N.C. A&T Alumna Debuts First Film on Netflix
Dr. Kelly Richmond Pope, CPA ’96, an expert in white collar crimes and an associate professor at DePaul University, can now add to her resume that she is an award-winning filmmaker. On July 10, 2018, her first film, “All the Queen’s Horses,” a documentary on one of the biggest fraud cases in American history, debuted on Netflix.
“As a professor that teaches forensic accounting, creating this film was an easy transition because I used it as a technique to teach others about fraud,” said Pope. “The one thing people can learn about fraud is that anybody can do it and we are all vulnerable to it.”
“All The Queens Horses” is a documentary about Rita Crundwell, the former comptroller and treasurer of the town of Dixon, Illinois, who was caught in 2012 stealing a total of $53 million of public funds over the course of two decades.
According to Pope’s website, Crundwell became one of the nation’s leading quarter horse breeders, traveled the world, and threw lavish parties, all while forcing staff cuts, police budget slashing, and leaving public infrastructure in disrepair. The film aimed to illuminate this landmark case and to shed light on the blatant negligence of auditors and bankers the public relied on to keep their tax dollars safe.
“It took me almost six years to complete this film by interviewing key people and combing through documentation,” said Pope. “It wasn’t a hard case to investigate the story of Rita Crundwell because the details were still fresh and the people in the town were still talking about it.”
In 2017, Pope submitted the film to various film festivals and has received awards including two best documentary awards from the HBO Spotlight Award and a Golden Laurels Award at the 2018 Beloit International Film Festival. The film has been screened in over 20 independent theaters in the United States.
“One of the most valuable lessons I learned about directing a film was to manage my expectations. With the success and the awards it received, I still encountered 52 rejections before I secured the deal with Netflix,” said Pope. My motivation thrived from knowing that I had come too far to give up and I knew that my work was good quality.”
In 1996, Pope received her bachelor’s degree in accounting from North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University. In addition, she received her master’s degree in accountancy and doctor of philosophy in accounting from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University from 1996-2001.
On October 12, 2018, Pope TEDx talk, “How Whistle-Blowers Shape History”, was featured on TED.com.
