One final push is being made to fully fund The Spirit Game: Pride of A Nation, and time is running out to get involved! This documentary film was shot over the last year or so, and now the final stages are prepared… with enough funding this film can be everything it supposed to be, and maybe more.
I asked a couple of the documentarians to provide me with some additional context, and to spell out why this documentary was going to be so important.
Peter Spirer, Director:
“The Spirit Game: Pride of A Nation is an important documentary because it tells the story of the Iroquois Nation who have used the game of Lacrosse, a game given to them by their Creator, to create awareness of their sovereignty, their thousand year old history, and their ‘identity’- who they are as a people among the world’s nations.
“With tremendous talent, including the Thompson Brothers, Brett Bucktooth, Sid Smith, Jeff Shattler, Craig Point, and many others; we follow players, coaches, and elders, as the Iroquois host the World Indoor Lacrosse Championships on their home soil for the first time.”
I also wanted to know more about where this additional funding would go, and why the project had grown in terms of scope and budget.
Peter Baxter, Director:
“When we first began this project we did not expect that we would end up with the amount of footage that we have, which is well over a thousand hours. This is very unusual for a documentary.
“We have found such a treasure trove of wonderful stories about these wonderful people, who are telling their life stories, and their forefathers’ life stories. All the athletes have worked so hard to get to the games. That is why we have arrived at this huge amount. The post-production for this project is much bigger than we ever thought possible, and it will require more time, more people, and more resources. Therefore we need a bigger budget to be able to finish our documentary.
“The exciting thing now is that I hope we can play a small part in being able to share the work that we have created with an audience that will have a greater understanding of, and appreciation for, the game of Lacrosse.”
I would tend to agree.
This documentary has the potential to do a lot for the sport of lacrosse. It can show the modern game, through a historical lens, to a whole new group of people. It can educate the next generation of players about our shared history, and it can help brand new people connect to the game.
People who know lacrosse already will be engaged by Oren Lyons, the Thompsons, Bill O’Brien, and many others, but people new to the sport will also be drawn in by people like Bill Belichik, Jim Brown, and Al Gore. Big names believed in this world championship experience, and they were right to do so, because the event was a huge success.
Now the rest of the world needs to know about it too.
