Ogden filmmaker seeks ‘Ogdignity’ in the community
Ogden filmmaker Kenn Sullivan.
Collaborative art installation by Kenn Sullivan and other artists, available for viewing at The Monarch.
Collaborative art installation by Kenn Sullivan and other artists, available for viewing at The Monarch.
Ogdignity is a phrased coine by Kenn Sullivan to help spread awareness of treating people with dignity, starting with us in Ogden.
Brandee Macci, partner and producer of "The Badass Show" and Badass Filmz with Kenn Sullivan.
Quote from Kenn Sullivan's "Universal Declaration of Inclusivity."
Kenn Sullivan seeks to change the world, and believes we all can, one collaboration at a time.
Operating the company formerly known as Kenn Films, Sullivan now moves forward with even more intention with the new moniker Badass Filmz. Born in Boise, Idaho, Sullivan traveled the western U.S. during his childhood, working on construction sites from age 8. At 16, he was a journeyman. From there, Sullivan moved into a successful job as a marketing consultant for 17 years.
One of Sullivan’s clients was hosting a meditation class and hired him to film a promo. When a slot opened up to participate, he offered it to Sullivan. There began his journey into what he now calls his religion, his lifeblood, his entire being.
“Learning how to meditate has helped me see ways I tend to get in my own way,” Sullivan said.
Ogden’s own Orluff Opheikens has been a great inspiration to Sullivan. “He was Ogden’s greatest cheerleader,” Sullivan said. “Looking at him, I want to be better, more inclusive, more dignified, and now I feel like I’m standing on his shoulders.”
Sullivan’s “why” is much more important than his “what.” Simply put, Sullivan creates promotional videos for his clients. But he dives so much deeper than that. Sullivan has a unique talent to help people dive into their own intention, even if they haven’t quite figured it out for themselves yet.
“I believe we are all worthy of clarity and to see how beautiful we really are. I believe clarity helps people be heard, seen, and understood. Collaboration requires clarity. Would you like your own message to be more clear? You’ve found your help,” Sullivan states on his website. Before even starting on a video, Sullivan preps with a “clarity session,” that helps clients convey their unique story and share it with the world.
Sullivan says these sessions are mere opportunities for him to be the student.
“We can all learn from each other,” he said. “We are all just one huge organism. We all have an impact on one another whether we realize it or not. Everything is always changing, and we can learn from a place of joy, or a place of suffering. It’s up to us.”
While his preferred medium is film, Sullivan also loves to collaborate on all kinds of projects with his fellow artists at The Monarch, which have been slowly and intentionally created and added to over several months by artists like Wild Meraki, Gene Chambers and Austin Luckett.
One of his greatest passions is the concept of inclusivity. In 2020, Sullivan penned the “Universal Declaration of Inclusivity,” which can be viewed at his website, kenn.me. Its focus is that “inclusivity accepts and transcends all talk of diversity and is perhaps the most difficult yet most mature, humane, dignified, loving characteristic to develop. This UNIVERSAL DECLARATION of INCLUSIVITY is one community’s (Ogdignity!) appeal to society’s normalization of the violation of human dignity. Continuing to talk about diversity is, by its nature, divisive, and usually perpetuates social exclusivity. Our intention is to draw awareness to the harmful impact of social exclusivity, which reinforces division and fans the flames of violence. We also provide an answer.”
“Ogdignity” is a term he coined, and a domain he bought, to help spread awareness of treating others with dignity, starting with those in Ogden.
Sullivan and his partner Brandee Macci also produce “The Badass Show.” A livestreaming show streaming on multiple platforms, it can be viewed at badass.news.
“All of my art revolves around my why,” Sullivan said. “There’s a badass inside all of us that deserves to be discovered. I am the art project, we all are. I started this not-for-profit social impact project to help people showcase their unique story and present it to the world.” But according to Sullivan, he’s the one that benefits, for the ultimate state of badassery is attained by learning from others.
To contact Sullivan and Macci, call 801-436-4184.