlife. (Click for Bio)
Learning about the devastating effects of global poaching and human/wildlife conflicts in Africa (the loss of natural habitat due to human encroachment), compelled Kerry to act and join the leagues of champions around the world, who are all-in to prevent further loss of our endangered species and their habitat.
"We’ve lost 68% of our wildlife in the last 50 years-due to mankind. If we truly care about the future of our planet, and its magnificent wildlife, then we have to engage at any level we can. It doesn’t have to be financial, we can all bring unique skills to the table and aid a non-profit we respect and support their work!”
Kerry’s TEDx Talk recounts how she and her team chose to engage by making the now, multiple award-winning film: Breaking Their Silence: Women on the Frontline of the Poaching War If you’re curious about the global poaching industry and want to learn and explore it through the female lens, from the source - this is the film for you! Click here to watch.
Launching Over and Above Africa was Kerry’s first step in a life long promise to advocate for endangered species, and support the communities they impact. Encouraging other volunteers to join her on this journey and bring their innate skills to the table is a priority.
Over and Above Africa creates mini documentaries of each project funded to share with members, donors and as an awareness tool for the issues and how just a few well-directed funds can positively impact an array of important initiatives on the ground, in Africa. Education is key. Awareness is key. But global participation is vital! As a career filmmaker, she brings her extensive film and TV experience to the table, often leaning on her network of generous friends in film to help with the completion of our mini-docs!
“It’s imperative that we rethink our relationship to wildlife, nature, and our planet at large… while there’s still time to create a positive impact.”
Filmmaker, Kerry David, began her career at Paramount Pictures, in Business Affairs, where she learned the business and contract side of filmmaking. She followed this with three years working exclusively for Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman to learn the art of film production. Films with Cruise and Kidman include Mission Impossible 2, Without Limits, Portrait of a Lady, Peacemaker, Practical Magic, The Blue Room, and Eyes Wide Shut in the United Kingdom, with legendary director Stanley Kubrick.
Armed with this experience, Kerry started her own production company and produced films that included; the award-winning; Deposing the Usual Suspects (MGM), Agent Cody Banks and Agent Cody Banks 2: Destination London (MGM), Perfect Romance (Lifetime), and the critically acclaimed audience pleaser; My Date with Drew, which won multiple awards, including Best Feature at the HBO Comedy Arts Festival in Aspen, NY Gen Art Film Festival, and the Audience Award at the prestigious Locarno International Film Festival, Switzerland, among many others.
She followed "Drew" by producing, Expert Insight: Short Game Golf with Jim Furyk & Fred Funk, an educational DVD; which won a Telly-Award for Outstanding Instructional Content and Cinematic Excellence.
Kerry's next feature film was adapted from the NY Times bestseller Like Dandelion Dust by Karen Kingsbury (20th Century Fox). The novel was adapted by friend, and Oscar nominee, Stephen J. Rivele, (Ali, Nixon). It starred Cole Hauser, Mira Sorvino and Barry Pepper. LDD premiered at the prestigious Deauville Film Festival, France to a 10-minute, standing ovation, walking away with the Premiere Audience Award for Best Feature, and won an impressive 35 film festival awards globally; including the Palm Springs International Film Festival.
Her fourth documentary was Making Miles - The Miles Davis Story, for HBO. The filmmakers invited many of the last living jazz legends who had played on stage with Miles Davis, and recorded their anecdotes and histories as they reunited after decades. Kerry followed "Miles" with her first directing credit on; Seeking Happily Ever After (Lionsgate Films), one of only 25 films accepted into the Sundance Film Lab and chosen by Stanford University's law department as a case study. SHEA was based on a U.S. Consensus that there were more single women, by choice at that time, than at any other time in history. A topic worthy of exploration!
In 2001, concurrent with her film work, Kerry Founded Indieproducer.net (iP), an online community to nurture new and emerging filmmakers. (iP) provided access and an insider's perspective to a career in Hollywood. Leaning on her impressive industry contacts, Kerry invited notable guests to attend quarterly events, which often evolved into mentorship opportunities. She later added an annual screenwriting contest and bi-annual short film contest, culminating in a sponsored, 'Annual Awards Gala' at the prestigious Writers Guild Theatre in Beverly Hills. (Ip) reached 130 countries with over 86,000 members when she sold it in 2010.
From 2010-2013 Kerry took a leave of absence from Hollywood to build a musical village for orphans in Ghana, West Africa. After successfully negotiating for the land with 3 tribal chiefs, she went on to lead a team of architects and contractors to design and build the orphanage, hiring key staff to launch and ultimately manage its growth. Never far from her filmmaking roots, Kerry produced several mini docs about the children that emphasized the school's value proposition for stakeholders and additional fundraising needs back in the United States. After completing the orphanage, Kerry returned to her passion of filmmaking and fundraising.
Fascinated by the recent advent of crowdsourcing, began producing crowdfunding campaigns for passion projects. She raised hundreds of thousands for various non-profits, productions, and artists before turning her hand to directing feature documentaries.
In 2017, Kerry directed, produced and wrote the award-winning feature documentary; Bill Coors: The Will to Live. "The Will To Live" was Bill's legacy project. It detailed his troubled, but impressive private life and documented the struggles he overcame as a husband, father and titan of the brewing industry. He bravely shares his long battle with depression and anxiety, and his obsession to find a holistic cure for what ailed him. The following year, Kerry was approached to cut a version for two universities in Colorado to include in their curriculums as it also addressed mental health and suicide prevention for students on campus.
Also, in 2017, Kerry learned of the devastating effects commercial poaching, and the illegal wildlife trade had on vulnerable wildlife species in Africa. She was moved to action and founded her now global non-profit, Over and Above Africa. O&AA raises funds to protect and defend endangered species in Africa and support the communities they impact. Every project is filmed and the mini-doc's are shared with members and donors for issue awareness, transparency and donor satisfaction.
During a research trip, she noticed how few women there were, working in the anti-poaching arena. After some initial enquiries there proved to be many, just not in the public eye. Kerry connected with several and listened to their impressive stories, which inspired her to write, produce and direct, her now multiple award-winning feature documentary, Breaking Their Silence: Women on the Frontline of the Poaching War (BTS).
BTS premiered at the Newport Beach Film Festival to a standing ovation! After accruing 17 festival wins, (including winning both the Jury Awards for Best Doc, and the Audience Awards for Best Doc, at both the San Diego Intl. Film Festival and the Durango Film Festival), COVID shut down their successful run. Due to the pandemic, Kerry made the decision to turn down the offer of a theatrical release and license BTS to the Wondrium platform. Shortly afterwards, Kerry was asked to give a TEDx Talk about her experience making the documentary. BTS was featured in multiple segments on many high-profile shows including, The Today Show, CNN, BBC, and in People Magazine, Huffington Post, E Entertainment, Parade Magazine, among others.
In 2019 Kerry relocated to North Carolina where she was soon approached to write, produce, and direct, "Open Secret." O.S. is a feature documentary revealing systemic racism and child sexual abuse in the New Hanover County School District. How a corrupt and collusive culture allowed for these crimes to permeate its schools for decades. Countless numbers of children were betrayed. Kerry and her team of socially conscious filmmakers are currently raising finishing funds for a 2024 release. The filmmakers believe what they reveal in Open Secret will encourage voter turnout.
In 2022, Hallmark green lit Kerry's feature film, "The Journey Ahead" by Erin Engman. A 17- year journey to bring to the screen! "TJA" is a fictional drama about two women from different generations, race, and social realms (Holly Robinson Peete and Kaylee Bryant), who heal each other's broken lives during a long, road trip across the United States.
To date, Kerry's box office cume is approximately $90 million. She has been a guest speaker, consultant, and mentor to students at several schools, The Rotary Club, including University of Southern California, University of California at Los Angeles, Pepperdine University, UNCSA NC, NGOIFF Kenya, and the New York Film Academy. She has written numerous articles for various industry magazines and continues to be a student of life to appreciate all its exciting possibilities!
KDC Films: Education through entertainment - creating impactful films that inspire.
Check out some of the Over and Above Africa projects you’ve funded here!