PB Film

THE KING’S ACADEMY RELEASES FIRST FEATURE FILM: “THE FOUNTAIN OF YOUTH”

WEST PALM BEACH, FLORIDA—December 15, 2021—The King’s Academy’s Digital Media Arts department recently released its first full length feature film, “The Fountain of Youth.” Written by Department Chair and Director Austin Parenti and produced by students and faculty from TKA, "The Fountain of Youth" tells the story of a high school history teacher, Mr. Asher June, adventuring across Florida to discover eternal waters and save his mother from a terminal disease, all while dodging a competitor—a washed-up celebrity survivalist. Mr. June and his friends brave the USS Mizpah shipwreck, Holy Trinity Church’s belltower, West Palm Beach’s Woodlawn Cemetery, the Everglades’ rivers and swamps, a ghostly guardian, and even a Florida panther attack to accomplish their mission. This action-adventure movie is sure to delight all audience members. From the Atlantic Ocean floor to the Everglades Forest system, Palm Beach to Pahokee, the film showcases the best sights that South Florida has to offer.

Running 79 minutes, the movie premiered in-person on Friday, December 3 at the Rosemary Square AMC Theaters with showings at 5:00, 7:00, and 9:00 pm. The film was more recently released online via King’s YouTube channel, TKALionheart, at https://youtu.be/RRNN1eAmV6w.

King’s Studio 70 faculty and staff filmed “The Fountain of Youth” over forty-one days last summer. Led by Mr. Parenti and colleagues Tim DeMoss and Philip King, the student crew worked eight-hour days, on locations throughout South Florida—setting up lights, operating cameras and sound, acting, and dressing the set. The educational value of this challenging, immersive schedule cannot be understated. Mr. Parenti remarked, “There is no better way to learn than to practice. Eight hours a day for forty-one days, my students journeyed across Palm Beach County, grappled with new equipment, and produced top-quality scenes. I’m so proud of these world-class, dedicated, and talented young men and women. This was truly a career highlight!”  

“The Fountain of Youth” marks the beginning of an expansion of The King’s Academy’s Digital Media Arts program. TKA recently announced its planned Esther B. O’Keeffe Innovation Center, scheduled to break ground in the Spring of 2022 and open in the Fall of 2023. The new building will house a state-of-the-art film studio, which will be an extension of the school’s current Studio 70 production facility. The new film studio will include an LED virtual infinity wall, a next generation green screen which will be one of only a few in use at American high schools and universities. The infinity wall will span floor to ceiling and allow digital media students to create any imaginable background to produce professional quality movies, films, and documentaries. The O’Keeffe Innovation Center will also house computer laboratories and innovative spaces for video editing, graphic design, and videography. 

“Student filmmaking and digital arts instruction at the Esther B. O’Keeffe Innovation Center will transcend the traditional classroom and provide experiential opportunities that will develop today’s students into tomorrow’s leaders, innovators, and change makers,” commented TKA President Randy Martin. “Our new film studio and virtual sets will create a safe haven for new ideas, providing opportunities for individual and group collaborations, while fostering a culture of innovation through the creation. I’m confident that this space will encourage curiosity, experimentation and creativity.”

The King’s Academy is a National Blue-Ribbon School for Excellence in Education. The private Christian school, which is in its 52nd year, serves approximately 1,500 students from preschool through twelfth grade and is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, the Association of Christian Schools International, and the Florida Association of Christian Colleges and Schools. The King’s Academy serves students and their families across Palm Beach County at its main campus at Belvedere Road and Sansbury’s Way in West Palm Beach. More information about The King’s Academy is available online at TKA.net.