Biography and education
Kenya Gillespie is a Japanese American filmmaker and composer based in Austin, Texas. His narrative short film JEREMIAH received its international premiere at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival (Cinéfondation) where it was nominated for the short film Queer Palm. It won Best Score at the Brooklyn Horror Film Festival and was nominated for the Jury Prize for Best American Short Film at the Champs Élysées Film Festival. He is a 2021 Sundance Institute Uprise Grant finalist for his most recent narrative short GIVE, and he is a four-time recipient of an Austin Film Society Grant for GIVE, JEREMIAH, and his narrative short MICHELLE. His films have screened at numerous festivals around the world.
Kenya received an MFA in Film & Media Production from the University of Texas at Austin. He also received an MM in music composition from Rice University and a BA in music from Yale University.
Kenya received an MFA in Film & Media Production from the University of Texas at Austin. He also received an MM in music composition from Rice University and a BA in music from Yale University.
Featured scholarly/creative works
- Writer, Director, Producer, Composer, Editor, Give.
September 2019 - April 2023.
Showings:
- deadCenter Film Festival. June 2023 Oklahoma City, OK.
- aGLIFF/Prism Film Festival. August 2023 Austin, TX.
- Catalina Film Festival. September 2023 Avalon, CA.
- El Paso Film Festival. September 2023 El Paso, TX.
- Tallgrass Film Festival. October 2023 Wichita, KS.
- Tacoma Film Festival. October 2023 Tacoma, WA.
- Festival Internacional de Cine de Quito. October 2023 Quito, Ecuador.
- Aesthetica Short Film Festival. November 2023 York, UK.
- NewFilmmakers Los Angeles. October 2024 Los Angeles, CA.
- Rio LGBTQIA+ Festival Internacional de Cinema. July 2024 Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
- Oxford Film Festival. March 2024 Oxford, MS.
- Festival Internacional de Cine Corto de Cali. November 2024 Cali, Colombia.
- Sehsüchte International Student Film Festival. April 2024 Potsdam-Babelsburg, Germany.
- New Renaissance Film Festival Amsterdam. May 2024 Amsterdam, Netherlands.
- LGBT+ Film Festival Poland. April 2024 Warsaw, Poland.
- KASHISH Pride Film Festival. May 2024 Mumbai, India.
- Ortigia Film Festival. July 2024 Ortigia, Italy.
- Filmfort. March 2024 Boise, ID.
- Phoenix Film Festival. April 2024 Phoenix, AZ.
- Writer, Director, Editor, Composer, Michelle.
August 2018 - May 2019.
Showings:
- Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival. 2020
- Austin Film Festival. 2020
- HollyShorts Film Festival. 2020
- CAAMFest. 2021
- Oak Cliff Film Festival. 2021
- Montclair Film Festival. 2020
- Aesthetica Short Film Festival. 2020
- Asian American International Film Festival. 2021
- Tallgrass Film Festival. 2020
- San Diego Asian Film Festival. 2020
- Boston Asian American Film Festival. 2020
- El Paso Film Festival. 2020
- Writer, Director, Composer, Editor, Sound Designer, Jeremiah.
September 2017 - May 2018.
Showings:
- Cannes Film Festival (Cinéfondation). May 2019
- Fantastic Fest. 2019
- Cleveland International Film Festival. 2019
- Outfest LA. 2019
- Nashville Film Festival. 2019
- Toronto Inside Out LGBT Film Festival. 2019
- Champs Élysées Film Festival. 2019
- Sidewalk Film Festival. 2019
- NewFest. 2019
- Brooklyn Horror Film Festival. 2019
- Oak Cliff Film Festival. 2019
- Akbank Short Film Festival. 2019
- Vancouver Queer Film Festival. 2019
- Taiwan International Queer Film Festival. 2019
- Spokane International Film Festival. 2019
- New Renaissance Film Festival Amsterdam. 2019
- KASHISH Mumbai International Queer Film Festival. 2019
- Austin Gay & Lesbian International Film Festival. 2019
- North Carolina Gay & Lesbian Film Festival. 2019
- Eureka University Film Festival. 2019
- Oslo/Fusion International Film Festival. 2019
- Queer Screen Mardi Gras Film Festival. 2019
- San Diego Asian Film Festival. 2019
- Houston Asian American Pacific Islander Film Festival. 2019
- Sohome Horror Film Festival. 2020
- El Paso Film Festival. 2020
- Stuff MX Film Festival. 2020
- Writer, Director, Editor, The Crystal City.
August 2017 - December 2017.
Showings:
- St. Louis International Film Festival. 2018
- Tallgrass Film Festival. 2018
- San Diego Asian Film Festival. 2018
- Philadelphia Asian American Film Festival. 2018
- Oak Cliff Film Festival. 2018
- Fastnet Film Festival. 2019
- Nichi Bei Foundation’s Films of Remembrance. 2019
- Tadaima Virtual Pilgrimage Film Festival. 2020
- Editor, Untitled Tenryumura WWII POW Camp Documentary. September 2023 - June 2024.
Featured awards
- Award / Honor Recipient: Austin Film Society Grant for GIVE, Austin Film Society. December 2022
- Award / Honor Recipient: Best Score for JEREMIAH, Brooklyn Horror Film Festival. October 2019
- Award / Honor Nominee: Queer Palm, Cannes Film Festival. May 2019
- Award / Honor Recipient: Official Selection, Cannes Film Festival (Cinéfondation). May 2019
- Award / Honor Recipient: Best International Short Film, New Renaissance Film Festival Amsterdam. 2024
Featured service activities
- Other
Film Department
- Organizer
Directing for Film and Advanced Film Directing Screenings
- Organizer
Faculty Film Screenings
- Adjudicator
Austin Asian American Film Festival
- Reviewer / Referee
Austin Film Society Short Film Grant