Kayo will be released soon on YouTube.
Student-produced films offer a lot to the public beyond helping students gain cinematic experience. I certainly feel that way about the student-produced sports film Kayo.
From “Kayo”
Directed by Daylon Brown, Kayo takes us on the journey of Kayde Ollie (Srikar Bellana), a 19-year-old college student. At the film’s beginning, we see Kayde get jumped by rival Vic Sharpe (Jay Gilliam), a respected boxer and the school bully. A video is recorded of the beatdown, resulting in Sharpe being hit with a ban from boxing. Moreover, his girlfriend (Juliana Marilyn) wants nothing to do with him.
After the plot-twist villain of the movie, Danny Morales (eponymously played), threatens to bring the video of the fight to the police, Sharpe decides to train “K.O.,” aka Kayde Ollie, to be the best boxer he can be. In the end, the new boxing sensation wins the fight thanks to remembering the words of Coach O.G. (Bruno Tatalovic): “Are you gonna let people decide who you are, or are you gonna decide it for yourself?”
The movie is a fantastic take on the boxing come-up story. The comic book text we see throughout the movie adds a nice touch to this film, making it a fantastic combination of Across The Spiderverse and Rocky. The actors expressed the mood of each scene, and with elements of humor sprinkled throughout.
But what really sold it for me was the final scene, which had me crying tears of joy as I watched Ollie knock out Morales and emerge victoriously in the fight!
That scene shows that you can accomplish anything if you believe in yourself and have good people in your corner.
At the premiere, I talked to the film’s cast and director, and here’s what they had to say.
“This process was simply incredible. So much great talent and hard work was put into this, I’m grateful to be here.” – Srikar Bellana on the process of making the movie.
“Keep going. The biggest killer of dreams is inconsistency.” – Lanier Karpeh in one of the many messages in Kayo.
“Follow your dreams!”– James Gilliam on the movie’s central message
“The process of the entire film itself was a blast. I’m a huge fan of comics and boxing. So mixing the two seemed like a no brainer.”- Daylon Brown’s vision for the film.
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I dedicate this piece to the cast and crew of Coyote Vs Acme, who are being treated horribly by Warner Bros. I urge Warner Bros to release the film as soon as possible or let the director post it on YouTube so that the fans can see his art.
