Filmmaker finishes second project with help of North Augusta company

A Wisconsin filmmaker is once again creating film magic with the expertise of a local company.

Michael Patrick McKinley, who created the “HAPPY: A Small Film with a Big Smile,” has made multiple trips to the Augusta area over the past four months for postproduction of his latest project, “Kaleidoscope Child” to ready it for a private screening in September and off to the film festival circuit.

While working on the Happy documentary in Augusta in 2015-2016, McKinley met cinematographer Denton Adkinson of Bryton Entertainment.         

“I don’t even want to work without Denton,” said McKinley. “Not only is he a phenomenal cinematographer, but he’s an amazing collaborator. As a person who doesn’t have a tremendous amount of filmmaking experience, it’s great for me to bounce ideas off him.”

McKinley’s latest project is about David Ault’s Kaleidoscope Child Foundation.

Ault’s website describes him as “an award-winning author, leadership and personal coach, and global education advocate.” The organization strives to empower children through education and quality of life assistance through schools and services in Cambodia, India and Guatemala and the United States according to the foundation Facebook page.

McKinley met Ault while trying to finish what he thought would be his second film — a project called “Love Stories.”

“I’ve been working on ‘Love Stories’ for about six years,” he said. “I never dreamed of making another movie before ‘Love Stories.’”

That film explores relationships and shows more than just a romantic type of love. There’s a story about a mother and daughter, a set of siblings and “a wonderful story about learning to love yourself,” he said.

But he knew there was another piece. He wanted a story about loving humanity. He’d followed Ault’s work for many years and decided to reach out.  

 “I wrote an email, and I had a response in 24 hours saying, ‘I’d love to be part of this project,” McKinley said.

He responded with a link to HAPPY, which Ault loved, prompting him to ask McKinley to work on his project, which started with fundraising efforts in March 2024.

McKinley and crew, which included Adkinson on camera, spent a month in Cambodia and Asia, using interpreters to interview people. Most of the time, McKinley had no idea what was said. He trusted interpreters to verify people had answered the questions.

The past few months, he’s worked with David Kaplan, who has been editing the project at Bryton Entertainment’s office in North Augusta. He made his last visit this week.

 While HAPPY was part of several film festivals internationally and won several awards, McKinley shied away from entering it into Sundance. This time, he’s more confident because he’s seen the impact of HAPPY.

“It’s been nine years since HAPPY was completed and it’s still finding people. It’s touched someone’s heart. That was the whole point of making that film —to reach people who needed that message that there’s no time limit for grieving,” he said.

Charmain Z. Brackett, the publisher of Augusta Good News and Inspiring: Women of Augusta, has covered Augusta’s news for more than 35 years. She’s won multiple Georgia Press Association awards and is the recipient of the 2018 Greater Augusta Arts Council’s media award. Reach her at charmain@augustagoodnews.com. Sign up for the newsletter here.