SHU Alum Credits SHU for Film and Directing Career

His parents’ life work with young people with disabilities influenced recent projects

Filmmaker Michael Parks Randa has been busy building his career and following his passions since graduating from Sacred Heart University in 2009.

Randa recently visited SHU to speak with communication and film students about his work, including his 2021 feature film, Best Summer Ever, a teen musical with an inclusive cast and crew. A-list actors, including Maggie Gyllenhaal, Peter Sarsgaard, Ted Danson and Jamie Lee Curtis, served as executive directors on the film, which follows teens on a coming-of-age journey.

The Sherborn, MA, native was thrilled to be back on campus and impressed by the University’s transformation—from new buildings, state-of-the-art classrooms and ever-expanding offerings. But he still recognized the sense of community that he spotted when he first visited SHU.

Prior to that visit, his mother had conducted research on schools that fit her son’s tastes and read a blurb about SHU in the book Colleges That Change Lives. The narrative described what Randa was looking for, so they scheduled a tour. When he arrived, Randa was captivated by the University’s offerings and even met the person who would become his best friend. “It felt like a tight-knit community, and it was,” Randa said.

In October, Randa was invited to hold a masterclass for students in the School of Communication, Media & the Arts where he detailed his working process. He also answered students’ questions about a career in the film industry. Professors Jim Castonguay, Sally Ross and Greg Golda were also there and reunited with their former student. Randa, who graduated with a degree in media studies, thanked his professors and cited his experiences as a SHU student for inspiring him to become a director.

During the summer before his senior year, Randa consulted with his professors about his senior project. He then went on tour with the rock band State Radio. While on tour, he recorded band footage and even created a music video, all of which earned him college credit.

“This really unleashed my creativity,” Randa said. “My professors let me borrow equipment and gear from the production studio, and it was the birth of creating music videos for me.” He said the hobby created a “hunger” within him.

“Having a close-knit group of professors accessible to me was instrumental in honing my voice as a filmmaker,” Randa said. “They were investing in my growth as a person and a budding filmmaker.”

After graduating, Randa worked a 9-to-5 job doing video editing work. While successful, he knew he had to follow his true passions, so in 2014 he moved to Los Angeles. Since then, he’s directed music videos for Rick Ross, Deer Tick and Delta Spirit and commercials for Bose, Nerf, Tom Brady, Pokémon and others.

His past always part of his present

Throughout Randa’s life, he never forgot where he came from and how he was raised. For 50 years, his parents operated The Life Experience School, a day program for individuals with developmental disabilities at his home on a farm in Sherborn. Randa has two biological siblings, but he considers the students from the school to be his brothers and sisters, too.

Growing up at the school, Randa’s worldview was shaped by his daily immersion within the inclusive environment. “It was normal to have friends with cerebral palsy or Down syndrome,” he said. “Those were the people in my life.”

When Randa started creating films and music videos, he noted a real lack of inclusion in movies, TV, ads and music videos. After pitching inclusive projects and getting pushback, he decided to create them himself: that’s when he wrote the eight-song musical, Best Summer Ever. “We had people backing us who believed in our mission,” Randa said. The film earned the South by Southwest jury award in 2021 for screenwriting, an achievement for which Randa is incredibly proud.

Throughout cinematic history, able-bodied people have played disabled people in films, and Randa said his work represents a long-overdue shift. “We have actors playing roles that authentically represent the characters they’re portraying,” he said.

Randa plans to continue directing ads and commercials and believes his next feature film will be a biographical motion picture on The Life Experience School, his parents and what they accomplished.

He credits SHU for setting him on a rewarding and fulfilling career path. “Looking back at my experiences at SHU, I think the University really gave me that spark,” Randa said. “I not only found my community, but I also made several beloved friends for life.”