Indie Filmmaker Kiah Clingman

By Carol Badaracco Padgett

Kiah Clingman moved to Atlanta in 2016, straight out of college and into the big-time filmmaking boom. She brought along a serious determination that has helped her weather the cyclical nature of the filmmaking industry.

Even as many large film projects chose to shoot overseas in recent years, Clingman remained upbeat. If anything, the industry sluggishness has strengthened her resolve.

“For me, it’s an easier pill to swallow because I am truly an indie filmmaker,” she says. “When [many] big studio movies moved outside of Georgia—something that was actually happening in the entire U.S.—it empowered those of us in the indie spectrum.”

She adds, “We made 'Color Book' [a film she describes as a love letter to Atlanta, which premiered at the Atlanta Film Festival in April 2025] for a little over a million dollars. There's this very sweet spot under $5 million, where there are people in Georgia who are absolutely willing to invest in filmmakers who have great ideas [and smaller budgets]. They can do $2-$3 million and take advantage of our tax credits and make a great movie that is filmed in Georgia, using Georgia landscapes and Georgia talent … I'm personally interested in those stories rooted in the South, and so I see it as an opportunity.”

Here’s more about Clingman’s creative journey—which includes a recent guest-starring role in Georgia-produced Hulu series “Reasonable Doubt.”

When did you first feel the pull of filmmaking and producing as a career?

Clingman: I've been making films ever since I was in college. I originally thought I wanted to be an actress, and so I was acting in all of the films at Howard University [in Washington, D.C.] while I was there. But because we didn't have all the resources or the budget, we were all doing everything that it takes to make a successful film. And so I learned how to record sound and how to cast, and I loved putting the pieces together. And, unknowingly, I was producing. I just didn't know it at the time.

What happened after graduation when you stepped into the professional world?

Clingman: I moved to Atlanta and I was cast as the lead in a web series. The producer actually ended up quitting, and the creator of the project was going to shut it down. One of the lead cast had also quit the day before we were supposed to film, but I believed in the project so much.

So I ended up finding someone to replace them the night before, replace the location, and we were able to shoot the pilot successfully. And it was at that time the creator asked me to come on as her producer.

I didn't really know what that meant, but I stepped right in. I liked what I did, and I got this adrenaline rush from figuring out how to put all the pieces together. And I was also starting to realize that actors don't have much say, as far as the creative control of things, and I wanted to be a part of the process from the beginning to the end, and that project launched my desire to become a full-fledged filmmaker.

So then I produced over 30 short films, documentaries, branded content and narratives over the course of the next six years. On one project where I interviewed Deniese Davis, one of the producers of “Insecure” [HBO series], she told me that I did not want to become a serial short filmmaker—that I needed to make my first feature. I said, “How does that work?” So she told me I needed to find a director that I believed in and become attached to them, as their producer.

I think it was two weeks after we had that conversation that I got an opportunity to produce a movie called “The Comeback” that's on Peacock, starring Taye Diggs. It was a wonderful experience where I got to learn how to work in the feature world. And then I got another offer to do another feature two months later.

Throughout your career so far, you haven’t been afraid to wear multiple hats and brave uncertainty. How do you stay positive and move ahead?

Clingman: We can really take advantage of [Georgia’s locations and tax incentive], and we can make movies that are just as great and high quality on a lower budget. We’re able to do that more rapidly here because we know how to do it all. We’re resourceful, and we know how to make something big out of nothing.

In light of everything that has happened in the industry, we have a very special strength. Because if all a person has ever done is work on huge feature films of the Hollywood variety, they won’t have this quality, and they’ll be lost.

What film and television projects are you working on now?

Clingman: I just finished my solo directorial debut of “Her Pretty Vagina.” It’s a short film, dark comedy inspired by my real-life struggles with endometriosis and HPV [the film’s title is a spin-off of the acronym].

It’s about a woman who goes on a quest for empathy to try and get other people to understand her pain. I'm very proud of it. We finished post-production in August and submitted it to a handful of festivals. And of course, we'll be bringing it to Atlanta.

I've co-directed projects in the past, and I've directed short documentaries, but this one is really going to show my style as a director and the types of stories I can tell. I've been aligned with this mission on the producing side of things, as well, in the last 2-3 years. But on the director’s side, I want everything I agree to direct, whether it's someone else's vision or script or my own, to tell stories I really want to tell.

So, I’m typically amplifying stories that are unheard. Or, as I like to say, I tell stories that others are afraid to tell, and typically with a surreal twist.

I also directed a short film that’s in post-production called “Capriccio,” and it's a romantic musical that also has a surreal element. I didn't write it, [but it was] a really beautiful experience with all-Georgia filmmakers and Georgia talent.

I'm also in development for my next short while preparing to direct a feature film. The short is called “Strong Legs,” and it's inspired by my dad's struggle with ALS over the last 12 years, with my mom being his primary caregiver and me his secondary.

I'm a huge ALS advocate, and we always talk about the patient, rightfully so. But sometimes we forget about the caregivers like my mom, who has spent her entire 50s taking care of my dad.

Then, I also guest-starred as Kristin in “Reasonable Doubt,” a Hulu series that was filmed at Eagle Rock Studios in Norcross. That was great, and our finale aired [just recently], so I’m still coming down off the high from its amazing response.