Skyd caught up with the documentary’s directors, Gary Joseph and Mike Nicholson of Yo Pig Media, to learn more about the film.
Skyd: What inspired this documentary?
Gary and Mike: The film was part of the International Doc Film Challenge. We had 1 weekend to make a doc. Our assigned topic was “sports” and we had to have the theme of “harmony” in our film. We have some friends who are a part of Ultimate in Philly and they turned us on to it.
Skyd: What is your history with the sport of ultimate?
Gary and Mike: We actually had no connection personally to the sport. We kind of knew what it was, but learned so much more after the fact. The rules feel a lot like football, but it was the “spirit of the game” that was the most impressive thing. It was something we didn’t know about.
Skyd: As outsiders to the sport, how would you define the culture of ultimate?
Gary and Mike: The culture of the sport is really defined by the “spirit of the game.” It’s a place where people can play a sport without the ultra-competitiveness and win-at-all cost attitude. The competitors treat everyone fairly and decently. The respect for one another that comes with ultimate is something that is missing in sports these days.
Skyd: What do you value about the sport?
Gary and Mike: After making this doc, I would say I value the people that make up ultimate. They seem like people who are open-minded, respectful, and a lot of fun.
Skyd: What were you hoping to communicate with this piece?
Gary and Mike: We were simply hoping to explain the game, who plays it and why they play it. We knew almost nothing about ultimate at the outset, but we quickly discovered that the real story was the spirit of the game.
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