Alumnus and Oscar-Nominated Filmmaker to Keynote N.C. A&T Fall Convocation

EAST GREENSBORO, N.C. (Oct. 19, 2019) – Oscar-nominated, Student Academy Award-winning filmmaker and 2011 alumnus Kevin Wilson Jr. will deliver the keynote address for fall convocation at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, Thursday, Oct. 24, at 10 a.m., in Harrison Auditorium.

In 2017, Wilson won the gold medal at the 44th Student Academy Awards for "My Nephew Emmett," a 20-minute short film based on the true story of the 1955 murder of Emmett Till. Months later, the film was nominated for a Best Live Action Short Film Oscar at the 90th Academy Awards. It also garnered Wilson a Directors Guild of America Student Film Award and a BAFTA Student Film Award.

Wilson’s filmmaking career gained momentum shortly after directing a sold-out play as an undergraduate student at N.C. A&T. Since then, his short films have been screened at film festivals all over the world, including the 55th New York Film Festival, Telluride Film Festival, Cleveland International Film Festival and HollyShorts Film Festival where he won best director.

Wilson holds an M.F.A. in film production from New York University's Tisch School of the Arts and a B.S. in journalism from A&T.

Fall convocation recognizes alumni achievements, student athletes for their academic and athletic accomplishments and welcomes back alumni and friends of the university for The Greatest Homecoming on Earth celebration.

Classes are suspended from 10 a.m. to noon to allow students and faculty to attend convocation.