Keoni K. Wright
Keoni K.Wright
Filmmaker and Visual Artist
Keoni K. Wright is an experimental filmmaker, documentarian, and emerging visual artist whose body of work touches on a vast range of themes to include Suriname's civil war, mystical encounters with anacondas, and his own battle with testicular cancer. Wright's first experimental film, a non-linear portrayal of six Afro-Surinamese artists entitled "ReleaseD", was nominated for Virginia Tech University's cinematic arts awards for decolonizing film. "ReleaseD" also screened at Port of Spain's Medulla Art Gallery as part of Trinidad and Tobago Film Festival's CARIFESTA Edition.
His latest documentary, "A Pasi Fu Romeo", was an official selection of seven film festivals to include LA's Pan African Film Festival and the Toronto Black Film Festival. Recently, the film was acquired for distribution and will be available via a streaming service later this year.
Overall, Wright's films have screened on five continents and have been featured within art galleries in Seattle and Los Angeles. Wright has given art themed presentations at The Evergreen State College, Cerritos College, and to high-school students and fellow filmmakers in French Guiana.
A true hustler in the art and production world, Wright was part of the installation team for the inaugural Honolulu Biennial where he installed works by top Asia/Pacific artists like Yayoi Kusama. He also worked as a security specialist for major motion pictures in Hawaii. More recently, he earned credits as a freelance film and television production assistant and associate producer in New York City.
Never afraid of a language barrier or remote destinations, Wright has spent much of the last four years in Suriname creating and consulting on local productions. During his last trip to Suriname, he developed his own unique brand of wire sculpture art which he plans on embracing during his residency in Arima.
Keoni's residency begins with him as one of the facilitators for our Youth Arts Enrichment Program. Keoni will draw on his experiences to expose local students to interview and storytelling techniques. He will attempt to bridge the gap between journalism and creative writing, while challenging students to view journalism through an artist's lens. Writing, research, and making inroads within the community round out Wright's goals for his month-long stay in Trinidad.