Filmmaker Kyra Knox sheds light on city’s gun violence crisis in ‘Bad Things Happen in Philadelphia’

As Philadelphia continues to battle a gun crisis across the city, one local filmmaker is working to shed a light on the darkness of gun violence.

West Oak Lane actor-turned-documentary filmmaker Kyra Knox knows the pain of gun violence first-hand. She and her first cousin Garry Mills – creator of the Shoot Basketballs Not People youth initiative – lost their 37-year-old cousin in 2023.

“This is my real life,” said Knox. “I’m still living in the middle of the storm… Kids murdered over parking disputes. This is stuff we battle all the time — so many young people dying out here. It’s so sad. How can we understand all this?

Knox turned her sorrow and pain into a cinematic passion project, ‘Bad Things Happen in Philadelphia‘ that gets its national broadcast premiere on Fox Soul and Prime Video on Dec. 2. Knox is also in the Sundance Producers Intensive Fellowship program for her next film.

The soundtrack to ‘Bad Things Happen In Philadelphia’ will be released on Dec. 1, and features the film’s David King as well as other Philly-based artists including Jill Scott, Da’ T.R.U.T.H. and Adam Blackstone.

“I started out just wanting to do a short film on my cousin Garry’s Shoot Basketballs Not People, his journey and the journey of the kids in his program,” said Knox, laughing about how the kids she filmed for her ‘Bad Things’ documentary are now adults boldly going through their communities. “Once I saw how much good Garry was doing, I knew it was a feature-length film about everyone in the community trying to make a difference.”

Along with local organizations such as Shoot Basketballs Not People and Mothers in Charge, Knox’s documentary highlights the work of the Police Athletic League (PAL), and how it sought to bring positive change and non-violent outlets to Philly youth.

“Garry and I were PAL kids, and Officer Steve, the officer we have in the film, was a huge influence in both of our lives. I wanted to show that all white cops aren’t bad. They gave our community in West Oak Lane so much respect and love – he was a phenomenal presence in our lives,” said Knox. “Garry goes into these kids’ lives, and stays far beyond a year-or-two. He is a support system, as if they were one of his own children… I wanted to make him the focus of my film, because everything he does is from the heart. There’s nothing fake here.”

And like what Shoot Basketballs Not People, PAL and Mothers in Charge does for the youth in West Oak Lane, Knox hopes that ‘Bad Things Happen in Philadelphia’ inspires and impacts change and further positivity.

“Not just in Philadelphia and its youth, but in America. I hope that people see this film and donate to smaller nonprofits like Shoot Basketballs Not People because it is the small nonprofits who are closest to the communities that they serve. If I can inspire change, I’m happy.”