STUDENT FILM GETS PRIMETIME TV SCREENING

This week the student-made "Transatlantic Storytelling" Documentary gets a UK wide screening on linear TV channel FreeSports. Never before has a sports documentary made by students been shown on prime-time terrestrial TV. But this is not your ordinary student film...

The documentary is the product of a ground-breaking, transatlantic project between two giants of the academic sports broadcast media scene in the UK and USA respectively – the highly regarded Sport Broadcast MSc course at Cardiff Metropolitan University and the Emmy Award winning SportsLink programme at Ball State University in Indiana, the number one ranked sports production programme in the States.

The documentary was conceived, researched, designed and developed by students from both universities in January and February of this year over a series of Skype classroom meetings and WhatsApp chats. Then in March the American students landed in Wales to film the documentary interviews, capture the scenics, and gather actuality and B-Roll footage. Whilst here, their Welsh student counterparts found and fixed locations, uncovered archive, supervised shoots, carried kit and liaised with the local athletes and facilities. The Ball State SportsLink students worked tirelessly for 12 days, flat out, and left Wales with a host of great memories and few hard drives full of footage, arriving home just as lockdown shut down life in both the UK and the US. Consequently the students were forced to edit their documentary remotely throughout April and May sending digital files around the world in time for a global online premiere in June. The news of a UK TV screening takes the exposure to a new level, not to mention a whole new audience.

“We’re excited for the UK screening,” said Zach Roy, a Ball State student who is the film’s executive producer and director. “It’s certainly been a challenge to put this together after coming home to a global pandemic. Thankfully, our team has been able to virtually come together, edit remotely and craft something we are all proud of. 

“Traveling to Wales to create this documentary was an experience and a story in itself. The many relationships we built will last a lifetime. The whole project is something I will never forget.”

The documentary, already tipped for several big student film awards next year, will now be beamed into 18million homes in Britain when it goes out on FreeSportsTV this Wednesday night.

An extremely proud moment for the two course leaders on either side of the pond – Chris Taylor in America and Joe Towns in Wales – who have been working on this pioneering educational concept for three years. "It started with a few emails, tweets and Skype chats between Joe and I a few years back and now it's a full blown global academic partnership with its own website and this incredible film. It's an amazing example of contemporary storytelling, of international collaboration and of pedagogy sharing. A genuinely immersive cultural experience for everyone involved"

The documentary focuses on the powerful stories of 7 elite student-athletes and coaches from Cardiff Met University whilst exploring the role of sport in Welsh culture and identity. One of those athletes featured is Sam Gordon, the fastest man in Wales and an guy with Tokyo firmly in his sights. This is an extended edit of his personal story which gives you a taste of the style and quality of the overall production...

For more information about the Transatlantic Storytelling Project, visit the website where you’ll find podcasts, pictures, promos, blogs, vlogs and extended versions of the 7 featured stories.

For the students the chance to travel, learn about different sports and cultures, tell stories, create multi platform content and make new friends has been life-changing. For the two courses, this is just the beginning, with another major collaborative project already in the pipeline for the future. "Ball State are looking to return to Wales in 2022 and there are plans for a group of our Welsh students to head over there and make a film about their athletes and the scale and profile of sports like American Football and Basketball in US college life. College sport in the States is on another level and we'd love our students to experience it" said Towns.

FreeSports is available in over 18 million UK homes and is one of the top three dedicated sports channels in the UK, along with sister station Premier Sports. The coverage also extends to the Republic of Ireland.

FreeSports is available on Freeview HD channel 64, Sky HD channel 422, Virgin HD 553, TalkTalk 64, BT Vision channel 64 and also available on the FreeSports Player — www.freesportsplayer.tv.