Between The Medals
The coach’s best was silver but in his protegé he saw gold.
A captivating story about an athlete that overcomes internal conflicts with the help of a coach that was set on believing that no human is limited.
Between The Medals
The Story.
A three-time Olympic silver medalist, now coach, settles down in the local neighborhood of our main character. The coach takes on this eager kid and teaches him all that he knows to be successful but when menial tasks seem far from the road map to success, our main character has to make a choice... trust his coach's process or find his own way. He quickly learns that success can only be achieved when others are beside him.
Between The Medals showcases what it takes when community mindset and work ethic meets physical talent. A powerful film about the life of a runner and the meaningful relationship he builds, that catapults him into becoming a world-renowned athlete. This film captures the importance of what it means to see oneself beyond being an individual but rather as one within a community.
We Need Your Help
A lot goes into making a meaningful film and we could not do it with out the support of those who care.
Tonal & Visual Style
Between The Medals gets its style and tonal inspiration from movies like
Chloé Zhaol's - Nomadland, Darius Marder’s- Sound of Metal, and Joe Talbots - Last Black Man in San Francisco. All three films captured the essence of relationships in such a beautiful raw way that inspired us to find that in the coach, athlete relationship in our film.
The Visual Style will capture cinematic camera movements, close-ups on characters, earth tones, and natural surroundings. We want to capture inners workings of the main characters mind and invite the audience into his inner world.
Director’s Statement
Hey, it's me Joshua Smith, director of Between The Medals.
When I was first approached with the idea of this film, I thought it was a great story but as I did my research, I uncovered something I was not expecting. This story is more than an athletic success story, this is about a people. A people that I have found to hold the key to what it REALLY takes to be an athlete and in turn a whole person. In this individualistic society that I grew up in, I always felt there was something missing. A piece of culture that was forgotten and majorly underrepresented in mainstream discourse. During research, I found a society that not only talks about the importance of this forgotten piece of culture, but they center their entire being upon it. Unity.
This begs the question, is this why they can take uncut gems into gold?
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I want to make a point to say, if you don't have the funds to give, it's okay, below are a few ways you can still support our project! If you've done those things, I would like to ask that you keep supporting your local artists in your area. Bring hope to someone's life. Let someone out there know that whatever they are going through they are not alone, even though this life's journey can be tough, they should never give up.
Positive Thoughts,
Joshua
Meet the Crew
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Joshua David Smith
Director - Producer
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Adrianna Smith
Producer - First Assistant Director
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Brien Friedman
Screenwriter - Running Consultant
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Daymian Mejia
Cinematographer
Meet the Cast
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Ernest Keith Walker
as Edi Rukwaro
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Emeka Nwoye
as Jabari Kiprano
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Kendra Johnson
as Mary Rukwaro
Follow our journey.
Thank You.
Hey there! I'm Adrianna Smith, producer of Between The Medals. I just wanted to give you a special thank you for your support in whichever manner you allowed for us. Every bit of what you do means a great deal to us and those on this project. Aside from the glitz and glam of a finished project, it's actually not easy to bring an idea to the screen, but that can be said for any great idea. I want to thank you for making this possible for us and we are all so grateful to have you in our Between The Medals community because at the end of the day we can not do anything great without unity, Umoja.
May you be abundantly blessed as you have been a blessing for us on this project!