Since 1991, KCP has worked to develop dramatic and documentary films and an education program in theater and the media arts. KCP's mission is to capture the memorable characters, relentless struggles, and resilient spirit of Northern New England.

Kingdom County Productions (KCP) was established in May 1991 by Jay Craven and Bess O'Brien. Jay Craven came to Vermont in 1975 and founded Catamount Arts, a community arts organization in St. Johnsbury, Vermont. Catamount began as a four-night-a-week traveling 16mm film series of foreign, classic, and independent movies to small rural towns. By 1986, it grew to become Northern New England's largest independent performing arts presenter and arts education organization. Catamount's program included the founding and production of Circus Smirkus and the annual presentation of 80 films and 60 world-class theater, music, and dance events.

Bess O'Brien and Jay Craven

In 1988, Bess O'Brien joined Catamount Arts as the Producing Director. Bess had worked in professional theater and founded The Vermont Ensemble Theater in Middlebury, Vermont. With Jay directing and Bess producing, work began on their first dramatic film, High Water, in the fall of 1988. Based on a short story by Vermont author Howard Frank Mosher, High Water won eleven international festival awards and launched Craven and O'Brien's work in regional filmmaking. In 1991, Bess and Jay left Catamount Arts to establish KCP and devote themselves full-time to the dream of making their first feature film.

This dream came to fruition in October 1992 when production began on Where the Rivers Flow North (starring Rip Torn, Tantoo Cardinal and Michael J. Fox). Rivers played 212 U.S. cities, 39 countries, and 18 international film festivals including Sundance. It has also played The Disney Channel,

Tantoo Cardinal

Sundance Channel, and Encore, and has sold 92,000 videos to date. KCP's second feature,A Stranger in the Kingdom (starring Ernie Hudson, David Lansbury and Martin Sheen), started production in late 1996 and played to theaters and festivals in 1997 and 1998. Stranger was released nationally on video in August 1999. Both films explore writer Howard Frank Mosher's indomitable characters, ironic humor, and universal themes of community, continuity, struggle, and change on the northern frontier. During this time, KCP also produced Bess O'Brien's award-winning documentaries exploring issues of domestic violence, Journey into Courage (1995) and Where is Stephanie? (1998).

In 1997, Kingdom County Productions created Fledgling Films, an educational division to conduct workshops and produce films written, acted, and directed by teens. Fledgling Films held a fourteen-week screenwriting workshop for teenagers during the winter of 1998. That summer, Fledgling Films produced the teen-written and acted film, In Jest as part of its Summer Institute. In Jest has toured to theaters, schools, festivals and alternate venues throughout the region. In 1999, teens enrolled for another Fledgling Films screenwriting workshop and Summer Institute, where they wrote, directed and acted in nine short narratives and one documentary.

KCP continues to expand its Fledgling Films programs to include new decentralized screenwriting and production workshops, and e-mail writing tutorials. Fortified by a NEA film production grant, KCP presents another feature film, Disappearances, a whiskey-running adventure and comedy that will complete the trilogy of films based on stories by Howard Frank Mosher.

In addition over the last couple of years, KCP has produced the powerful docuementary film "After the Fog" recounting the lives of war veterans from World War II to Iraq. KCP has also produced the Voices Project, an original musical based on the lives of Vermont teens. In addition, KCP produced a film adaptation of the Voices Project called "Shout it Out" which will tour Vermont during the summer and fall of 2008. DVD's of "Shout it Out" and Study guides for schools will be available in the fall of 2008.

KCP FILMS | HOME PAGE | KCP NEWS | FLEDGLING FILMS | FUNDRAISING