Kings County Facts
Kings
County is written and directed by Patrice Johnson. She is a filmmaker out
of Flatbush and Canarsie
in Brooklyn, NY who was born in Jamaica, West Indies.
In
Kings County a prophesy of death and jail is proclaimed over four
teenagers and their crack boss by a Santeria priestess who is high on
crack cocaine. The prophesy is dismissed because of it’s source but the
teenagers and their crack boss get back to their block and find that
events have been set in motion that threaten to bring the prophecy to
pass.
The
movie is an ensemble piece and terrifically acted by a superb cast. Some
names of
This
is Patrice’s first film directing experience though she is a veteran
actress of Broadway, television and films. In the year 2002, she played
Tituba in the Tony nominated revival of The Crucible starring Liam Neeson
and Laura Linney, directed by Sir Richard Eyre, the acclaimed writer
-director of ”Iris”. She has also just completed “Undertow” the
newest film by David Gordon Green starring Dermott Mulroney and Jamie Bell
(Billy Eliott).
Patrice
has had no formal film school training. After her Broadway show she
decided to send herself to film school by undertaking the making of Kings
County. Her sister bought her a Cannon GL and she was off. It was shot in
four days, one of which was dedicated to stealing shots on the streets of
Brooklyn. She would like to say because she thought she was shooting a
short she, her actors and her crew simply went for it. She did this on her
knees, praying the whole time because she had no technical experience to
speak of but whenever in doubt relied on her gut instincts as an actor.
The movie is a testament to sheer excitement, determination, ignorance and
many many prayers.
She is set to shoot her next feature in Brooklyn this summer, called “Laundromat”. Move over Spike, Patrice is the next big filmmaker out of Brooklyn.