5 Questions with Kevin Brooks

The hybrid documentary, “Bonfire,” by director Kevin A. Brooks, is an empathic meditation on heartbreak. We asked Brooks how it began, working with his interview subjects, and about his home city of Memphis, Tennessee…

1) How did the project originate?

The project originated from a bad breakup that I had with a girl I had been dating for about 6 months. 6 months isn't necessarily a long time but we literally spent every day and almost every hour with each other. Near the end of the relationship, it began to get really rocky and we were arguing a lot. I vividly remember her telling me that I didn't understand love and that I fully didn't know how to show it. That bothered me because I thought I was giving her all of my love but I guess that wasn't the case. Days after the relationship had ended, I just kept pondering over "What is love" and that question kept replaying over and over again in my head. It got to the point where I was asking friends that question, and that sort of took me on this journey of creating Bonfire and finding out the true meaning of love. The interesting part is that this process began as a way for me to heal my own broken heart but as the time passed and I began to show people the film, I realized that it wasn't about me anymore and that it was really helping so many other people who was questioning the same thing.

2) How did you decide to weave together these two elements: the individual story of the breakup vs the collective experience of the other subjects?

The collective experience of my subjects actually came first because I gathered up hours of interviews and that was going to be the original idea for the piece. But I remember watching "Close Up" by Abbas Kiarostami and I got the idea to weave together my own story along with the interview pieces. I felt that it would be more personal if I play the main character that is experiencing the heartache and at the same time it was a very cathartic experience.

3) Can you talk about how you approached the interviews? How did you set them up, were they conversational, or did you have them prepare things to say? They all contained such vulnerability and truth.

For the interviews, I really didn't want anything to feel like it was staged or that I had set questions for the people I was interviewing. I love things feeling very authentic and organic so that was the way that I went by handling the interview pieces. I wanted it to feel like a conversation so that the people getting interviewed didn't feel any pressure and they could be completely open with me. I was super super lucky to have gotten great interviews from people and that they trusted me enough to fully tell me their stories about love and heartbreak.

4) What’s it like living and working in Memphis?

I love Memphis! Everyone is here super willing to collaborate and willing to help in any capacity. I think their is just so much talent here in Memphis and I think other places need to realize that. I've been in Memphis my entire life and I just love telling stories with that Memphis flavor in it. I think Memphis just has so much texture and authenticity that other places just don't have for me.

5) What comes next for you?

As of right now, I'm working on my first web series set in Memphis that I can't wait for people to see. It should be premiering later this year in November. I'm also in talks on hopefully filming my first feature film later this year. Doing a feature film has always been part of the dream, so if I get to do that, it would be super amazing and I can't wait for everyone to see it!

Bonus Question: What are some of your favorite recent films or filmmakers?

Some of my favorite recent films would have to be "If Beale Street Could Talk", "Burning", "The Favourite", and "Cold War". My favorite filmmakers right now are Barry Jenkins, Yorgos Lanthimos, Alfonso Cuaron, and Trey Edward Shults.

Contact Info:

Instagram: @filmingsince93.

Twitter: @KevBrooksii