Director's Statement

This short documentary was initially created as a project for a first-year foundational course. I didn't think it would become much of anything. It follows my sister, a junior in high school as she begins to prepare for the upcoming track and field season. She throws the javelin, what she simply described as a "gigantic spear"; her words, not mine. As I was making it I realized I didn't know much about what she did or why she did it. During the production of this film, I learned a lot not only about the sport but about her mindset and how she feels having grown up playing a team sport and her transition away from it.

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I hop that people come away from this film with a deeper understanding of the other half of track and field. The half that most people don't stick around to see. On the outside, this short is simply a day in her life or preseason but further down it looks at a passionate, competitive athlete who is trying to grow into her own.

Kristen Chaballa, 2020