Groton School Grad Presents “The King of the House” In Emerson Film Festival

These trailers of Emerson College student work were provided by the school.

The 13th annual Emerson Film Festival in Los Angeles this evening will showcase The King of the House by Paul Michael MacCarty, a Groton School graduate. His film shares the story of a barbershop owner and the importance of family values at home and in the workplace.

The Festival highlights the best of Emerson College student film and video work. This year’s selected films cover international subjects (a girl’s school in Africa) and local themes too (a barbershop in Boston’s North End). Two of this year’s films were graduate student projects and three of the films were directed by emerging female directors.

The films explore experimental and narrative genres, and share a common underlying theme of hope, according to a press release from the college. In addition to The King of the House, student films in the festival include Graceland Girls by Jordan Salvatoriello, MFA ’12, highlights the power of education to bring about positive change for girls living in poverty; Love or Farewell by Shaun Clarke, MFA ’12, is a collection of five dance films that explore the potential to transform dance performance through cinema; in Solutionism: A Design Documentary by Hsiao-Yen Jones ’14, Artivist Designer Matt LeGrand examines the possibilities that design brings to both the visual and real world; and in Got You by Bianca Morris ’12, Lexi, an eight-year-old only child, discovers her mother’s thoughts of suicide. The bond between mother and daughter helps them face adversity.

At the start of the program, special guest filmmaker James McTeigue (The Matrix, The Raven, V for Vendetta) will participate in a Q&A moderated by Emerson alumnus Aaron Ryder, president of FilmNation Entertainment. Also at the event, TV host and Emerson alumna Maria Menounos will present the Take Action Hollywood! Award, which she co-founded. The award is given to a student whose film most powerfully explores a current social issue.