Elliot V. Kotek is an Australian producer, filmmaker, photographer and the co-founder and former content chief of Not Impossible Now,[1] and former executive director of the Not Impossible Foundation.[2] He is also the founder and editor-in-chief of Beyond Cinema magazine.
A former mergers and acquisitions/biotech lawyer in Australia and New York, Kotek has a law degree and a BS in pharmacology and toxicology, both from Monash University.[3] After moving to the U.S. in 2000, he studied at the Lee Strasberg Theatre Institute in New York and completed UCLA's Professional Program in Screenwriting. Kotek is the founder and editor-in-chief of Beyond Cinema magazine, the former editor-in-chief of both Moving Pictures and Celebs.com.
Kotek produced Black Boys by Sonia Lowman, starring Malcolm Jenkins, Carmelo Anthony, Dr Harry Edwards and other luminaries - the film dealing with the lack of systematic investment in educational and emotional support for young Black males. He also produced Danica: Driven, a feature-length documentary about race-car driver Danica Patrick, and for which he received multiple best producer awards. Kotek executive produced Matt Kay's Little Miss Sumo, a film about Hiyori Kon, the first woman sumo wrestler to pursue a professional career in Japan's national sport - and which resulted in Hiyori Kon being named to the BBC's List of 100 Most Influential Women for 2019. And Kotek also executive produced Colin Keith Gray's 90291: Venice Unzipped, about the housing affordability and homelessness crisis in the city of Venice, California. Kotek co-produced the feature documentary 140, the first ever user-generated film made utilizing social-media. And, in 2015, Kotek produced the documentary Queen Mimi, about an 89-year-old homeless woman, her 20+ years of living in a laundromat and her unlikely friendship with The Hangover's Zach Galifianakis. Outside of documentaries, Kotek wrote and directed short film Little Larry, which was a 2011 Directors Guild of Canada nominee for Best Short Film.
In 2019, Kotek collaborated with creative agency Sid Lee on the branding for the 2019 Sundance Film Festival with Kotek writing that year's "Risk Independence" tag line for the festival. He has served on the juries of the Palm Springs International Film Festival, Middle East International Film Festival, Bahamas International Film Festival, Sonoma International Film Festival, HATCHfest, BendFilm, Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival as well as the Cinequest Screenwriting Competition and Newport Beach Film Festival's Volcom Award, and was on the U.S. Board of the Bahamas International Film Festival.[4]
Kotek produced 2020's Black Boys (an NBC Peacock Original), a documentary that exposes the dehumanization of Black males in America at the intersection of sports, education and criminal justice in a nation still struggling to rectify its past. The story is anchored by Greg Scruggs, a two-time Super Bowl champion and young father who recently returned to his hometown of Cincinnati to impress upon young Black athletes the importance of education first. Supporting storylines follow Sharif El Mekki, a principal at a nearly all Black charter school in West Philadelphia, and young poet activists fighting for criminal justice reform in Chicago. Notable voices in the film include executive producer Malcolm Jenkins, NBA All-Star and three-time Olympic gold-medalist Carmelo Anthony, Jemele Hill, Dr. Harry Edwards, former Secretary of Education John King, NFL Hall of Famer Cris Carter, Arne Duncan, Howard Bryant, Chris Broussard, Alan Page and more. Ultimately, the film serves as a rare glimpse into the emotional landscape of Black males, illuminating their full humanity, vulnerability and resilience. The film features an original track by Ben Harper.[5]
Kotek executive produced the Netflix original Little Miss Sumo, a poetic and powerful look at female wrestlers in Japan. The documentary shows the beauty, pain, and dreams that come with being one of Japan's best female sumo wrestlers. Hiyori Kon is one of the best sumo wrestlers in the world at age 20. Though women don't reach their physical peak until the age of 25 or 26, she will be forced into retirement next year due to Japan's conservative attitude toward the sport and women. The story of Little Miss Sumo is simple and timeless: Hiyori trains for the world championship. But director Matt Kay brings a meditative beauty to the work that transcends a simple narrative. The breathtaking visuals capture the venerable and moving traditions of sumo while also illustrating the undue limitations placed on Hiyori by society, and by the sport she loves. The film juxtaposes beautiful, powerful images with tough doses of reality delivered through voice-over. Nearly every frame and line of dialogue in this documentary is poetic. Little Miss Sumo ends with Hiyori's powerful parting words about the future of her sport and the treatment of Japanese women: "I believe that as a result of my hard work, women's sumo will stop facing discrimination. I will continue to strive for it, with that belief. If we each raise our voice while also spreading sumo across the world, then I believe there will be more people willing to fight gender inequality with us. It's time for women's sumo to take action." As a result of the awareness created by the film, Hiyori was named to the BBC's 2019 list of the World's 100 Most Influential Women. The film also qualified for the 2020 Oscars.[6]
Queen Mimi, a documentary which follows the journey of Marie Elizabeth Haist, an unhoused woman dubbed "Queen" Mimi of Montana Avenue. The film was produced by Kotek and filmed over five years by actor/director (and then-barista) Yaniv Rokah and illuminates Mimi's difficult past, secrets held, and a caring community that came together to construct a new chapter in a long life marked by massive change.
After sheltering her from the rain one stormy night, Mimi was the first person that Fox Laundry owner Stan Fox ever let sleep in his laundromat, and she never left. Waking early to clean the facility, spending the day befriending patrons and showing them how to fluff and fold their laundry, Mimi became a menace to some patrons, and a friend to others - Rokah was one such patron, as were actors Renee Zellweger and Zach Galifianakis, with whom Mimi struck an unlikely yet life-changing friendship.
A festival favorite that garnered dozens of awards and nominations, a theatrical release and landed Mimi on the front page of the Los Angeles Times, the documentary was distributed by Netflix and is now available on Amazon and other VOD services. Queen Mimi is the story of an unlikely hero. Now 95, Mimi reminds us to never give in and never give up and that if you ever find yourself in the gutter, to never stop looking at the stars.[7]
Kotek directed and produced the "My Special Aflac Duck" campaign for Aflac's ongoing Aflac Childhood Cancer initiative. Developed in conjunction with Sproutel and Carol Cone On Purpose, the My Special Aflac Duck is an innovative, smart robotic companion that features naturalistic movements, joyful play and interactive technology to help comfort children coping with cancer treatment. With more than a year of child-centered design and research efforts with all stakeholder groups, My Special Aflac Duck received three key awards upon its launch at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) and garnered an astonishing 2.2 billion media impressions in the first four days post-launch. The My Special Aflac Duck has since been distributed, free of charge, to children in 49 states and more than 150 cancer institutions and hospitals. The campaign has been named one of the best of the decade, won multiple Cannes Lions, SABRE, Stevie, Telly, Hermes, Purpose, Communicator, and numerous other accolades.[8]
In 2019, Kotek directed, co-wrote and produced Made Responsibly, an initiative of the Global Compliance Team at New Balance. The film follows a day in the life of Jamie, a New Balance team member in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. The film subtly exhibits New Balance's socially responsible touch-points (energy and the environment, responsible materials, work conditions, water and waste reclamation and treatment practices) and the importance that New Balance places on people and families. While other apparel brands might show the future of the factory being pristine but devoid of humanity, New Balance - still an independent, family-owned company, wanted to keep the focal point on the hands that make their footwear and apparel, and support those people with products and practices that honor their contribution. The piece was nominated for an Emmy by the New England chapter of the Television Academy, and received dozens of top corporate social responsibility, branded content, and online media awards. The director of photography on the piece was by Eve M. Cohen, drone photography by Hugo Leenhardt, editing by Fred Beahm, music composed by Jordan Halpern Schwartz and was voice by Celia Almanzan-Fox from a script by Elliot V. Kotek and John Stokes. "Made Responsibly" is a Nation of Artists production commissioned by Cone Communications for New Balance.[9]
In 2013, Kotek and founder of Not Impossible,[10] Mick Ebeling, launched Project Daniel. The mission established the first 3D printing prosthetic lab in the Nuba Mountains[11] and successfully built a prosthetic arm for Daniel, a Sudanese boy who lost his limb in the war. "Project Daniel" debuted at CES 2014 in Las Vegas alongside Intel.[12] Of the project, Time's tech journalist Harry McCracken wrote, "it's hard to imagine any other device here doing more to make the world a better place."[13]
Project Daniel has been featured in Time,[13] Wired,[14] Business Insider,[15] BBC[16] The Guardian,[17] Globo,[18] The Independent[19] and CNET.[20]
Other Not Impossible projects Kotek has produced include Don's Voice, The Brainwriter and The Robot Walker.[21]
With 660,000 students competing, FIRST is the world's foremost STEM competition. These competitions introduce science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) to children through fun, exciting hands-on learning throughout their school life. From LEGO kit builds to original designs, participants gain real-world problem-solving experience through a guided, global robotics program, helping today's students and teachers build a better future together. Accompanied by massive corporate support in the form of academic scholarships, FIRST is the only sport where "everyone can turn pro". Elliot and a Nation of Artists team that included Matt Celia, Sebastien Hameline, Cody Peterson, Chris Willett, Josh Helfferich, Robert Watts and local camera people and photographers traveled to the 2019 and 2020 FIRST Championships in Colorado and Minnesota, and to the world champion Vitruvian Bots team at the Da Vinci School in El Segundo to generate this 360 experience designed to immerse the viewer in this incredible competition and community. The piece has generated a slew of awards including Tellys, Hermes Creative awards and Communicator Awards.[22]
Kotek directed and produced the award-winning "Power of 9: Mobile Innovation for Good". Highlighting the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) adopted by world leaders at the United Nations in 2015, the initiative focuses on Goal 9 (Build resilient infrastructure, promote sustainable industrialization and foster innovation), and demonstrates innovative ways mobile technology is being leveraged for social and economic development in underserved communities.
Made up of three short films, one longer documentary, three virtual reality pieces and other assets, the campaign reflected and advanced Qualcomm's corporate social responsibility initiative "Qualcomm for Good" which posits that advanced wireless technology can improve people's lives and directly invests in programs that utilize advanced wireless technologies to positively impact education, entrepreneurship, health care, the environment and public safety. The campaign was presented at the United Nations Foundation in 2018.[23]
As co-founder and content chief of Not Impossible, Elliot and his team utilize crowd-sourcing to crowd-solve healthcare issues by providing low-cost and DIY tech to people in need all over the world. Don's Voice is the true story of Don and Lorraine Moir, a farm family debilitated by ALS.
The Not Impossible team, led by volunteer engineer Javed Gangjee, utilized its know-how, HP hardware, and SpeakYourMind Foundation software to develop a simple interface that replicated the paper letter board Don had been using to communicate (via blinking) for years. The software used eye tracking technology and allowed Don to communicate without a 3rd party. Through this simple technology, Don wrote a love letter to his wife and was able to independently generate "I love you, Lorraine" for the first time in 15 years. The mini-documentary was released in time for Valentine's Day and was the recipient of multiple industry awards, and generated 100 million media impressions within two weeks of release. More importantly, the software was made available for download, for free.[24]
A published poet and exhibited photographer, Kotek has had solo exhibitions at the Helen Gory Gallery in Melbourne,[25] and group shows at the Copro Gallery at Bergamot Station and the Hibbleton Gallery in Fullerton alongside work by Ed Ruscha, Shepard Fairey, Don Bachardy and other LA-resident luminaries at the Venice Art Walk. Elliot's Polaroid photography is also reproduced in the book Still Developing: A Story of Instant Gratification, published by ISM and edited by Kevin Staniec.[4]
After serving as the executive director of the Not Impossible Foundation, Elliot joined the Board of Directors of The Giving Back Fund, for which he remains on the Board of Advisors. During the COVID-19 outbreak, Kotek also launched VentLife.org, of which is he is the founding executive director. VentLife is a collaboration between numerous volunteers including members of UCLA's BioDesign program, former engineers from SpaceX and practitioners from Ronald Reagan Medical Center and elsewhere, to produce a low-cost, medical-grade ventilator - in mid-2020, the ventilator prototyped was already before the FDA for emergency use authorization approval.[4]