Michael W. King

Michael W. King (born April 29, 1952) is an American producer, writer, and director of music videos, documentaries, and film. King is the founder of Michael King Productions, LLC and lives in La Quinta, California, with his wife and son. He is a former board member of the International Documentary Association (IDA), and a member of the Directors Guild of America (DGA).

King was born Michael Wayne King, April 29, 1952. He attended and graduated high school at New London High School, New London, Connecticut, and went on to college at Connecticut College, graduating with a BA in Government in 1975. King also later received an MA in Film Studies from the University of Amsterdam, 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 to 2001 at Emerson College, and was the Filmmaker-in-Residence and Professor of Film at Lynn University in Boca Raton, Florida, from 2007 to 2008.

In 1991, Michael W. King produced an MTV music video based on Dr. Martin Luther King’s speech "I Have A Dream". In 1995, King produced, directed, and wrote a PBS 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 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 and Judd Nelson, in 2008 for the American Film Institute.

In 2010, King produced, directed, and wrote a documentary called The Rescuers, about 13 heroic World War II diplomats who helped save the lives of tens of thousands of Jews during the Holocaust. The Rescuers stars historian and Holocaust expert Sir Martin Gilbert and Rwandan anti-genocide activist Stephanie Nyombayire, and features Prince Charles, Prince of Wales.

2016, King produced and directed When War Comes Home a feature documentary portraying the lives of three U.S. military soldiers and family members suffering from PTS/TBI. The film feature retired four-star U.S. Army General Peter Chiarelli.