Michael W. King is an American filmmaker, producer, director, and writer of music videos, documentaries, and films. King is the founder of Michael King Productions, LLC. and lives in

Scottsdale,_Arizona , settlement_type = City , named_for = Winfield Scott , image_skyline = , image_seal = Seal of Scottsdale (Arizona).svg , image_blank_emblem = City of Scottsdale Script Logo.svg , nick ...

with his son, Mathias. He is a former board member of the

International Documentary Association International Documentary Association (IDA), founded in 1982, is a non-profit 501(c)(3) that promotes nonfiction filmmakers, and is dedicated to increasing public awareness for the documentary genre. Their major program areas are: Advocacy, Filmm ...

(IDA) and a member of the

Directors Guild of America The Directors Guild of America (DGA) is an entertainment guild that represents the interests of film and television directors in the United States motion picture industry and abroad. Founded as the Screen Directors Guild in 1936, the group merge ...

(DGA).

Life

King attended and graduated high school at New London High School (

New London, Connecticut New London is a seaport city and a port of entry on the northeast coast of the United States, located at the mouth of the Thames River in New London County, Connecticut. It was one of the world's three busiest whaling ports for several decades ...

), and went on to college at

Connecticut College Connecticut College (Conn College or Conn) is a private liberal arts college in New London, Connecticut. It is a residential, four-year undergraduate institution with nearly all of its approximately 1,815 students living on campus. The college w ...

, graduating with a BA in Government in 1975. King also later received an MA in Film Studies from the

University of Amsterdam The University of Amsterdam (abbreviated as UvA, nl, Universiteit van Amsterdam) is a public research university located in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The UvA is one of two large, publicly funded research universities in the city, the other being ...

(The Netherlands), and a postgraduate degree in Feature Film Directing from the Amsterdam School of the Arts, Maurits Binger Film Institute. Michael W. King also taught screenwriting and film from 2000-01 at the European Center of

Emerson College Emerson College is a private college with its main campus in Boston, Massachusetts. It also maintains campuses in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California and Well, Limburg, Netherlands ( Kasteel Well). Founded in 1880 by Charles Wesley Emerson as a ...

in the Netherlands, and was the Filmmaker-in-Residence and Professor of Film at

Lynn University Lynn University is a private university in Boca Raton, Florida. Founded in 1962, the university awards associate, baccalaureate, master's, and doctoral degrees. It is named for the Lynn family (Christine E. and Eugene M. Lynn). It has a total ...

Boca Raton, Florida Boca Raton ( ; es, Boca Ratón, link=no, ) is a city in Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. It was first incorporated on August 2, 1924, as "Bocaratone," and then incorporated as "Boca Raton" in 1925. The population was 97,422 in the ...

(2007–08).

Career

In 1991, Michael W. King produced an

MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

music video based on Dr. Martin Luther King’s speech "

I Have A Dream "I Have a Dream" is a public speech that was delivered by American civil rights activist and Baptist minister, Martin Luther King Jr., during the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom on August 28, 1963. In the speech, King called ...

". In 1995, King produced, directed, and wrote a

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcasting, public broadcaster and Non-commercial activity, non-commercial, Terrestrial television, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly fu ...

documentary titled ''Making A Living, the African-American Experience'', which featured American actor Joe Morton. In 1997, he directed and wrote his first feature film in the Czech Republic, entitled ''Vanity Kills''. In 1999, King created an Emmy award-winning PBS documentary entitled ''Bangin’'', featuring

Chuck D Carlton Douglas Ridenhour (born August 1, 1960), known professionally as Chuck D, is an American rapper, best known as the leader and frontman of the hip hop group Public Enemy, which he co-founded in 1985 with Flavor Flav. Chuck D helped creat ...

from Public Enemy, which explored youth violence in America. In 2007, he completed a feature documentary called ''Rapping with Shakespeare'' (2008), which followed the story of an English teacher who used hip hop and rap to help his students better access Shakespeare's works, while making parallels between the lives of five South Central Los Angeles teenagers and Shakespeare's characters. Michael King also executive produced ''Crenshaw Nights'', starring

Vondie Curtis-Hall Vondie Curtis-Hall is an American actor, screenwriter, film director, and television director. As an actor, he is known for his role as Dr. Dennis Hancock on the CBS medical drama '' Chicago Hope'' created by David E. Kelley and as Ben Urich in ...

and

Judd Nelson Judd Asher Nelson (born November 28, 1959) is an American actor. He is best known for his roles as John Bender in ''The Breakfast Club'', Alec Newbury in ''St. Elmo's Fire'', Joe Hunt in ''Billionaire Boys Club'', Nick Peretti in ''New Jack City ...

in 2008 for the

American Film Institute The American Film Institute (AFI) is an American nonprofit film organization that educates filmmakers and honors the heritage of the motion picture arts in the United States. AFI is supported by private funding and public membership fees. Leade ...

. In 2010 King produced, directed, and wrote a documentary called ''The Rescuers'', which tells the story of 13 heroic

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

diplomats who helped save the lives of tens of thousands of Jews during the

Holocaust The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe; a ...

. ''The Rescuers'' stars historian and Holocaust expert

Sir Martin Gilbert Sir Martin John Gilbert (25 October 1936 – 3 February 2015) was a British historian and honorary Fellow of Merton College, Oxford. He was the author of eighty-eight books, including works on Winston Churchill, the 20th century, and Jewish h ...

and Rwandan anti-genocide activist Stephanie Nyombayire, and features

Prince Charles, Prince of Wales Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. He was the longest-serving heir apparent and Prince of Wales and, at age 73, became the oldest person to ...

Filmography

Awards and nominations

References

Sources

* Dorsey, Kristina (10/16/2010) "NHLS grad uses new film as history lesson"(

The Day The Day may refer to: Film and television * ''The Day'' (1914 film), an Australian silent film * ''The Day'' (1960 film), a short film * ''The Day'' (2011 film), a Canadian film * ''The Day'' (2022 film), a Bangladeshi–Iran joint production ...

) (New London,Connecticut): p. 1 Events.
"Connecticut College: Awards"
https://web.archive.org/web/20100527141541/http://www.conncoll.edu/alumni/2570.htm. Retrieved 10/25/2010.
"Directors Guild of America Official Website"
https://web.archive.org/web/20090331234007/http://www.dga.org/index2.php3?chg=. Retrieved 10/28/2010.

External links

''Rapping with Shakespeare'' the official movie site
*
"Sir Martin Gilbert Official Webpage"
http://www.martingilbert.com/. Retrieved 10/28/2010.
Interview with Michael W. King about ''The Rescuers'' for The Day newspaper

Michael King Productions LLC official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:King, Michael W. 1952 births Living people Connecticut College alumni University of Amsterdam alumni Emerson College faculty Lynn University alumni People from La Quinta, California People from New London, Connecticut