ESPN Films - Nine for IX - The Diplomat

In August, Sharon, Jack and I watched The Diplomat. This is the sixth film in a new series from ESPN films. Called Nine for IX (as in Title IX), the series includes films about women made by women. With everything going in at work and home, I have gotten behind in writing about the Nine for IX films and watching the new 30 for 30 films that came out in October.

At the height of the Cold War, Katarina Witt became one of East Germany's most famous athletes. Witt dominated figure skating by winning six European titles (1983-88), four world championships (1984-85, 1987-88) and back-to-back Olympic gold medals (1984 and 1988).

Rare for East German athletes, Witt started a professional career in 1988. She spent three years on tour in the United States with Brian Boitano. Later, she continued at Holiday on Ice in the United States and in western Europe. She also became an actress in the film Carmen on Ice (1989), which expanded upon her gold medal free program in Calgary. In 1990, she received an Emmy Award for her role in this film.

While the film explores Witt career, it is as much about her relationship and status with the East German government. She grew up, trained and competed in a very centrally controlled nation state.  While she struggled to maintain some control over her career, the East German government struggled to maintain control over Witt and keep her as the face of the country.  Following the dissolution of East Germany, Stasi files were found to show that the secret police had worked hard to keep Witt from defecting by giving her cars, accommodations, and permitted travel. Witt found that the secret police had more 3,000 pages on her life from the age of eight.

This is solid a documentary, but not one of my favorites.

The Diplomat is available on iTunes.

ESPN Films - Nine for IX - The 99ers

I watched The 99ers twice: once by myself and again with Sharon. This is the eighth film in a new series from ESPN films. Called Nine for IX (as in Title IX), the series includes films about women made by women.

The 99ers looks at the women's soccer team that won the 1999 World Cup at the Rose Bowl. The film uses two different vehicles to advance the story.

First, eight of the women from the team had a reunion at the Rose Bowl. They sit as a group on the field and talk about their experience.

Second, Julie Foudy who was the team captain took home video over the course of the 1999 World Cup run. Foudy also serves as the narrator of the film. The behind the scenes video is mixed into footage of the games and the footage of the women sitting and talking. The blend results in a very effective story.

There is some amazing footage of the games and the massive crowds at the games. The short footage of the finals game in Pasadena is remarkable.

I recommend the film. I previously watched Abby Head On. Wambach belongs to the generation of players that followed the 99ers. Abby Wambach appears in a short segment of The 99ers having lunch with the 1999 team. Although Abby Head On is not as powerful as The 99ers, I will probably try to get Sharon to watch that film with me.

The 99ers is available on iTunes.

ESPN Films - Nine for IX - No Limits

Sharon and I watched No Limits. This is the fourth film in a new series from ESPN films. Called Nine for IX (as in Title IX), the series includes films about women made by women.

Bills Simmons said recently during a podcast that EPSN has done more than 75 documentaries over the last couple of years. I have seen most of these films, but I don't think I have ever seen anything quite like this story.

The film is the story of Audrey Mestre, Pipin Ferreras and the world of competitive no limits free diving. No-Limits Apnea is an extreme sport that allows the athlete to use any means to dive and return to the surface as long as a guideline is used to measure the distance. Most divers use a weighted sled to dive down and use an inflatable bag to return to the surface.

While the film relies on some interviews, the majority of the footage is of the actual people and the actual events. This makes the film particularly powerful.

This was a difficult film for me to watch. It was like watching a car crash in super slow motion...

No Limits is available on iTunes.

ESPN Films - Nine for IX - Let Them Wear Towels

I watched Let Them Wear Towels. This is the third film in a new series from ESPN films. Called Nine for IX (as in Title IX), the series includes films about women made by women.

Let Them Wear Towels looks at the history of woman's sports writers struggling to gain access to the man's world of the locker room. The story is told through interviews with a number of the women pioneer sport writers, including Melissa Ludtke, Claire Smith, Lesley Visser and Jane Gross. It includes a wide range of stories of raw behavior, humorous retaliation, angry lawsuits and remarkable resolve.

Time Inc., filed a lawsuit against Major League Baseball (MLB) after Melissa Ludtke was prohibited by MLB’s Commissioner, Bowie Kuhn, from interviewing players in the locker room during the 1977 World Series. In 1978, U.S. Federal Judge Constance Baker Motley ruled that male and female reporters should have equal access to the locker room. In spite of this ruling, the struggles continued.

In the 1984 National League Championship Series between the Chicago Cubs and San Diego Padres, Claire Smith was physically removed by players from the Padres clubhouse after Game One. The experience left Smith with emotional scars.

In 1990, the Boston Herald’s Lisa Olson sued the New England Patriots for harassment after players made vulgar comments toward her inside the locker room. The team was fined, but the Herald moved Olson to Australia after she received death threats.

This is a solid film. Frankly, it is hard for me to identify with some of the emotions around the subject. Really, what's the big deal?

Let Them Wear Towels is available on iTunes.

ESPN Films - Nine for IX - Pat XO

Running on the treadmill at Arden Hills, I watched Pat XO. This is the second film in a new series from ESPN films. Called Nine for IX (as in Title IX), the series includes films about women made by women.

The documentary looks at the life and career of Pat Summitt. Summitt is the former women's college basketball head coach of the Tennessee Lady Vols basketball team. She is the all-time winningest coach in NCAA basketball history of either a men's or women's team in any division. She coached 38 years from 1974 to 2012 with the Lady Vols. She won eight NCAA national championships, second only to the record 10 titles won by UCLA men's coach John Wooden. She is the only coach in NCAA history with at least 1,000 victories.

The story is told with interviews her players, her assistants and her son. Her son Tyler serves as a de facto narrator of the film. Tyler essentially grow up as part of her teams. There is a lot of footage of him at different ages with the teams.

Summitt was widely considered one of the toughest coaches in college basketball history, men's or women's. You get a good feel for how tough she was from the interviews with her players and the early footage of her coaching career.

This is a solid documentary. I am not a college woman's basketball fan; I don't follow the sport. Nevertheless, this is great story about a remarkable individual.

ESPN Films - Nine for IX - Venus Vs

I watched Venus Vs. I actually watched it twice: once when it aired on Tuesday night and again with Sharon and Jack on Wednesday night. This is the first film in a new series from ESPN films. Called Nine for IX (as in Title IX), the series includes films about women made by women.

The film looks at Venus' career and her fight for equal pay at Wimbledon. The documentary has some great footage of Venus as a kid. I didn't realize that she and her sister were raised in Compton. Whenever I hear a reference to Compton, I think about Straight Outta Compton and the images from the 30 for 30 film Straight Out L.A.

I particularly enjoyed the part of the film that examined the rise of Venus' career. There is some remarkable footage of her playing against Lindsey Davenport in the Wimbledon finals. While Venus is 6' 1", Davenport is almost 6' 3".

I thought the interviews talking about the equal pay for men and women got a tad bit repetitious. Nevertheless, there is a very powerful segment of video from the English Parliament in the middle of the film.

I don't follow tennis. I didn't realize how successful Venus had been at Wimbledon; five of her seven Grand Slam championships came there. I enjoyed the film and recommend it.

Venus Vs is available on iTunes.

ESPN Films - Nine for IX Short Film: Coach

In early July, ESPN Films is starting a new film series called Nine for IX about women in sports produced by women. As part of this series, ESPN has released the award winning short film Coach. The executive producer of the short is Whoppi Goldberg and the director is Bess Kargman.

Nine for IX Short: Coach

C. Vivian Stringer is one of the most prolific coaches in the history of college basketball. She was the first to lead three different schools to the NCAA Final Four (Cheyney University of Pennsylvania, Iowa and Rutgers) and received the highest honor of all in 2009 -- a place alongside Michael Jordan, John Stockton, Jerry Sloan and David Robinson as an inductee into the Basketball Hall of Fame.

Coach Stringer became more well known to the non-sports world in 2007, when the words "nappy headed hoes" were used to describe the group of young women she led, in spite of tremendous odds, to the National Championship game that same year. Perhaps because Stringer is also a mother whose career successes have been intertwined with personal tragedy, her response to the 2007 incident showed she wasn't just a great coach, but the perfect example of grace under fire.

You can find Coach on the ESPN web site at http://espn.go.com/espnw/video/9345908/coach.

More about the film at: http://espn.go.com/espnw/w-in-action/nine-for-ix/article/8959294/nine-ix-short-film-summary-director-coach

ESPN Films - Nine for IX

In addition to 30 for 30 Volume 2, 30 for 30 Shorts and SEC Storied, ESPN Films has announced a new film slate titled Nine for IX. This documentary series focuses on captivating stories of women in sports told through the lens of female filmmakers. The series is scheduled to premiere on July 2, 2013 on ESPN. The films will air on consecutive Tuesday evenings at 8pm ET.

1. Venus Vs. by Ava DuVernay - July 2, 2013

Everyone knows about the swing. Everyone knows about the swagger. But what most Americans don’t know about Venus Williams is how she changed the course of her sport. In a stunning case that captured the attention of the European public beginning in 2005, Williams challenged the long-held practice of paying women tennis players less money than their male counterparts at the French Open and Wimbledon. With a deep sense of obligation to the legacy of Billie Jean King, Williams lobbied Parliament, UNESCO and Fleet Street for financial parity. Indeed, it was her poignant op-ed piece in The London Times that convinced many people that the tournament organizers at Wimbledon were “on the wrong side of history.” The boys clubs at Roland Garros and Wimbledon finally relented in 2007. In fact, it was at Wimbledon that year that Venus became the first women’s champion to earn as much as the men’s (Roger Federer). So to her seven major championships, another victory can be added.

2. Pat XO by Lisa Lax and Nancy Stern - July 9, 2013

On April 18, 2012, Pat Summitt, the winningest coach in the history of the NCAA basketball, did the unimaginable and announced her resignation from the University of Tennessee. On the very same day, her son Tyler was named assistant coach of the Marquette’s women’s basketball team, his first job out of college. While the sports world reeled from the news of Pat’s early on-set Alzheimer’s, the coach and her son quietly set out to beat this challenge just as they had every other – with grace, humor and most of all, each other. Pat XO tells the remarkable story of Pat Summitt as it’s never been told before. This raw, authentic portrait takes the camera from the filmmaker’s hands and places it into those who know her best. With Tyler as the lead storyteller, moving recollections are shared by assistant coaches, players like Chamique Holdsclaw, Tamika Catchings and Michelle Marciniak, fellow coach Geno Auriemma, and such admirers as Peyton Manning and Kenny Chesney. The archival footage and statistical records woven into the film provide their own insights into a woman who cared about winning, but also about elevating her players and her university. If it’s possible to do justice to Pat Summitt, Pat XO does it.

3. Let Them Wear Towels by Annie Sundberg and Ricki Stern - July 16, 2013

Lisa Olson was just trying to do her job as a reporter for the Boston Herald in 1990 when a group of New England Patriot players sexually harassed her in their locker room by exposing their genitals and making lewd and vulgar comments. Even though a subsequent NFL investigation concluded that Olson had been “degraded and humiliated,” the 25-year-old continued to be tormented by Patriot fans—so much so that she temporarily moved to Australia to resume her career. In the meantime, the story touched off a national debate about the presence of female journalists in the male sanctum of the clubhouse. That debate should have been settled 12 years earlier, when Melissa Ludtke of Sports Illustrated successfully challenged Major League Baseball after she was kept out of the New York Yankees locker room. Why had equal access for women reporters remained such a hot-button issue? That question is asked in Let Them Wear Towels, a history and examination of females working in the man’s world of the locker room. Through interviews with such pioneer women as Ludtke, Claire Smith, Lesley Visser and Jane Gross, you’ll hear stories of raw behavior and humorous retaliation, angry lawsuits and remarkable resolve.

4. No Limits by Alison Ellwood - July 23, 2013

As a teenager, Audrey Mestre suffered from scoliosis, but in those formative years, she discovered a passion for the ocean. It offered her a sense of freedom, and the burdens she faced on dry land soon dissipated as she slipped below the surface. In the final stages of her PH.D., Mestre was drawn to Cabo San Lucas where she became infatuated with free-diver Pipin Ferreras, a Cuban defector whose dives had put him at the forefront of the sport. The two became a couple and Mestre followed the elusive, often raucous Pipin on his almost spiritual quest to push his limits underwater. Soon enough, Mestre moved from support team member to ardent free-diver and then to a world-class competitor who outshone her husband. In 2002, after news arrived that a rival female diver named Tanya Streeter had successfully gone to a record-breaking 525 feet, Pipin began preparations for Mestre to make a 561-foot dive off the coast of the Canary Island. Having completed practice dives even deeper in the weeks leading up to the record attempt, Mestre was prepared. But because of a fateful decision before the dive, Mestre never resurfaced alive.

5. Swoopes by Hannah Storm - July 30, 2013

Sheryl Swoopes has famously been labeled as the female Michael Jordan. Actually, she’s far more interesting. On the court, she was nearly as dominant as Michael: a national championship with Texas Tech, three Olympic gold medals, three MVP awards and four consecutive championships with the Houston Comets of the WNBA, the league she helped start. She even had a Nike shoe named after her, the Air Swoopes. Off the court, she gave birth in the middle of her first WNBA championship season, divorced her high school sweetheart, and became the highest-profile athlete in her sport to declare she was gay. She has struggled with love, family, money and lack of recognition, but she has never lost her spirit. In this portrait, viewers will meet someone who’s not the everyday superstar, a woman who has defied a multitude of labels, including “old” – in August 2011, Swoopes, at 40, hit a buzzer-beater to end the Tulsa Shock’s 20-game losing streak.

6. The Diplomat by Jennifer Arnold and Senain Kheshgi - August 6, 2013

At the height of the Cold War, Katarina Witt became one of East Germany’s most famous athletes. Trained in an ice rink that gave rise to socialist heroes, Witt dominated her field by winning six European skating titles, five world championships and back-to-back Olympic gold medals to become arguably the world’s best figure skater. Known as “the most beautiful face of socialism” her success gave her a unique status in East Germany. It also triggered constant surveillance by the Stasi, East Germany’s notorious secret police force. This film chronicles how Witt, one of the greatest skaters of all time, fought for her future in socialist East Germany, how she faced the great changes that occurred after the fall of The Berlin Wall and, ultimately, how she ended up both a beneficiary and victim of the East German regime.

7. Runner by Shola Lynch - August 13, 2013

Mary Decker obliterated opponents and records with blazing speed and a starving hunger to win. She dominated her sport, holding U.S. records in every distance from 800 to 10,000 meters, and she did it all without the Olympics. She was too young in ’72, hurt in ’76 and shut out by the U.S. boycott in ’80. As Sports Illustrated’s cover “Sportswoman of the Year” in 1983, she was ready: 1984 was the target, with the Olympics in Los Angeles and her skills at their 25 year-old peak. But the story leads to a single shocking moment in the 1984 Games, with Mary writhing on the ground in physical pain and emotional heartbreak, with the whole world watching.

8. The ‘99ers by Erin Leyden and Produced by Julie Foudy - August 20, 2013

The world of women’s sports was kicked upside down on July 10, 1999. Before a sold-out crowd of more than 90,000 at the Rose Bowl and an estimated 40 million Americans watching on television, the women’s soccer team reached a cultural and athletic pinnacle with its penalty-kick shoot-out victory over China to win the Women’s World Cup. These players were more than the ponytailed poster girls celebrated by mainstream media. As told through the voice of longtime team captain, Julie Foudy, viewers get an inside look at the strong team ethic and rare “do for each other” mentality that propelled them to victory that day and turned the team into a cultural touchstone. With unprecedented access, the film uses candid, behind-the-scenes footage shot by the players themselves during the tournament to present a unique portrait of the women who irrevocably changed the face of women’s athletics. Reuniting key players from the 1999 squad and talking with current U.S. players as well, the film examines how women’s soccer – and women’s sports as a whole – has changed since that epic day at the Rose Bowl.

9. Branded by Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady - August 27, 2013

Anna Kournikova was never the greatest tennis player in the world. In fact, she never rose higher than No. 8 on the WTA world singles rankings. But her looks and willingness to capitalize on them made her the most famous tennis player on the planet and ultimately, a pioneer for fellow women athletes who understand that sometimes, sex sells. Sports is supposed to be the ultimate level playing field, but in the media and on Madison Avenue sometimes looks matter more than accomplishments. This film explores the double standard placed on women athletes to be the best players on the field and the sexiest off them. Branded explores the question: can women’s sports ever gain an equal footing with their male counterparts or will sex always override achievement?

ESPN Films and espnW Announce Nine for IX « ESPN MediaZone