The London 2012 Olympics get underway in late July, but preparations to land a prized spot on an Olympic team began long ago for athletes in contention. Academy Award nominated documentarian Lucy Walker captures in true-to-life fashion the struggles of several such athletes in her International Sports Series, a collection of 4 films exploring the responsibilities, goals and trials of athletes around the world. The series premiered at the 2012 Los Angeles Film Festival.
The four films comprising International Sports Series, sponsored by Liberty Mutual Insurance and The Responsibility Project, illustrate how world-class athletes overcome seemingly insurmountable obstacles to achieve results. The series follows athletes from Mongolia, Brazil, the United Kingdom and the United States in their quest to maintain extreme focus and dedication to their families, teams and countries in their bid for Olympic glory.
In Mongolia, Walker follows Jantsan Gantugs and Bishindee Urantugalog, Archers who seek to preserve Mongolia’s rich cultural legacy as the historic birthplace of the world’s best archers. Their challenge is to retain mental focus while carrying their nation’s pride on their shoulders. Walker treats their story with great sensitivity, offering a glimps at the athletes’ daily routines and rituals and a gateway to better understanding how they excel in their craft.
In Brazil, Walker trails national rower Ailson Eraclito de Silva as he struggles to maintain his weight to qualify for the London games. A native from the Amazon region of Brazil, Ailson’s challenge is also ethnic, as he faces discrimination for being indigenous. Walker captures Ailson’s methodology for surmounting these obstacles in vivid detail. She interviews team mates and coaches, follows Ailson on his rowing exercises and meets his family, all the while providing viewers with a sampling of the exquisite natural backdrop in which Ailson practices.
Walker’s other short films in the series, United kingdom and United States, offer similar stories. Equestrian Mary King grapples with keeping her horses healthy and stress free in the UK, while Paralympia Anjali Forber-Pratt tries to help others in the U.S. realize their own full-potential despite their physical disabilities.
Venice, California-based Londoner Lucy Walker entertains and informs with International Sports Series. She engages viewers with her use of close-up and wide-angle shots, allowing viewers to focus on the athletes while simultaneously appreciating their often exotic locals. Her films may be viewed at www.responsibilityproject.com, a website for The Responsibility Project, a venture spearheaded by Liberty Mutual in 2008 to create a forum for people to discuss personal acts of responsibility.
Lucy’s recent short documentary, The Tsunami and the Cherry Blossom (2011), earned her a second Academy Award nomination in 2012 (Blindsight was her first) and also won the Polly Krakora Excellence in Filmmaking Award, the Women in Film National Geographic All Roads Award and the Short Film Jury Award: Non-Fiction at Sundance 2012. She is best known for directing four feature documentaries: Devil’s Playground, Blindsight, Waste land, and Countdown to Zero.