“I am THE MAN IN THE SNAP-BRIM HAT!!!”

Director’s Commentary

By Kevin M. Kraft

I love a good story!

From the early days of my youth this has been so. I admire anyone who can weave an intriguing tale, and it doesn't matter the medium....spoken word, literature, music and, of course, film. Being a very visual person, I gravitated toward those things that allowed me to see the story vividly-the writings of Ray Bradbury and Jules Verne, for instance, which inspired me to become a fiction writer as well And, yes, science fiction became my favorite genre as well as my forte! Fantastic adventures provided for me an escape from the drudgeries of life, cultivating my already fertile imagination. I discovered early on my gift for writing and produced tales that amazed my friends and instructors alike, always visualizing what I wrote. These were movies of the mind. Even a childhood-onset sleep disorder, which was characterized by chronic insomnia, could not quell the stream of creative forces within.

Unlike many contemporary filmmakers, I never had the privileged access to a Super 8 camera with which to realize my filmmaking aspirations. (My dad would have killed me if I had touched his!) Nevertheless, I wrote, directed, produced and performed some would-be blockbusters. My "camera" was a small box with a rectangle cut into two sides to give me a frame through which to frame my shots. I built a special effects laboratory in the basement of our upstate New York home, cannibalizing forgotten model kits and scraps of junk lying about, for those epic space operas. I even taught myself to write music and actually scored my own "movies." (Indeed, I would become an accomplished singer, a prolific songwriter and an avid guitarist before the age of fifteen.)

As I grew, so did my love and appreciation for motion pictures and the work that went into them, regularly checking out from the library books which explained the historical and technological background of some of my favorite films or film characters. All the time I wished I could make a real movie. But I knew it was as impractical as it was impossible. But I could write. So that's what I concentrated on.

When I reached adulthood, still struggling with uncontrollable insomnia, which lasted for weeks at a time, I continued to hone my craft.

Marrying my wife, Sharon, blessed me with someone who would become the center of my life and the object of my love, only second to God Himself. She encouraged me and was a faithful critic. Her honesty, when a story did not quite "make it" was loving and painful…and the most valuable feedback I could receive.

In 1998 my short story, "The Last Samaritan" won that year's Kansas City Network of Christian Writers' Fiction Award. This, and other stories appearing in anthologies and small magazines, let me know I had something to offer to readers. In fact, it was the only thing I could do, as insomnia ravaged me to the point that I was forced to leave the job force and apply for disability. During this dark time, however, I wrote four novels and several short stories, rushing to commit these things to paper before I lost my mind or simply expired from the tremendous physical stress  that beset me. Among other things came my family novel, THE W-3 CREW, its sequel, THE W-3 CREW: UNDERGROUND  and a spin-off novel, SQWARK! All these books, yet-unrepresented, evoked an enthusiastic response from test readers in the U.S., Canada and Japan, striking a chord with a forgotten audience who had waited for something family-friendly, something fun, adventurous and commercial that didn't have at its center, witchcraft, vampirism or  some dark subject matter.

After finally finding a cure for my insomnia, desiring to make up for lost time, I took up screenwriting, learning from books. With so many readers telling me The W-3 Crew would make a great movie, I adapted it for the screen first. Having learned the craft and learning the essentials, I decided my second venture would be from scratch, rather than based upon an existing work. In the fall of 2003, I sat down at the computer, with no outline, no idea what I would write, and started writing. Whatever came out, came out.

The result? TOPWORLD.

Topworld is about a man whose life has been broadsided in quick succession by the disappearance of his adopted daughter, then his divorce from his wife who becomes the reluctant protector of an escaped slave girl from a subterranean civilization. The first draft was written in a single week. The second draft was posted on the American Zoetrope website for review by other screenwriters, garnering, despite a handful distracters, very positive feedback. After one more revision, I sent it to Tanglewood Films' First Fifteen Minutes Screenplay Competition and the Burris-Hulett Screenplay Discovery Award contest. Topworld won both awards for November, 2003!

Inspired by Robert Rodriguez's book, Rebel Without a Crew, written by my director hero, Robert Rodriguez, I set about learning, everything I could about filmmaking itself, paying particular attention to emerging digital technology, which made moviemaking achievable and affordable for the independent producer.

As a producer and the CEO of a Christian-owned motion picture production company, it may be curious, or seem contradictory, that I have no desire to make a Christian movie, no desire to make the next The Passion of the Christ or evangelize the world with my movies. (Besides, I’ve seen “Christian films,” and most are, with few exceptions, all second-rate (at best), contrived, predictable products...not that that couldn’t change, of course!) No, I’m a science fictions, adventure writer from my short fiction writing days. My vivid imagination is as far-out as it was as a child, and I can’t change that now! I want to make great, commercial movies that entertain. I want to set high standards, because of my Christian outlook, that will make Hollywood sit up and take notice...and emulate what we do, rather than us following trends. I want to influence the industry from the inside out. If we do what we set out to do, the rewards could be great.

As a Christian, my ministry will take place behind the scenes, as I interact with associates and industry professionals, as I do what I always do: live Christ, which will compel me to treat others as he would. This is the heart of the “ministry” of T E K  Productions. That and the fact that, whatever we produce, will express Christian sentiments, if even in the smallest ways, as well as be carried by the Spirit of God to produce an incidental fruit in addition to what is initially seen, working below the surface to affirm values the people of God hold dear.

Proving Ground: From the Adventures of Captain Redlocks was written explicitly for a wonderful, young Christian actress named Holliston Coleman, whom I first saw in the supernatural thriller, Bless the Child, as young Cody, a girl who was to be the savior, sent from God, to the world. She was an amazing talent even back then in 2000. Now thirteen, she’s still a phenomenal actress, and, as I learned, is a Christian.

The story of how I came to contact Holli and her family, is inspiring. But it is too long to include here. It was clearly God’s continuing moving, since we heard His intial call to enter the moviemaking business. We continue to be amazed at the people and opportunities God has caused us to meet on this journey. Indeed, God seems to be moving in the film community at-large bring believers like myself and the Colemans and the McCurdys, and artists and technicians and investors who want to be salt and light in the world.

Even through movies!

My thanks to all those who have supported T E K  Productions’ mission to be “a light in the darkness.”