photo by: Kevin Kelly

Poster for the short film "Protest on the Plaza"

Kevin Kelly went to a May 30 protest following the killing of George Floyd with the intent of simply documenting it. But after spending a few hours filming at the Kansas City protest, he knew he had to turn his content into a short film.

Now, Kelly’s 10-minute “Protest on the Plaza” has won an award and been included in a film festival.

Kelly refers to his short film as an “in-the-moment, non-narrative documentary.” He said he tried to promote no specific opinion or message but to “let the images speak for themselves.” Like a protest, the film itself is fast-moving and emotional. There are no breaks in the action; “you’re just there — trapped,” Kelly said.

“We hear the word protest all the time. But I don’t feel that people who haven’t been in one really understand what it’s like,” Kelly said.

photo by: Contributed Photo

Kevin Kelly

Numerous protests occurred in Kansas City following the May 25 death of Floyd, a 46-year-old Black man who died after pleading for air while being pinned under the knee of white Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin. At the May 30 protest Kelly attended, the one time he felt he was in danger was after tear gas was deployed by Kansas City police officers, he said.

“It really does incapacitate you,” Kelly said. “In that sense, it was pretty scary.”

But beyond that, Kelly said he didn’t feel he was in danger from either the protesters or the police. Kelly shot all his footage on his iPhone, then used editing software on his computer to make the video. He said it took him at least 100 hours to edit the film.

He submitted “Protest on the Plaza” to different contests and film festivals because he felt the footage was “just so compelling” and he wanted to make use of his University of Kansas undergraduate degree, which is in radio, television and film. Prior to “Protest on the Plaza,” Kelly had made amateur videos for his friends and family. He spent a large portion of his career as a practicing attorney, and he now serves as the Chancellors Club director for KU Endowment.

“Protest on the Plaza” was included in the International Social Change Festival. It won Best Experimental Short at the Gold Star Movie Awards and was a semifinalist at the Cyrus Monthly Short Festival of Toronto and the New York Cinematography AWARDS.

The film can be viewed on Kelly’s Youtube page, TornadoKev Productions.