Michael DeMattia (Boston)

My name is Michael DeMattia, and I am a person of film. Ever since I went to the movie theaters as a kid, I knew what I wanted to do with my life. This is my defining passion as a person, and one I strive my hardest to know everything about. It is what I live for, with my sole goal being this--All I want to do in life is help people, movies are just my way of doing it.

I came to Emerson College to learn to become a director. Quickly I found out that I not only wanted to learn more about directing, but every other aspect that makes up a film. Not too long after that, I began a path as a screenwriter and have never looked back. I write and/or film every single day of my life. On the train, in a coffee shop, at my house, etc. It doesn't matter, the bottom line is if I'm not in class or watching a movie, I'm spending my time making them. The amount of time I put into scripts and filming each and every day is staggering. I do not stop. It literally consumes my life, but I'll do anything to get better at my craft.

I have never felt like I've fit in anywhere until I became introduced to movies. My childhood was rough, especially high school when I was diagnosed with an anxiety disorder. It got so bad to the point where I could not leave my house for five months. The anxiety and depression began dictating my life and people didn't help. My own high-school teachers would tell me to my face I would never succeed or go to college, let alone get through high-school. This is the sole reason I grew such a chip on my shoulder, and what started my drive as a person to prove the world wrong on such a level, they couldn't help but understand they were wrong when they told me I couldn't do something. Fascinated with what I was witnessing on screen, I had found my hobby. My anxiety ruined and eventually saved my life, but during that dark period I found movies as my escape.

As a person, I am a perfectionist at heart, but one that goes against societies norms. A contradiction in itself. I am radical. I have vastly different views on life, society, and the world for that matter as a whole. What helps me is the amount of different perspectives I attempt to view this world in. I can't explain in words the length of trouble I go to to see things from as many different points of view as possible. These combination of traits are what make me, me, and are what separates me from everyone else.

What it comes down to though is my devotion and confidence. Pure willpower. Few people on this planet have the passion, desire, and will to truly be great. There may be a handful of people in existence at a time that do, and I am one of them. But where many want fame for the money and glamor, my intentions are a little more ambitious. I have an obsession to be the best like no other, but not to just be one of the best or one of the greats. THE best. Something that is undeniable as it is indisputable.

That very ambition is what defines me as a person. Being the greatest director/screenwriter that has ever existed is the easy part of my dreams, and I will accomplish them be re-defying each and every genre. However, my true goal and purpose is to change the world for the better on an almost unimaginable scale. Every person I tell this to either doesn't believe me, or doesn't think it is possible for the world to change on such a grand scale, let alone because of one person.

But I do and that's all that matters. This is where that same chip on my shoulder comes in to play. I have no doubts, and if a person the likes of Hitler can do so much bad, evil, and destruction with misplaced ambition, imagine what a person like myself can do using it for good. I have already accepted that I will be devoting my entire life for this cause. I will prove to the world over that I can, and will change everything for the better in ways people would never take the time--or want and desire--to figure out. I thrive on competition and with this combination of passion, devotion, and hard work, I will see the day where my visions become reality. I will succeed. Failure is not an option.

Above all else though, I just have fun. My confidence should not be taken as being conceded, because I promise I am as humble as they come, and still have much to learn. While this might seem very serious-heavy, I am at my happiest when filming or screenwriting and never stop smiling. I enjoy movies more then anything in life, and cannot express how much I look forward to continuing to learn even more. The beauty of this lifestyle choice of mine though is there's no risk. If I am "stuck" doing what I do now for the rest of my life, I will still be content. I am living my dream each and every day, and truly live for film. So why not go for it all?

Any Quentin Tarantino film

Shaun of the Dead

Pan's Labyrinth

A Trip to the Moon

Breathless

Battlestar Galactica (TV show) (Ronald D. Moore's version)

Quentin Tarantino, David Fincher Christopher Nolan, Simon Pegg, James Cameron, etc (I could name a ton more).