Kevin Schreck '07

Alumni Office (AO): Can you introduce yourself?

Kevin Schreck (KS): Sure, I’m Kevin Schreck, a documentary filmmaker and educator from Minneapolis, currently based in Brooklyn, NY. I graduated from Breck in 2007.

AO: Tell us what you’ve done since Breck.

KS: After Breck, I attended Bard College, which, like Breck, offered a liberal arts approach with small, interactive classes. This helped reinforce my passion for filmmaking, which began with stop-motion animation and evolved into documentary films. I always knew I wanted to make movies. I started making them when I was 10 years old, and both Breck and Bard encouraged my pursuit of filmmaking as a profession.

I focus on nonfiction cinema, exploring diverse themes like biography, art, politics, and nature. My first film, Persistence of Vision, is about an animator’s 30-year journey to complete a masterpiece. My follow-up to that film was an artsy documentary that followed an artist in Istanbul, Turkey, called Tangent Realms: The Worlds of C.M. Kösemen. I’m also working on a film about a creative woman who is a rapper, producer, and Ph.D. candidate called Enongo. She uses music to address issues in her life. My recent project, Antarctic Voyage, is different — it combines my love for science and nature, encouraged by great science and nature communicators like Jane Goodall and David Attenborough. The film documents a scientific expedition to South Georgia Island, studying the social behaviors of predatory vertebrates like birds and marine mammals.

The project was born from a connection at Bard. My friend, now Dr. Samantha Monier, needed a public outreach component for her National Science Foundation (NSF) grant proposal. Her study was interesting, but the NSF said it needed a way to excite people that wasn’t another academic paper behind a paywall. So, she brought me on to create a documentary, and they approved her grant. We faced harsh Antarctic conditions filming, but the result of our time exploring South Georgia Island is an educational and artful film capturing the unique cooperation between diverse species in the hunt for food, which is a very condensed tip of the iceberg type description.

We started the film festival circuit in August, with its world premiere at the Sidewalk Film Festival in Alabama. Since then, we have screened at Twin Cities Film Festival in October, and at other festivals and events in New York City, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Iceland, and back to Bard — coming full circle together. 

AO: You also teach filmmaking and give lectures on your creative process. What inspires you to give back?

KS: Yes, I’ve been teaching for over six years, mainly at Reel Works, a nonprofit offering free filmmaking classes to underserved youth in Brooklyn; many are ESL kids, first-generation, or neurodivergent kids. They are so tenacious in learning and being a part of creating movies. Reel Works’ mantra is, “You change the storytellers; you change the world.” The organization prioritizes students from low-income, diverse backgrounds, providing them with unique opportunities to learn and create, and I really believe we all benefit when there is a diversity of voices because of the variety of art, stories, and entertainment that are created. I also teach occasionally at the college level, including at the School of Visual Arts. Teaching not only supports my filmmaking but also enhances my skills — sharing the craft makes me a better filmmaker, and the experience I gain in the field informs my teaching.

I think it’s important to remember that we’re always students, constantly growing and learning. I don’t know anyone doing great work who thinks they’ve got it all figured out. It’s a continuous process, not punctuated by big moments but by steady growth. That mindset shaped my approach to my senior project at Bard, which became my career. It was more than just a thesis — it was a film I was passionate about, about the animator Richard Williams, who spent years creating an incomplete masterpiece. The project was a labor of love, and I’m grateful that people encouraged me to refine and share it, which led to a lasting impact on my career. I’ve never been focused on accolades; what matters is the ongoing process and the dedication to creating meaningful work.

AO: What are some core memories or lessons you learned at Breck that have stayed with you?

KS: When reflecting on my time at Breck, I’m especially grateful for the Martin Luther King Jr. Day Symposium, which brought attention to issues like race, class, and gender. It helped me realize that, regardless of privilege, we’re all connected and that the world is much bigger than the Breck bubble. I also valued the community service initiatives, like working with different community partnerships, which reinforced the importance of social responsibility. Breck also offered a unique learning environment with small class sizes and personal connections with teachers, something I truly appreciated after coming from public school. Breck didn’t just prepare me academically; it instilled a sense of purpose and responsibility to the greater community.

AO: With an unlimited budget and a cast of anyone you would want on a film, what would you make and why?

KS: There is one dream project that I am working towards. I can’t reveal it yet due to NDAs and other situations. So, in the meantime, I’ll share that I’ve been very fortunate to have the opportunity to create films that truly matter to me. While I've taken freelance jobs to pay the bills, the films I’m most proud of are the ones I’ve made with passion and purpose. My senior project became the launchpad for my career, propelling me from student to director. Along the way, I've also worked as an editor and camera operator, honing my skills, but I’ve always been able to pursue projects I believe in.

Even when working on films for others, I’ve had enough creative control to put my personal stamp on them. Each film is meaningful to me, touching on themes and real people I relate to. Though they vary in style, there’s always a connective element in my work that reflects who I am.

AO: What’s next, Kevin?

KS: As for what’s next, I’m excited about a project I’ve been working on for years called The Enongo. It’s a life story about a woman who’s a rapper, producer, and Ph.D. About 10 percent of the film is animated, with different Black women animators contributing their styles to illustrate chapters of her life. It’s been a long journey, but I’m excited to share it when it’s ready — maybe even as soon as next year.