Inspiring Conversations with Kamerie Tempest Gibson of Born Guilty Productions

Today we’d like to introduce you to Kamerie Tempest Gibson.

Hi Kamerie Tempest, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
When I was in the 5th grade, I won my first essay contest. The essay was about Martin Luther King Jr. and what changes I would have liked to see occur in my neighborhood. The prize was a $25 gift card to the Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Mall and movie tickets to the Magic Johnson Theatre.

My dad raised my brother and me in South Central LA with the help of his mother, my grandmother, Dorothy Stewart. My father loved films. He recorded me and my first performances in the living room with his new camcorder in 2004. My father lectured me on Spike Lee and John Singleton films, always encouraging me to pay attention to the overall message of the film.

Growing up in South Central LA, I had a hard time finding my place in the neighborhood. I went from living on the West Side of LA until I was 12 years old, and then we moved to the Eastside of LA by the time I started 7th grade. On top of all of that, my brother and I were one of the few biracial kids in the community.

After leaving South Central for college in 2015, I realized that the people I was going to school with were not exactly like me. Or at least their backgrounds seemed to be a lot different from mine. I felt like it was me against the world, and I struggled to keep up with my peers academically and socially. I was riddled with so many identity and socioeconomic challenges that I did not have the capacity to do anything other than problem-solve to get by.

I attended San Jose State University for the first few years of my college career and made a lot of friends. I also started two on-campus organizations, The Black Women’s Collective and the National Association of Black Journalists San Jose State Chapter.

But, I still was not satisfied. I made the decision to transfer to an HBCU to be developed by ‘my people’. In 2021, I graduated through the Covid-19 pandemic from the illustrious Texas Southern University with a Bachelor’s in Radio, Television, and Film. Throughout my college career, I secured over six internships in the communications and entertainment field, along with 13 scholarships to pay for college expenses.

That was one of the best decisions of my life–transferring schools.

In college, I knew that I had to make the most of my time and especially my resources. At both San Jose State and Texas Southern, I developed a strong ability to make connections and make them work for me.

My senior year of college, I managed to produce and direct my first documentary series entitled, No Church in the Wild, with a media company called The Polaris Network. After discovering my talents that I had to make projects happen and people follow me, I founded my own production company called Born Guilty Productions.

After graduating, I began working as a barista at Hot n’ Cool Cafe in Leimert Park while looking for production work. Thankfully, because of my decision to transfer colleges, I was able to secure an internship with a highly selective entertainment pipeline development program called HBCU in LA or EICOP (Entertainment Industry Outreach Program).

That following summer, I directed my first short film, entitled, Drafted, alongside Emmy award-winning cinematographer Don Morgan and mentored by James Bland, the creator of Giants an Emmy-award-winning series.

Shortly after in the fall, I secured a full-time production assistant position with a high-end adult entertainment company in Studio City. I worked alongside some of the highest-paid actors in adult entertainment and learned so much about production. I had a great line producer and team mentor me.

While working at the company, I was compelled to find my way back home to my community and give back to the young people after me. And so, I coordinated with some teachers and administrative persons at my alma mater, Dorsey High School. I chose the month of February because it was also Black History Month. In a matter of two weeks, thanks to the help of Coach Irv Davis, faculty, BSAP (Black student achievement plan), and the school principal, I organized and hosed my first Pave Your Own Lane presentation and workshop for the students of Dorsey high school.

During my lunch breaks at the adult entertainment company, I decided to begin posting reels of myself sharing advice and gems of wisdom with my followers. After a few months of posting my reels, folks began to dm me, encouraging me to start a podcast. I didn’t know where to start, but I listened to them and created my podcast, The Kamerie Gibson Show.

My time at the porn company ended because I had an opportunity to produce a film with Beats By Dre through their Black Creators Program.

In the fall of 2022, I produced my first short film with Beats By Drew alongside the mentorship of creative executives at Apple. The film was entitled Maze.

The next year, I went on to host and organize a second Pave Your Own Lane Presentation in February of 2023, which ultimately spawned a career for myself as a hired LAUSD education consultant.

Brick by brick is how I paved the lane for my career up until this point.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
During my first semester of college, my grandmother who acted as my mother, passed away. It ultimately made me very disconnected from my peers and reality at times.

I experienced homeless in 2019 when I transferred to Houston during the summer and slept in my car, in a shelter, and with a stranger I met in South Park Houston.

I left a domestic violent relationship in 2020 to finish college in peace. In 2020, I had to finish school virtually. I lost a grandmother to covid in July 2020 and an uncle to suicide that same month.

I had a younger brother who was in and out of the prison system as well of whom Born Guilty Productions was inspired.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
Born Guilty Productions is a production house that specializes in thought-provoking storytelling such as documentaries, films, series and interviews centered around Black and Brown experiences.

Born Guilty is expanding to accommodate projects with immediate plans to have a physical studio in Los Angeles for Black and Brown filmmakers to have a community to meet up with.

We all have a different way of looking at and defining success. How do you define success?
Peace and no regrets. Freedom to do what you choose. Losing track of time because I am too consumed by the moment. Everyone gets to accomplish their dreams.

Contact Info:

• Website: kamerie.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kameriegibson/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kameriegibson/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kamerie-gibson-152322bb/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL1vstK2CU6CMbYm6x_Of7QBx52qwysxr4