"I spent a decade in the public school system in central Virginia.  I was a high school teacher and a football coach at a lower socioeconomic status school.  I witnessed a lot of teenagers, especially young men, who lacked a positive male role model in their lives.  More specifically, a positive male role model who walked in the same shoes they walked in: single parent home, very little in material possessions, bullying, self-esteem, attitude, behavior, character, integrity, etc. 

 

          When I left the world of education, I still had a desire to provide an inspirational example of how someone in those same circumstances could still achieve his dreams and not settle for the "the world's expectations." Knowing Marc and his past, his story, and being such good friends, I thought to myself, "who would be a better example of the sacrifice, the hard work and the commitment it takes to achieve your goals while being in less fortunate circumstances than Marc Megna!" So I approached Marc about letting me make a documentary film about his life.  

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          Let's be very clear.  Marc is an extremely intelligent person and he is very in-tune to the way people think and conduct their behavior.  He knew the possible implications of putting himself out to the public in this type of format.  But, he also knew how much this meant to me and the possibility of how many people the film might inspire as well.  He gave me the green light.  And not only did he give me the green light, he did everything he could to help put me in touch with all of the right people to make his story come to life.  

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          I had no budget for this film.  It was a pure passion project.  It took over four years to complete because I still had to work a regular job to earn an income.  There were many things I would've done differently if I would've had a budget and team of talented folks to help put this together.  I had no intentions of creating a cinematic masterpiece or a poetic display of visual art.  What you see is a message, a consistent message.  That if you put your head down, roll up your sleeves, go to work, keep your mouth shut, be uncommon, be willing to make the sacrifice, surround yourself with good people and never quit, then you will reach your goals.  What you see is exactly what I witnessed in my dear friend over the last 20 years.  I only hope we can all learn from it."

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~Randy West

  Director, Just A Kid From Fall River