A former tennis champion, now a rough and rowdy Las Vegas cocktail waitress, enters the US Open in an effort to win her way out of trouble with the FBI, navigating the world of biker gangs and Russian mobsters along the way.

CAST LIST:

Narrator: Sean Ballantyne
Agent: Geoff Mays
Charlie: Julie Sheppard
McCarthy: Shawn Devlin
——

Max King is a legendary American ultramarathon runner, mountain adventurer, and one of the most versatile distance runners of all time winning races on nearly every continent. He has had success on the road, track, cross-country, trail running, mountain running, and obstacle racing. In 2011 Max won the World Mountain Running Championships, and in 2014 at the IAU 100 kilometer World Championships in Doha, Qatar he won and set a new 100k world record. In 2014 and 2015 Max won the Warrior Dash World Championships. Max also runs youth and adult trail running camps that bear his name. He lives with his family in Bend, Oregon

“Never underestimate a kid’s ability to take an idea and make it a reality.” A fun and inspiring film by professional mountain runner Max King that follows Max and 15-year old youth trail runner Sebastian Salsbury along with friends Jess Brazeau and Jim Walmsley on an epic adventure run across the Grand Canyon.

Project Links

•  Instagram

Boathouse Row is a personal essay documentary about the generational intersections of Olympic rowing, manic depression, and fatherhood.

Attila Domos is paraplegic athlete, musician, and unofficial world record holder.  In 1993, he had a falling accident and became a T11/T12 paraplegic, losing his ability to walk. He was determined to prevent his injury from redefining his life. He started taking steps to continue his dream of being an athlete at first through power lifting, and now through endurance hand cycling. In August of 2016, he broke the 24-hour Hand cycling World Record by riding 407.7 miles in 24 hours. However, it happened at his local track in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA, without any official representation. As a result, his record is unofficial. The next step in his journey was to make an official attempt at the 24-hour record. Our documentary outlines his attempt and desire to break this world record.

Project Links

•  Website

Dave is the Co-Director and Sound Mixer for this project. From a young age Dave wanted to do something in the film industry. He was fascinated by movies like Star Wars, Jurassic Park, and Predator. Sticking to his dream, Dave studied film at La Roche College and Pittsburgh Filmmakers learning all facets of film. Simultaneously, he worked as an intern for the Pittsburgh production company, Phenomenon Post. From there, Dave studied sound and worked as Sound Mixer and Grip on many indie and Cable sets. His goal is to become a member of the IASTE 489 film union and become a full time Boom Operator.

Director Statement

Stefano is also the Co-Director, Director of Photography and Camera Operator for this feature-length film, he has also worked on many film projects around the Pittsburgh area. Stefano is fluent in both in both filmmaking languages—Film and Digital. He has also traveled abroad to Honduras for a documentary in its state’s healthcare system, and worked as second assistant camera on The Mutineer.

June 2021 Showcased the winner of BEST SPORTS FEATURE DOCUMENTARY.

1ST YEAR CHECKING, 80min., USA, Sport Documentary
Directed by Michael Messner

Watch the Audience FEEDBACK Video:

1st Year Checking documents the life of my son Grayson, a 12 year old hockey player as he goes into the dangerous and unknown world of check hockey.
After coaching a team in their first year of check hockey, I was fascinated how a game that kids love with their entire hearts changes over night to a game where there is fear, violence and severe injuries. As the coach, it was my job to turn 12 year old’s into men.

Director Biography – Michael Messner

Michael Messner has been directing and producing for over 25 years. He is a partner at the Pittsburgh based, Awesome Films. He has won regional Emmys including Best Director in the Mid-Atlantic, Sunshine, and New York chapters for his collegiate sports television shows.
He and his partner Barry Reese were Executive Producers on Alex Gibney’s film, The Last Gladiators.
Michael played hockey at Penn State and received the Distinguished Alumni Award in 2016.

AUDIENCE AWARD WINNERS:
Best Short Film: MOVING MEDITATION
Best Feature Film: ONE STEP AT A TIME

Theme of night: Connecting in a unique way

NOTE: Festival took place during the COVID-19 virus lockdown so all screenings were held in private.

Watch the Audience FEEDBACK Videos:

MOVING MEDITATION, 9min., USA, Sports Documentary

ONE STEP AT A TIME, 50min,. Canada,, Documentary/Sports

The beginning of a (temporary) new era.

See you at the festivals. Whenever that happens!

– Matthew Toffolo

Joseph Fletcher is a filmmaker based in Oakland, CA. He aims to use documentary film to explore human’s relationship to nature and society, and has a special interest in examining the universal pursuit of play for individuals and communities across the world.

Eric Johnson is an entrepreneur and skateboarder. He has collaborated with top industry brands like Adidas, NHS, and Max Allure, and has build his own brands such as Kook and Ollie Trollie. Most recently, Eric co-founded SK8SPT, a mobile app designed to curate skating locations and grow the skateboard community globally.

Director Statement

Moving Meditation is at the same time heartbreaking and faith-restoring, in that it shows the systemic racial inequalities faced by so many people globally, while simultaneously showing the significant benefits of leisure activities like skateboarding. It is our hope that viewers come away from this film having a newfound respect for skateboarding, while also being encouraged to stand against police violence and racial injustice.

As a youth growing up in Washington D.C., Eric Johnson found a place of belonging within the skateboarding community, but his identity as a black skateboarder put him into a circumstance that almost cost him his life.

‘Moving Meditation’ is a story of adversity, resilience, and ultimately, self-love. Through dynamic personal narrative and archival footage, Eric’s story conveys both the benefits of a skateboarding obsession, and the risks associated with recreating in public spaces as a person of color in America.